Aa
What in the heck is going on?
Dr. H,
This is going to be a long question(s) because I think it is important to give full history in order to understand.
16 years ago,(I am 41 now) I had unprotected sex with a female. About 2 weeks later, I had swollen lymph nodes - under arms, groin, under chin - but didn't think anything about it.
In that period of time, I also had what I thought was an acne breakout - along the jaw line and on the neck under the chin - but also at the corner of the eyebrow and corner of mouth. These were unusual in that they weren't the typical formation of pimples - they were pink and swollen in nature, but took long time to develop white center that when squeezed the pus would come out.
About a month later, she informed me that she had herpes and I had been with another girl since then and she confirmed that upon testing she had contracted genital warts from me - I was her only sex partner.
So this episode/outbreak passed and I did nothing - I figured it was untreatable and there was nothing to do about it.
Over the years, I have been mostly asymptomatic - so much so to the point that I thought that these occasional outbreaks were actually bad adult acne - they would be about the size of the tip of my pinkie, always in the same places and watery in basis - very very watery - clear liquid would come out when I would squeeze or pick at them - I'm a picker, yes I know horrible - then they would scab mostly white and eventually flake away.
Flash forward to December 24, 2008 - just over three months ago. I had a brief bisexual encounter with another man - my first and last - that consisted of us exchanging mutual oral - he did not ejaculate nor did I notice the presence of precum - whether there was or not, I cannot be 100% for certain. At the time, I had a small lesion on the very inside of my lip where the tissue meets the bottom of the gum line - it was slightly ulcerated and white. Of course, my first thought was that I had exposed myself to a high risk of HIV infection. I no longer think that as I have emailed Teak and he assured me that I had NO RISK - PERIOD. As far as I know, when Teak has told anyone this, he has never been wrong, so I am confident he is correct.
But let me take you through the last 13 weeks of symptoms, some I am sure phantom, some I am sure not.
Immediately after this "encounter" the next day Christmas to be exact - I was sick - fever, throwing up, diarrhea that lasted for two days - I wrote this off as gastroenteritis since my brother in law also had the same thing the same day and as I have learned was way too early for actual HIV symptoms.
The following week what I believe were the self fulfilled symptoms took place - I began checking my underarms for swelling and of course the poking and prodding caused discomfort and a feeling like I couldn't put my arms all the way down to my sides without feeling the rub of my arms against my glands - which have never shown visible signs of swelling as far as I can tell - I'm of course not a doctor. However, to this day, there is a feeling of discomfort when I wear clothes that touch under my armpits and there is a feeling of pain at the fleshy part of the underarm that meets the soft rib tissue.
In the next couple of weeks - and I think it's important I mention that these "symptoms" were spread out which is almost never the case with HIV - I had a chafing along the lines of where my underwear met the corners of my legs along both sides of my crotch - I truly do think this may have just been chafing from underwear rub - powder made it much better. I had a coated tongue - which of course I was SURE was thrush - but I am a mouth breather and smoker, so most likely not thrush. Then something unusual happened about 6 weeks or so into my exposure for whatever - I devolped a dull pain along my left pelvis bone - like someone was putting their finger on the pelvis bone when I stood up to walk - not unbearable, not radiating just there - this couldn't have been phantom because I didn't know it was a symptom of anything until after it happened. It is still present now. Not unbearable and occasionally I feel it along the right pelvis bone now as well - not sure if this is projecting or actual.
At 8 weeks I went to the doctor because of what I thought might be a sinus infection - probably not an infection but he gave me a 5 day of Z Pac - but while I was there, he also discovered I had a bp of 160/120 - put me on Diovan HCT right away. I am 5 10 215 and eat like **** and have a history of high BP in my family and I actually had high BP before - but lost 60 pounds and the symptoms subsided and my high BP went away - needless to say, gained some of the weight back, high BP back so I am on Diovan and have been for about a month and a half. I think this is important to mention.
Ok - about two weeks ago, I had a bad breakout of what I thought was adult acne - it occured along the jawline, and in the corners of my mouth - same as the past outbreaks I have had - except for one difference - I had one behind my left ear along the skull - if you pushed my earlobe back, it would touch it - this was unusual though that when I tried to pop it or squeeze it - it got larger and filled with watery fluid that no matter how much I squeezed refilled - and swelled probably to somewhere between a raisin and grape - I put isopropol alcohol and peroxide on it and it shrank with no further repercussions. Not only the location but the substance and reaction of this outbreak was different. Called my doctor and he gave me a prescription of tetracyclene 500MG twice a day that I am still on, along with the Diovan.
