[Question #4521] Lymph node and RNA question

81 months ago

Dr.s,

It's been 3 months since my last question so I hope I can ask again. Frankly, I've found you two both more understanding and reliable than anyone I've met with in person, MD's and therapists alike. I have been doing much better overall, but I got in a dark place about lymph nodes and had a few more questions I hope help me and others.

1. Knowing there is nothing specific about a lymph node with HIV, are their any signs that a lymph node could be related to HIV? What I mean is that I felt my first posterior cervical node 30 days after my exposure by accident in the shower. This led to the dreaded 'self examination' where I found at least one more on the same side (right) and one other in a similar location on the other side of my neck. Eventually found another few in the front left, anterior later on. Every single dr who examined them said they were normal and of no concern. Some didn't even feel them until I directed their hands to them. I eventually had a U/S done of the 2 on the right, the bigger one came in just under a cm and is long like a worm. The other smaller and like a pea. I read Dr. HH describe HIV nodes as a marble, curious if there was anything else to describe it. The dr. who examined the U/S first told me that this was way too early for HIV lymph nodes (incorrect) but in any case these looked very healthy to her. If they were caused by HIV, would anyone describe them as health on a U/S? Also, I'm exactly a year from the exposure and the nodes are all unchanged. Would HIV nodes last that long? (11 months)

2. I took a quest RNA/PCR Quant test 26 days post exposure down to 20 copies. Undetectable. I then took a 95 day panel at labcorp and was all neg. However, I found out about potential biotin interference with immunoassays (link below). I don't want to get into the weeds about biotin interference with you. But I'm curious to see if you cancelled that out, would my RNA/PCR test at 26 days be conclusive on it's own? Thank you.

https://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/path_handbook/Appendix/Chem/BiotinImmunoassayTables.pdf

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

81 months ago

The time since previous anxiety driven quesitons is irrelevant. You have been repeatedly told it was impossible you caught HIV from the shared razor. Your test results prove you don't have HIV (NOTHING interferes with the accuracy of the kinds of HIV tests you had, biotin or anything else); and therefore that HIV cannot possibly be a cause of the trivial lymph node issue you describe.

Here is a repeat of the warning you received previously. There will be no further discussion on this thread. Please do not ever post anything more along these lines. And please get the professional counseling you obvously will need to get you to move on. It is simply not normal to remain so concerned after the repeated, science based reassurance you have had on this forum, and perhaps from your own doctor(s) as well.

Please note the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This will have to be your last one; future new questions on this topic may not be answered, in which case the posting fee will not be refunded. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed 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 relieving them. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

HHH, MD

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