Since exposure I’ve presented with every possible symptom and only continue to become more and more unwell to the point it’s insanely unhealthy and I barely make it through days! 

Symptoms I’ve had or continue to have include mottled rash, white tongue, fatigue, dizziness, diarrhea, swollen lymphnodes, ED, lower back pain, muscle pain, brain fog. 

I’ve been tested god knows I have. I’ve been tested with the duo test on six occasions now blood from vein. Five weeks, 90 days, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months. I’ve been tested in a clinic and I’ve been tested in a doctors. I’ve had probably 12 rapid tests also!! Sounds crazy over testing right!

But if that’s the case why won’t these symptoms subside!! I’m at the point now I’m so incredibly unwell I barely make it through the day! My head is always feeling like it’s going to explode!! Taking painkillers like smarties to keep the pain at bay. Constant dizzy, confused and exhausted, almost feel like I’m disconnected from reality. The rash doesn’t go away! It’s on my palms, feet and penis head. My skin now looks bloody awful!! Rash on face and eyes purple! My eyes also keep going blood shot and I’m constantly shaking. 

Please advise me what avenue I need to venture down!! Do I need to walk into an ER to get to the bottom of this!! I’ve been quoted £1000 for PCR tests as the clinic didn’t offer them! Is that an avenue I need to explore?! I just want the suffering to end!! 

1. Does a fourth gen duo test 100% detect all strains of hiv virus. 

2. Is it possible to not produce detectable antibodies. 

3. Am I completely crazy to continue with this train of thought regarding hiv. 

4. Given the penile rash and the symptom onset this definitely transpires from the sexual event. So what other possible infection would cause such symptoms. 

5. Is there any point me paying the money for PCR testing. 

I reallly truly appreciate your input as experts in this field and will do what ever you advise as I simply need an end to this both mental and physical exhaustion……….. honestly it’s ruining my life! Beyond all belief. I wake up wonder how sick I’ll be that day, spend the day googling symptoms, tests, life after diagnosis etc, struggle through the day and wait for the comfort of bed!! It’s a grim existence 

1) Does a fourth gen duo test 100% detect all strains of hiv virus? Yes.

2)  Is it possible to not produce detectable antibodies? No, it is not; or so rare it can be ignored. And the test also is for HIV antigen; if antibody were not produced, the test still is positive in all infected person.

3) Am I completely crazy to continue with this train of thought regarding hiv? Not exactly "crazy", but it is abnormal to no believe, understand, and accept all the evidence when it has been repeatedly explained in expert, reasoned, science based replies --  perhaps from your own doctor(s) in addition to this forum.

4) "...what other possible infection would cause such symptoms?" I replied in one (both?) of your other threads that we do not attempt to judge other causes once it is certain someone doesn't have an HIV or STI. However, see my closing comment below. 

5) "Is there any point me paying the money for PCR testing?" Absolutely not.

Keep working with your doctor about your symptoms. As you seem to understand yourself, the main problem likely is your anxieties and worries, which are magnifying minor symptoms or even normal body sensations that you would otherwise ignore or perhaps not even notice. Clearly these anxieties are dominating your life. Please ask your doctor about the apparent mental health issues. Professional counseling should be considered -- which I suggest from compassion, not criticism. Good luck with it.

HHH, MD

But and it’s a big but……. How is it possible to have an exposure with an insanely risky partner. Return home. Present with every symptom listed on all websites be it nhs or CDC. Swollen glands, rash, fever, headaches etc etc. then assume another cause. Because I was absolutely fine prior to this risk and now my life is crippled with symptoms and poor health. I’ve seen online about sub type B not being able to be picked up by tests. It’s just killing me mentally. 

But as you see it there’s nothing more I can do regarding HIV??? Just simply accept the results and continue on in poor health? 

I have no doubt you were "absolutely fine" before that event. But this supports the psychological explanations just as much (or more) than an infection o any kind.

Do not believe everything you read online. There simply is no such thing as HIV types not detected with the tests you had. 

No, there is "nothing more [you] can do regarding HIV". But that doesn't mean you need to "continue on in poor health"? Did you read, notice, or pay attention to my advice to work with your doctor on this -- or if you haven't even seen a doctor, that's obviously the next step. 

It’s just such a difficult conversation to have with healthcare professionals given the context and stupidity of what causes this symptom onset. Be it as you say just a mental thing or otherwise. 

Honestly though my symptoms aren’t in my head. On the odd day when I feel semi well I’m happy and move on to a degree not thinking about what happened. Then bang I’ll get insanely dizzy or my head will start pounding or I’ll catch site of my grim tongue and mottled rash and I’m right back to square one. Sometimes it even feels like an effort to get out of bed. 

I don’t know what I hoped to gain from this interaction. I guess reassurance that I’ve not completed ruined my life. Thanks all the same for the advice you’ve given to date. 

As someone that dealt in this field for many years what percentage chance would you give it that the cause of my symptoms isn’t HIV. Would you be 100% confident? Once I get to the bottom of this I will update what was the cause 

That said, your symptoms do suggest more than just anxiety or stress -- I would be concerned about myalgic encephalomyelitis (formerly named chronic fatigue syndrome), fibromyalgia, and other syndromes of unknown cause (but possibly infectious). As I said before, we limit our advice to STIs and HIV, but you definitely should be seeing a doctor. And trust me on this:  any reasonably experienced physician has seen plenty of patients with symptoms like yours as well as similar sexual exposures; she (or he) won't bat an eye! But in any case, I am confident they are not due to any infection of any kind acquired during the sexual event described.

What percentage that your symptoms are not due to HIV? One hundred percent (or if I mimic sports figures in media interviews, 110 percent or maybe 1000 percent). There is no possibility you have HIV, period. Believe it and move on!

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. Please note the forum policy against repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This being your third, it will have to be your last one about this sexual exposure, these symptoms, and your concerns about HIV; future questions on these topics will receive no reply and the posting fee will not be refunded. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is intended to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties rather than reducing them. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes.