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Possibility of HIV

Hi there, I visited a sexual health clinic the other day due to an outbreak of sores in my genital area. The doctor suspects herpes and has prescribed me Valtrex as well as run a test of the sores themselves (I am awaiting the results). My concern is that this outbreak is the 5th in a serious of various infections I have had over the past few weeks, scaling various areas of my body and produced by fungal, viral and bacterial infections. Prior to this I had been generally healthy, with instances of less than one cold, flu or bacterial infection annually. I had gone nearly two years without so much as a cold. Initially I had tooth pain and was treated for a bacterial infection with antibiotics. As this was ongoing I developed my first ever vaginal yeast infection, followed closely by bacterial vaginosis. I then developed strep throat, muscle aches and a fever. I am 20-years old however I find myself incapable of briskly walking up a flight of stairs and am constantly experiencing dyspnea and lightheadnesses following even the slightest physical exertion (such as towel drying my hair).

A little over a week ago I attended a house party at a friend's place. About 40 minutes after I arrived I became aware that someone had put something in one of my drinks. I suspected it to be MDMA, but I did not have a blood test done and more than likely it was a combination of drugs. I immediately took a cab home and laid down, although I was unable to sleep for most of the night. Following this, my fever worsened and the muscle aches became more painful. I am also experiencing headaches, and increased pain when I brush against something or bump into something. Two days after starting the Valtrex (1000 b.i.d.) I developed sores on my tongue and gums. It is very difficult to swallow. I am experiencing anorexia as well, but have been forcing myself to eat regularly. The food I eat has little to no taste. I have swollen lymph nodes in my neck, around my collarbone, in my genital area and armpits.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to present all of the information in order to get a recommendation on whether I should have a blood test done to rule out HIV. In terms of sexual history I have only been with two men in my life. The first had no prior sexual experience and the latter had sexual relationships with approx. 10 women before we began a monogamous relationship that has been on-going for 4 years. In other words I have been with the same sexual partner for 4 years, we live together and I have not had any of these symptoms in the past.

What I suspect is that my immune system has been compromised. It is comprehensible that one, or both of us may have had genital herpes without showing symptoms prior to this point and that deterioration of my immune system has caused this initial outbreak. My partner has not suffered from any of the symptoms I am experiencing presently and until two days ago we were having unprotected sex.

I have been taking oral contraceptives for about 5 years. I am not on any other medications although over the past three weeks I have taken amoxicillin, metronidazole and clotrimazole (with no overlap). I used to drink on Fridays and weekends with friends from work, however I have not done so in nearly a month.

I want to determine the cause of my weakened immune system and would like to know whether/how soon I should go in for an HIV test. I understand that there are other potential causes of immunodeficiency, but I would like to rule out HIV, leukemia and other blood diseases in order to ease my mind.

Thank you for taking the time to read this novel of a post, I was afraid to leave out any details as I had entirely forgotten to mention my previous symptoms to the doctor at the sexual health clinic I attended.
4 Responses
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Avatar universal
Then 4 years is way past 3 months now isn't it?
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Avatar universal
*weeks
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Avatar universal
I have not been exposed to anything new in four years. These symptoms started  three seeks ago.
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3 months post exposure is when you can obtain a conclusive negative test result.
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