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HIV Symptoms?
Firstly, I realize how
paranoid I get when I get a sore throat or a
pain in my head. I had a partner a while ago
whom I had unprotected sex with towards the later
stages of our relationship. We were together
for about 6 months and had unprotected sex maybe
4 times about the last month of being
together.
I am female, by the way. He went away
for a week to another city and when he came back
he had a bad flu like symptom with heavy coughing
and his chest hurt badly when he coughed. He
was also terribly tired due to his sickness.
I didn't think anything at the time. He told
me he hadn't been with anyone which I believe
and still believe as he had a tendency of being
very honest at the worst of times.
It has now
been 6 months since we broke up. About 6 weeks
ago, I started tasting a bad metallic taste in
my mouth which lasted 3-4 weeks. Three or so
weeks into it, my tongue started to display signs of
geographic tongue and the day after I had a filing
put in, my tongue burnt for hours like you wouldn't
believe. The dentist suggested iron and b12 tablets.
Also a healthier diet as I lived on McDonalds.
The doc also suggested garlic tablets.
The garlic made the metallicness disappear instantly.
The tongue took a week or so to return to normal.
During this time, I also had two tiny white ulcers
on my gums which disappeared after three or so
days. I also had at random times a bad onion like smell
that would rise from the back of my throat and
would stay for a few minutes. My garlic tablets
ran out last weak and I noticed a slight dryness
or bitterness return but only slight. I stopped
worrying after this all went away, but about
two weeks ago I was feeling inside my mouth for
the smell and noticed my left tonsil had a lump
on it. My worrying immediately returned. Every
now and then I would notice tiny red dots on
the roof of my mouth towards the back of my throat,
which itched, then minutes later would go away.
The doc says it's a bacterial infection, but
really...can it last for almost 2 months????
Basically, can this be a sign of HIV
infection after like I said.... five months??? I have
since spoken to him and he says he is fine and that
he has even had an STD test after me and was
ok.. I am still in doubt! So....can this be happening
after five months? And are they symptoms of HIV
or is my doc right? I have seen four different
docs and my dentist and they all say it's not HIV
or STD. But how do you know without testing???
I did have a blood count test done and all came
back normal. I have had slight under arm pain
but seems to be the tendons and the skin, slight
pain behind right knee and I seem to have hard
lumps where my leg meets my hips, but the lumps
are the same on both sides. Am I freaking over
nothing???
Other than that, no sweating (unless
it's hot), no flu or cold (except the throat
things), no oral thrush or candida apparently
( I did do the saliva in water test and it did
droop in strings to the bottom)..and no fevers
ever!!! Please help!!! I'm going out of my mind!
I know people think I'm para, but I have reason
to think this as I did have unprotected sex with
someone who had flu like symptoms at some point.
~
Paranoid
Dear Paranoid,
Part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle includes controlling the stress in
our lives. It sounds like you have a lot of stress over this situation and
you need to bring yourself to a state of peace of mind so that your constant
worrying doesn't affect your health.
First, you're doing the right thing by visiting a
doctor because of your problems. Only a doctor can
properly diagnose why you are having these problems.
It seems that one underlying fear you have is
that of HIV. According the CDC, syptoms of HIV may (emphasis on may) include:
» rapid weight loss
» dry cough
» recurring fever or profuse
night sweats
» profound and unexplained fatigue
» swollen
lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
» diarrhea
that lasts for more than a week
» white spots or unusual
blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat
» pneumonia
» red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on
or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
» memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders
There's only one way for you to gain the peace of
mind you need regarding your situation and that is
to go have an HIV test done. If you feel uncomfortable
requesting this specific test, then simply request
a complete STD test, which should include an HIV test.
You cannot know for sure if you have HIV without having
a test done. And because it can take up to six months
for HIV to become noticeable to a blood test, you
should have the test repeated after six months if you
had one (and it was negative) prior to six months.
Also, be sure to see your doctor about the lump on
your left tonsil. In fact, you may want to write down
all your questions/concerns in advance of seeing your
doctor so that you can get answers to all of your questions.
There's also nothing wrong with seeking a second doctor
opinion if it will help you worry less. Best of luck
to you.
If you have a question for the STD Advice column, simply put your question in the anonymous form below and click Submit. Once you click Submit, your question will be anonymously emailed to us. While we can't answer or publish all questions, we do try to questions within a one week period of submission. Check back to see if yours is answered.
Only a physician can properly diagnose whether or
not you have an STD. Thus it is important that you
get an STD test done if you have a concern. None of the
advice given in this column is a substitute for physician
advice.
If you think you may have a sexually transmitted
disease, you should see a physician immediately to
be properly diagnosed and treated. You should not try
to diagnose or treat symptoms on your own.
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