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Avatar universal

Symptoms come and go

I had a lapse in judgment one drunken night a couple of months ago and had unprotected (insertive anal) sex with a man I'd just met.  About 4 weeks later I got really sick with severe fatigue and muscle aches, sore throat. The sore throat persisted, got worse and sometimes better then worse again.  Swollen gums, swollen lymph nodes in my neck that became very sore, and drenching night sweats that wake me up in the middle of the night where I can't go back to bed.  The sore throat is going away slowly over the past week, but the night sweats are still bugging me.  I also have a history of testicular cancer which was treated successfully with radiation 6 years ago.  

I was very worried about the initial symptoms and started to panic, so I got a DNA PCR/ Antibody test done at 5 weeks.  When the symptoms worsened I called my doctor who ordered a PCR RNA viral load a few days later.  Both of these tests were negative.  I tested again with another DNA PCR/ Antibody at 9 weeks that was also negative.

I recently confirmed that the man is HIV+.  Up until this point it had just been a strong suspicion.

I know that you frequently say symptoms are not reliable indicators of HIV, but I've simply never been this sick before for this long. That coupled with regret and panic are driving me to some level of compulsion.

Do people seroconverting feel better then worse then better?

I've been reading and it seems like my symptoms are more like mono, but my doctor did not feel it was necessary to order a test for this.  Can HIV symptoms be very typical of mono?  Can HIV symptoms last 5 weeks?

What are the odds I have HIV and that the tests are negative to this point (9 weeks)?

Do I need further testing? If so, when?
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480448 tn?1426948538
Like Vance said, this thread is from 2008, the OP is LONG gone.  You were already told you had no risk, you need to accept that.
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Avatar universal
This thread is from 2008, this person is no longer here.

MOVE ON.
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Avatar universal
what im trying to say is that finding out what was wrong with the above person could very much help me diagnose my health issues. Please Teak... and anyone else. any way you can help? thanks
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Avatar universal
is there any way to find out though how this situation ended? it would REALLY give me a lot of piece of mind... and maybe help clarify what's bothering me... what other disease...
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Avatar universal
You didn't have an exposure.
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Avatar universal
Teak... please... maybe I'm not supposed to do this... but my situation is almost identical... do you have any idea how this ended? id really appreciate it...
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Avatar universal
Please do not pull up and post to old threads
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does anyone please know how this situation ended? did halffool end up being negative? my symptoms are very similar... thanks
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Avatar universal
You don't need a 6 month test. 3 months is conclusive.
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Avatar universal
(my above comment got cut off)
I had two IMCA tests one at 5 weeks one at 9 weeks, both negative.

I'm not sure about the RNA viral load test though, I'm a little worried that the test can detect the presence of the virus but only quantify down to 50 copies/ml.  I'm not sure but I think my result was just 10000 copies.    Less does not rule out infection, only ARS.

The docs on this forum seem to feel very strongly that almost everyone will test positive on antibody tests at 8 weeks (sometimes they say 6), although I will be getting a test next week (12 weeks) for confirmation and a final test at 6 months assuming I am not infected. I pray I am not.
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Avatar universal
I had two IMCA tests one at 5 weeks one at 9 weeks, both negative.

I'm not sure about the RNA viral load test though, I'm a little worried that the test can detect the presence of the virus but only quantify down to 50 copies/ml.  I'm not sure but I think my result was just 10000 copies.    Less does not rule out infection, only ARS.

The docs on this forum seem to feel very strongly that almost everyone will test positive on antibody tests at 8 weeks (sometimes they say 6), although I will be getting a test next week (12 weeks) for confirmation and a final test at 6 months assuming I am not infected. I pray I am not.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
what is ARS?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
First off, you haven't taken the correct test. Second, ARS does not last five weeks. Third, you had a risk and need to take the proper tests. 3 months post exposure is when you can obtain a conclusive test result.
Helpful - 0
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