This week has been the worse - on Monday, I developed another sore/blister/zit/whatever on my right shoulder and immediately tried to pop it burst it - squeezed and squeezed and squeezed and it got bigger and bigger and bigger - fluid filled and it became about inch and a half long by half inch wide area that had characterstics of blister - because of the squeezing and prodding it became almost like a rug burn and scabbed - put alcohol and peroxide on it as well - I have a pic I can send you if it would help. It swelled as well and was painful like a burn is.
Wednesday- I have a job that requires me to do a lot of heavy lifting of bags and lifted one and immediately felt back pain - upon getting home and going to the bathroom, I noticed that above my left testicle was a lump that looked like a smaller third testicle - upon reading I believe it to be the epididymis. It is NOT painful - it isn't as prevalent as it was at first but it is still noticeable like a smaller third testicle.
Yesterday - the lymph gland under my jaw line along the left earlobe area was sore and swollen - not huge, but noticeable - I had never touched it so it wasn't self induced - so I immediately started checking the other areas near there and on the back of the head and started messing with the occipital glands on the left side of my head and thought they were swollen so I began pushing and prodding and then they all came out on that side. Self induced - most likely since they were actually painful - they subsided after icing. I thought that the sore that was on my right shoulder might have caused an infection - does this seem possible because that gland under my chin had to swell for a reason and I had a low grade fever of about 99 - but am still on tetracyclene.
So my questions to you are this -
1) What is the likelihood that I had some type of STD - remember I took a week of ZPac which I believe would have eliminated Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and I have been on and still am on Tetracyclene which would have eliminated others. Could this fever even low grade and swollen gland under jawline been caused by this blister/irritation whatever on my right shoulder becoming infected?
What could this be if anything?
This is going to be a long question(s) because I think it is important to give full history in order to understand.
16 years ago,(I am 41 now) I had unprotected sex with a female. About 2 weeks later, I had swollen lymph nodes - under arms, groin, under chin - but didn't think anything about it.
In that period of time, I also had what I thought was an acne breakout - along the jaw line and on the neck under the chin - but also at the corner of the eyebrow and corner of mouth. These were unusual in that they weren't the typical formation of pimples - they were pink and swollen in nature, but took long time to develop white center that when squeezed the pus would come out.
About a month later, she informed me that she had herpes and I had been with another girl since then and she confirmed that upon testing she had contracted genital warts from me - I was her only sex partner.
So this episode/outbreak passed and I did nothing - I figured it was untreatable and there was nothing to do about it.
Over the years, I have been mostly asymptomatic - so much so to the point that I thought that these occasional outbreaks were actually bad adult acne - they would be about the size of the tip of my pinkie, always in the same places and watery in basis - very very watery - clear liquid would come out when I would squeeze or pick at them - I'm a picker, yes I know horrible - then they would scab mostly white and eventually flake away.
Flash forward to December 24, 2008 - just over three months ago. I had a brief bisexual encounter with another man - my first and last - that consisted of us exchanging mutual oral - he did not ejaculate nor did I notice the presence of precum - whether there was or not, I cannot be 100% for certain. At the time, I had a small lesion on the very inside of my lip where the tissue meets the bottom of the gum line - it was slightly ulcerated and white. Of course, my first thought was that I had exposed myself to a high risk of HIV infection. I no longer think that as I have emailed Teak and he assured me that I had NO RISK - PERIOD. As far as I know, when Teak has told anyone this, he has never been wrong, so I am confident he is correct.
But let me take you through the last 13 weeks of symptoms, some I am sure phantom, some I am sure not.
Immediately after this "encounter" the next day Christmas to be exact - I was sick - fever, throwing up, diarrhea that lasted for two days - I wrote this off as gastroenteritis since my brother in law also had the same thing the same day and as I have learned was way too early for actual HIV symptoms.
The following week what I believe were the self fulfilled symptoms took place - I began checking my underarms for swelling and of course the poking and prodding caused discomfort and a feeling like I couldn't put my arms all the way down to my sides without feeling the rub of my arms against my glands - which have never shown visible signs of swelling as far as I can tell - I'm of course not a doctor. However, to this day, there is a feeling of discomfort when I wear clothes that touch under my armpits and there is a feeling of pain at the fleshy part of the underarm that meets the soft rib tissue.
In the next couple of weeks - and I think it's important I mention that these "symptoms" were spread out which is almost never the case with HIV - I had a chafing along the lines of where my underwear met the corners of my legs along both sides of my crotch - I truly do think this may have just been chafing from underwear rub - powder made it much better. I had a coated tongue - which of course I was SURE was thrush - but I am a mouth breather and smoker, so most likely not thrush. Then something unusual happened about 6 weeks or so into my exposure for whatever - I devolped a dull pain along my left pelvis bone - like someone was putting their finger on the pelvis bone when I stood up to walk - not unbearable, not radiating just there - this couldn't have been phantom because I didn't know it was a symptom of anything until after it happened. It is still present now. Not unbearable and occasionally I feel it along the right pelvis bone now as well - not sure if this is projecting or actual.
