worth getting tested? worried.

[mark733]

hi doctor, over 4 months ago on holiday, i had protected oral and protected vaginal sex with a prositute, did not ejaculate. Lasted about 3-4 mins. Condom was fine, didnt break. The day after i started getting a shooting/acheing pain the testicals, penis and lower abdominal region. At 1st i assumed it would be a std although i had been drinking heavily the past week. So i went and got tested 2-3 weeks after the exposure, swab down the penis and urine test. Test results come back all clear. So the pains continued in the genitals and abdominal region, pain on the left side when the bladder was full. So i went to the doctors thinking it would be some kind of infection, uti or bladder. Doctor did a physical examination as well as another urine test and pescribed my ciprofloxacin for 10 days. Urine test came back negative and the pains continued. I wouldnt be as worried about hiv but this week i have got a sore throat, runny nose, swollen nodes on my neck, and not sure but i think also might have them in my groin and under my arms, muscle and joint aches, and tingling in the hands and feet (not constant). Last week i had a scan (not sure which type, think it was ultra sound) and nothing unusual was found and no explanation for the pain.
Do my symptoms sound like ARS?
Would ARS symptoms occur 4 months after exposure?
Should i just stop being paranoid and move on? i got some good reponses on the community board, but would just like a professional opinion, so i can forget about it and move on to finding the source of my problems.

[mark733]

A related discussion, curious, not sure what to think was started.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Glad to help.  EWH

[mark733]

Thanks for the reply, your comments have been very reasuring.
Thanks :)

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you are having but I can assure you that they are not related to the exposure that you describe.  I say this with great confidence for a number of reasons.  These include:

1.  Most commercial sex workers do not have HIV or other STDs.
2.  More importantly (knowing that "most" is not reassuring), your sex was condom protected and condom protected sex is safe sex.  Thus this was a no risk exposure.  (and your condom did not fail- when condoms fail they break wide open and there is no doubt that they failed)
3.  There are no STDs that cause symptoms within a day of exposure, even if infection was acquired.

Thus, on the basis of these facts, I am confident that you did not acquire HIV or any other STD from the exposure you describe.  Your STD tests confirm this.

Now, let's address the questions you raised:
1.  No, these symptoms are not suggestive of ARS.
2.  the ARS, when it occurs, typically occurs 2-3 weeks following exposure and would not occur at 4 months.


My advice would be to try to stop worrying about HIV or other STDs. there is no reason related to the exposure you describe to do so.

I hope you find this comment helpful.  EWH