[Question #6502] Hiv still worried.. Is this really not HIV ??

67 months ago

Hello Doctor,First of all I really want to thank you for all your work and help to all of us people who are really worried and in a tough time in life...

This is a follow up from : question #6427

I did a couple of new tests at:

1. 52 days post ex AG/AB Lab test (negative)

2. 59 days post ex AB rapid finger test (negative)

3. 61 days post ex AG/AB Lab test (negative)

the thing is why I did all the new tests after the one in 40 days post is that i meet a girl I like very much and we had sex after i tested negative after 40 days. because I thought I didn't have HIV after all the tests I took. we talk daily on the phone and meet almost daily.

What I have noticed from her is that she has had a rash on her back and chest including arms, she herself has been complaining very recently about her fatigue and that she has pain in the body especially a lot in the lower back. she has, like me, no appetite lately and problems with constipation and gases / sounds from the stomach constantly ...She also has problems with headaches and night sweats .. when I sleep at here place sometimes she complains about it so I can guarantee that what she says is right. She also have irregular menstrual cycle

We both now have a lot of problems with insomia as we can not fall asleep and do not sleep deeply at all during sleep, I myself have got a lot of small moles all around the body especially on hands and arms even the face. also got 2 warts under my chin that I have never had before in my lifeThis is making me terrified that I have infected here with HIV is because we have same symtoms specially the stomach constipation and no apitete that i have now for almost 6-7 weeks and no apitite att all.

I think I almost lost 5-6 kg now.. I never feel hungry att all...The symtoms that I still have is:

1.Constipation/rumbling gas all the time..

2.No apitite at all.

3.Rash small red spots on the back (almost 12-15 spots close to eachother in cirkles)

4. fatigue

5. dark vertical line under my finger nail.

6. warts under my chin.

7.numbness in hands/feets

What should I do doctor ?? why do we have similiar symtoms?? is this HIV

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

67 months ago

Welcome back to the forum, but I'm sorry you found it necessary. The answers to these questions are obvious from Dr. Hook's replies in your previous thread. I'll be answering this time, but I reviewed that discussion.

As Dr. Hook told you, your test results PROVE you did not catch HIV. Even then, you had been over-tested, and yet you went on with still more tests. They were an unnecessary waste of money and emotional energy. Because the HIV tests are 100% reliable, they prove that your symptoms are not due to HIV. A new HIV infection would not cause most of the things you mention anyway, and your partner's symptoms also are not suggestive of HIV. And none of them sounds serious.

What should you do? If your or your partner's symptoms don't go away or they continue to concern you, see a doctor to learn the cause and best way to treat them. In the meantime, you can be sure they aren't due to HIV or any other STD.

I will add that you seem far more fearful of HIV than necessary. Did you by chance have a very conservative upbringing? With perhaps conservative and fearful education about sex and STD/HIV risks? In the US and most industrialized countries, fewer than in a thousand women has HIV (even amont the most sexually active) and heterosexually transmitted HIV is quite rare except in certain population groups (like certain inner city minority population groups). Dating people don't normally get new HIV tests every time they have sex with a new partner! Or every time they have minor unexplained symptoms. There is absolutely nothing in anything you said in your previous thread or this one that suggests you are at significant risk of HIV.

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if anything isnt' clear.

HHH, MD

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67 months ago

hello again doctor,

why I have trouble moving on is for my symptoms I had and started a week after intercourse with the transsexual escort.

The symptoms that have convinced me that I have HIV and why I have difficulty believing in the tests are:

1.Generalised lymph swollen and pain for almost 2 weeks.

2. my rashes that I have on my back and head that (never had so much rash in my life.)

3. problems with the stomach/constipaiton and no appetite at all. and that I lost a lot of weight about 5 kg

4. White ulcers on the sides of the tongue.

5. Sleep problems.

6. joint pain (lasted about 2 weeks)

7. Extreme headache (lasted 2 weeks)

8. Nubness in hands and feet,

9. unusual eczema for 3-4 weeks.

10. very dry in the mouth the last few weeks although I drink about 2 liters of water a day.

11. Extremely dry skin especially feet and hands.

as i said i have never had these symptoms in my life especially the lymph nodes which were swollen everywhere in my body and were constantly sore.

all this can't just happen after I had sex with transsexuals and got cum in my mouth.

and now even the girl i meet almost have all my symptoms after we started having sex with each other 3 weeks ago.

She also have muscle twitching when shes asleep.

can i have had several false negative answers ??

have I really not been infected with HIV and infected My gf!

Thank you doctor!

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

67 months ago

I'm sorry, but this additional information does not chance my professional opinion and advice. The timing of your symptoms does not mean they are caused by an infection from the sexual exposure you are concerned about, except emotionally: most of your symptoms are typical of the physical manifestations of anxeity.

Please trust me on this: It is impossible to have HIV with the negative tests you have had. There is no such thing as false negative results with those tests. I've already given you my best advice: see a doctor about yrou symptoms. Stop asking aobut them here. This forum cannot help any further.

Really, move on. The science is clear. Please do your best to receive my reasoned, science based reassurance.

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67 months ago

Hi again Doctor H.H.H

Thank you for your past answers.
I really appreciate you and your colleagues' work for us people who have a hard time with such issues.

I was with my girl yesterday and she pointed out that she should book time with the doctor because of her stomach problems (constipation and gases all the time and that she feels generally bad)

Wherever I read on the internet it says constipation is a sign of a chronic illness. And I've had it for 6 weeks now and she for 2 weeks. I feel that my immune system is weakened (as I often have a sore throat and runny nose)

Is there a chance that my immune system has not made antibodies to HIV 1 HIV2?

Or have I infected her with something other than a sexually transmitted disease?

Hope you understand my concern, it exists only for my symptoms and hers is the same!

According to the HIV doctor I meet, he says that my tests have already excluded HIV and that I have to move on.

I have booked time for a skin doctor in 1 week to examine my warts and rashes / moles .

And then I have taken 2 regular blood tests that show that all the values are normal and that I have no infection.

What do you think I should do?

Thank you Dr.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

67 months ago

Your HIV doctor is correct. Tthre is no chance your immune system did not make antibodies to HIV. But if it did not, your test would still be positive. The test detects the virus itself (p24 antigen) in addition to antibody. In fact, if your immune system didn't produce antibody, your test would be postive even sooner and more strongly!

"What do you think i should do?" Ask your HIV doctor for referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist for professional counseling. It seems as if you're hoping to prove me and your HIV doctor wrong, like you're hoping you really have HIV just to prove it to us. Having not accepted and believed his or her advice and mine, it probably means you never will believe you don't have HIV. You don't want to go through life believing you might have HIV when it is impossible. You will need professional counseling to get beyond this. You won't regret it. I suggest it from compassion, not criticism. But this is definitely not normal thinking.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each thread and so ends this discussion. Please note the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This being your second, it will have to be your last; future new questions about this exposure, testing, your and your partner's symptoms, and your fears about HIV will receive no reply and the posting fee will not be refunded. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and 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. Thanks for your understanding. Good luck.

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