Do I have HIV? What is the odds?

[gottabelieve]

I had an encounter on May 23rd. It was protected most of the time. There were a few times where I noticed the protection came off and I had to put a new one on. I wouldn’t say the person is high risk but I wouldn’t consider her low risk either. On June 6th I got flu like symptoms where I basically couldn’t get out of bed because of fatique. I the next few days I slowly felt better and seemed to be alright few days later. There was the flu going around the office at the time so I didnt think much of it.  Since then I have been fine. This last Monday I woke up and felt fatigued again. Not as bad as last time. In fact I ended up going to work. During the day I felt tired and run down. That night I was unable to sleep mainly because of coughing. Yesterday I woke up and still felt fatigue. I did not go to work. Last night I could sleep somewhat and early in the morning there was some indication of sweating but I am not sure if this was because I have been so worried about it being something serious. Today I feel a little better and went to work but I am still a little run down. I am wondering if this is a sign of HIV. What are the chances I have it? I am pretty worried right now.

[igottahavehope]

A related discussion, i think im getting worried was started.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Given the negligible risk of your initial exposure, you should accept this result.  If you choose to be tested, realize that there is no medical reason to do so and that you are testing only to relieve your own inappropriate anxiety.  No further questions please.  EWH

[gottabelieve]

Well the test came back negative. So what should I do now? Since that test isnt 100% accurate.....its roughly 95% you said? Do I go back at 12 week mark?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your are being paranoid and reading to much into my response.  I ask lots of folks to share their good news.  EWH

[gottabelieve]

also my lymph nodes in the groin might be inflammed but its hard to tell.....i have been just dwelling on this for a while

[gottabelieve]

That worries me when you say to report the results. Lol.  In other forums I have read you usually ask that when it could go either way. Well I took the test last Friday and they still have not got the results back. They say it usually takes 7-10 days. They are usually pretty slow getting the stuff back. Other places it has taken less time.
Anyway for most part I don’t feel as tired or fatigued as earlier but still sometime have the “sick” feeling.  I still have a random cough that can be nasty and continue to have nasal congestion and occasionally will cough up some flem. So I till am pretty worried. It will be 2 weeks come Monday. I would not be worried if this was winter but it is summer and I don’t remember it took me this long to get over a cold. Also the fact that for a few days I was sick a month ago worries me because this sequence of events just seem unusual to me. I guess the good news is that I have gotten somewhat better and I haven’t lost my appetite. I haven’t seen any rashes or anything…..haven’t really had many fevers or hot flashes or whatever else is a symptom. I guess I just have to wait for the results. This has been a long wait. Hopefully it comes back negative. Thanks.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Good luck.  Please let us know when your results are back.  I am confident they will be negative.  EWH

[gottabelieve]

I understand and from what I read people can not have symptoms for hiv. I agree that I cant base what i have been feeling on hiv. I was just curious. Hopefully I get a test done and its negative. Thanks for the advice. I understand at this point there is nothing else you can tell me.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

As we've said here repeatedly, the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection  (there are hundreds os possibilities, non of which are HIV).  When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes. In contrast, over a given year, there is almost no one who has not had a viral illness, night sweats or both (sometimes on multiple occasions).  In addition, it is also important to realize that many persons who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS.  For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.  Furthermore, no, intercurrent infections of any sort do not affect the HIV blood test results. EWH

[gottabelieve]

Thanks for the response. I guess I figured with the flu like symptoms and the timing of it all is how I concluded to it. Its kind odd to get a flu back to back like that and they were within the time frame. Also I read that doctors will mistake hiv symptoms for flu symptoms. I still feel a little sick. So I was wondering does this affect my blood test results if I go get tested? Would the fact that I have some sort of flu give false positives for this test?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Short answer - NO!.

Longer answer - Your likelihood of infection is extraordinarily low.  The probability that your partner was infected is quite low, you were partially protected, and even if you were not and she was HIV infected (both most unlikely), your odds of getting infection from her are less than 1 in 1000.  As for your symptoms, they are a TOTALLY unreliable indicator of HIV infection.  I would not worry.  If you wish to get an HIV test to ease your mind, do so now.  If you got HIV there is an over 95% probability that it would show up as a positive test at this time.  When that fact is combined with the great probability that you your partner was not infected, once that test comes back negative you can accept the result and not worry about further testing related to this exposure.  While waiting for results, I would not loose and sleep over the exposure.  Hope this helps.  EWH