Worried Sick - Please help

[bPRD]

I had 3 exposures
- 1st one on February 15 with a prostitute and the condom broke at the end in Senegal africa
- 2nd around February 20 with my gfd in Senegal Africa while on vacation wihout a comdomn
- 3rd one with  on February 26 with the same girl wihout a comdomn

Since I have been back in the US i havent been feeling good. I had constant sore throat and swollen lymph node on the right front side of my right ear and back on my left ear. The sore throat come and go after I take some antibiotics. My girlfriend here has the same sore throat also.
I took the rapid 20mins Antigen test on the 3/30 and it was negative, I know I need to wait 3months.
Please any input would help.

[Vance2335]

No. MRI has no detection abilities with HIV.

[bPRD]

My MRI came back and my Dr. called stating that there are some abnormalities. Does this have to do anything with the infections.  Either case that is very worrisome. I have an appointment with neurologist next week.

[Teak]

3 months post exposure is when you can obtain your conclusive test result.

[bPRD]

thank you a lot I will do the P24 COmbo tomorrow. I took the OraQuick antibody but it came back negative at 4weeks but I'm thinking it might of been too early for anything.

[RainLover71]

Take a NAT-Nucleic Acid Test or a P24Combo test.You still have to test 3 months post-exposure though.

[bPRD]

getitright77 - Do you know what kind of test, can I take right now that will be a shorter window?

[RainLover71]

Take an hiv test designed for early detection and a shorter window period.It will be a good indicator and relieve the anxiety.However as you know you still have to test at 3months post-exposure.P24 combo test.All the best.

[bPRD]

cool will do, thank you a lot

[flow1987]

If you retest at 8 weeks and get a negative, that is pretty reliable as well.

If this is giving you severe anxiety, you should probably test at 8 weeks so it doesn't bother you so much. Then test again at 3 months too, just to be safe. I would say that whatever you get at 8 weeks is the result that should stick.

[bPRD]

thank you flow1987 for your response, I will retest at 3 months but it is good to hear

[flow1987]

Traveling internationally to certain nations (especially Africa) can put you at risk for parasitic diseases, like malaria.

Also, a first month negative is good news. While the window for HIV infection is 3 months, most people are usually sero-positive for HIV after 2 to 4 weeks of contracting the virus. You should consult with a medical professional, and look at other possibilities if the symptoms continue to persist. The symptoms could just be allergies, a cold, or both.

If the symptoms were present at the time you were tested, I would think that would be a pretty tell-tale sign that what you are experiencing is in fact NOT HIV.