worried

[irishguyinboston]

does any of the acute hiv infection symptons occur on their own without any of the other symptons . could pharyngitis be the only sympton that shows up in acute infection a couple of weeks after unprotected vaginal sex

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You cannot get better advice than from a UK GUM clinic.  They know as much or more as I do.  I agree with their latest advice.  Stop trying to convince yourself you might have HIV.  You do not.  IYou need to let this go -- and seek counseling if you remain unable to accept facts in a way that relieves your inflated anxieties.  I suggest it out of compassion, not criticism.

I will have no further comments.  This thread is over.

[worriedman402]

I just thought, can you tell me what you think about the DUO test? I read it is supposed to be 96% accurate at 4 weeks. Or should people always wait 6 weeks and get a normal antibody test.

[worriedman402]

The risk history was an asian SW who I do not think was an original female (ie a ladyboy who had had the snip) but I really thought "she" was a lady at the time because I am solely hetero, and a condom rip halfway along, in otherwords I do not think the head was exposed. Also, I noticed a little scar on my arm which is white and some doctor said if it is white it looks as though it was done a long time ago (ie not 3-4 weeks ago), but I do not remember any blood or cut there at the time but also remember this person I thought was a female was awake when I woke up and was looking at and/or touching my arm.....what am I thinking? Well that this LB/katoye (of unknown status although I asked "her" afterwards about her health and she said it was ok) had pricked me in the night, but as I said I do not remember any cut at the time or any blood.

How accurate is a PCR at 3 days? It was negative and the doc (thai internal medicine dept)  said it was accurate but I read since that you have to do these tests after 10 days.

You may call me an idiot, and you may laugh at my fears, but that is my risk and that is my symptom, which you said isn't an HIV symptom anyway and I am worried because I do not trust these kind of people. If they trick you into believing they are female, why wouldnt they trick you with STDs? This is what I am thinking.


I have checked now for symptoms for almost 4 weeks and have had no fever at any time, no sore throat, no rash, no swollen glands and no diarrhea. My nausea started suddenly after this beer and I do not have much nausea today (20 hrs later) but I DO have a queasy stomach and a possibly a lesser nausea, I dont know. It hasn't normalised yet anyway.

I went to a GUM clinic to see a counsellor (before this upset stomach and I didnt have any symptoms except I thought I had had some hot flushes probably through anxiety but no major sweats or fever at all)

and she said they were too soon (2 weeks) for HIV infection, she said it is 4-6 weeks so I am confused because others posts I have read say 2-4 weeks.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You're letting your emotions run ahead of common sense.  Please use the left side of your brain instead of being ruled by its right side.  Worrying that HIV is the cause of  stomach upset after a lot of beer and pasta is like someone hit over the head with a baseball bat wondering a brain tumor is the cause of his headache.

As said innumerable times on this forum, sympoms NEVER are useful indicators of new HIV infection.  The risk history is far more relieable.  And stomach upset isn't an HIV symptom anyway.

You don't describe your HIV risks, so I cannot comment on that part.  But your symptoms are not worrisome for HIV.

That's my last comment on this thread.

[worriedman402]

I had nausea yesterday after drinking some beers (ales not lager) and after I ate a pasta meal. I have not vomited or had diarrhea and do not have a fever or swollen glands. But this morning my stomach still feels upset and is rumbling/burping and does not feel right. I guess it must be the beer but I do not usually get an upset stomach from beer only acid.

I am in the middle of a HIV scare and would like to know if this symptoms could be a symptom of ars at 3wks 4days. I had a negative PCR at 3 days after the event.

Thanks

[irishguyinboston]

i was just trying to remembere did i have any symptons. i dont know if it was pharyngitis or strep throat. and im not to sure if i had before r after the encounter.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Almost always, the symptoms of acute HIV are multiple; a single symptom alone is almost certainly due to something else.  Certainly that is the case for pharyngitis.  Look at it this way:  every day there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of non-monoagmous sexual encounters.  And every day hundreds of thousands or millions of people get new viral infections that cause pharyngitis. It stands to reason that the vast majority of pharyngitis episodes that follow unsafe sex are merely do to coincidence, not a new HIV infection.  Probably that's what's going on here.

Regards--  HHH, MD