At 8 weeks I went to the doctor because of what I thought might be a sinus infection - probably not an infection but he gave me a 5 day of Z Pac - but while I was there, he also discovered I had a bp of 160/120 - put me on Diovan HCT right away. I am 5 10 215 and eat like **** and have a history of high BP in my family and I actually had high BP before - but lost 60 pounds and the symptoms subsided and my high BP went away - needless to say, gained some of the weight back, high BP back so I am on Diovan and have been for about a month and a half. I think this is important to mention.
Ok - about two weeks ago, I had a bad breakout of what I thought was adult acne - it occured along the jawline, and in the corners of my mouth - same as the past outbreaks I have had - except for one difference - I had one behind my left ear along the skull - if you pushed my earlobe back, it would touch it - this was unusual though that when I tried to pop it or squeeze it - it got larger and filled with watery fluid that no matter how much I squeezed refilled - and swelled probably to somewhere between a raisin and grape - I put isopropol alcohol and peroxide on it and it shrank with no further repercussions. Not only the location but the substance and reaction of this outbreak was different. Called my doctor and he gave me a prescription of tetracyclene 500MG twice a day that I am still on, along with the Diovan.
This week has been the worse - on Monday, I developed another sore/blister/zit/whatever on my right shoulder and immediately tried to pop it burst it - squeezed and squeezed and squeezed and it got bigger and bigger and bigger - fluid filled and it became about inch and a half long by half inch wide area that had characterstics of blister - because of the squeezing and prodding it became almost like a rug burn and scabbed - put alcohol and peroxide on it as well - I have a pic I can send you if it would help. It swelled as well and was painful like a burn is.
Wednesday- I have a job that requires me to do a lot of heavy lifting of bags and lifted one and immediately felt back pain - upon getting home and going to the bathroom, I noticed that above my left testicle was a lump that looked like a smaller third testicle - upon reading I believe it to be the epididymis. It is NOT painful - it isn't as prevalent as it was at first but it is still noticeable like a smaller third testicle.
Yesterday - the lymph gland under my jaw line along the left earlobe area was sore and swollen - not huge, but noticeable - I had never touched it so it wasn't self induced - so I immediately started checking the other areas near there and on the back of the head and started messing with the occipital glands on the left side of my head and thought they were swollen so I began pushing and prodding and then they all came out on that side. Self induced - most likely since they were actually painful - they subsided after icing. I thought that the sore that was on my right shoulder might have caused an infection - does this seem possible because that gland under my chin had to swell for a reason and I had a low grade fever of about 99 - but am still on tetracyclene.
So my questions to you are this -
1) What is the likelihood that I had some type of STD - remember I took a week of ZPac which I believe would have eliminated Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and I have been on and still am on Tetracyclene which would have eliminated others. Could this fever even low grade and swollen gland under jawline been caused by this blister/irritation whatever on my right shoulder becoming infected?
What could this be if anything?
You are overly fixated on everything at the moment from the sounds of things. Not sure why you still can't move past the risk of hiv from this one time encounter. The odds from a one time encounter are incredibly low.
None of the symptoms you've mentioned are likely to be due to a std either. You need to stop picking at things and follow up on them with your provider or a dermatologist.
Also what you think is epidemitis, might be a hernia and needs follow up for.
No, this doesn't sound like shingles either.
grace
None of the symptoms you've mentioned are likely to be due to a std either. You need to stop picking at things and follow up on them with your provider or a dermatologist.
Also what you think is epidemitis, might be a hernia and needs follow up for.
No, this doesn't sound like shingles either.
grace
1 Comments
I believe it to be herpes. I have done the research and unfortunately made poor choices and received it from a casual encounter. I have outbreaks of every symptom he mentioned a few times a year. Poor diet triggers more outbreaks. Keeping a healthy working body lessens your risk of an outbreak. plus there is a medication to take on top of the eating right and moderately exercising. It is called Valtrex. Very expensive without insurance. Looking at a minimum of 400. Which pays for a small quantity. Hope this information helps someone.
Oh - that explains it.
Grace does this sound like a recurrent outbreak of herpes and just phantom type symptoms for everything else?
Thanks for responding.
Grace does this sound like a recurrent outbreak of herpes and just phantom type symptoms for everything else?
Thanks for responding.
You have posted this on the patient to patient herpes forum. If you want the opinions of either Dr's Hook or Handsfield or of Terri Warren, you need to pay to post this on either one of their forums.
grace
grace
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
