ok. So I just registered but i have been reading this board for a while now. I am 23 years old and I have a few very VERY important questions i need answered, and you guys seem very intelligent so Im hoping you can help. It all started last January. I had protected sex with someone. I didnt know him very well but we had sex and I was the "reciever." He didnt ejaculate in me, but after a while he did when I gave him a handjob. I am wondering how easily it would have been for me to contract HIV just from that single incident? I have always been a hypochondriac but this has been out of control!

I always heard that if you get tested at the 3 month mark, it is about 99 percent accurate.(who knows if thats true or not though) Here is my second question. I got tested a week or two shy of 3 months.. so I am wondering.. how much does that change the accuracy of a valid 3 month test? The test was negitive by the way, and I was extremely relieved, but still very unconvinced for some reason. I dont know if my lymph glands have always been the size they are, but I check them often and I am always convinced they are enlarged.My doctor on two occasions has told me they were fine, and I should also add that I suffer from allergys greatly. I always check the glands in my neck and around my armpits. I have small lumps near my pits and also, wierdly, in my chest which kind of worrys me. A doctor told me the chest lumps(which are smaller then BBs) is not uncommon to have. Just tissue he said.
Sorry this is getting really long, but i gotta get this off my chest and hopefully get some closure. I know I should just go get tested again, but i am torn. Half of me feels like I have nothing to worry about, and the other half is obviously terrified. I havent had any sexual encounter since then. January 1st, 2005 I believe. Other symptoms I have involve my tongue. I have read alot about thrush and hairy tongue and candisis(sp?) and all of those ailments tied to HIV and Im wondering if I could have it too. Ever since a few months after my encounter, I noticed my tongue was kinda white and splotchy in certain parts on the top/back of my tongue. Especially torwards the back of my tongue, closer to my uvula. Also, the back walls of my throat, also near my uvula, is kinda splotchy and white. My DOC said I just have larger tastebuds then certain people, but I am still worried. I should also add that I am a smoker, and smoke about a pack a day. And also when I scrape the patch of dull white small-lumps torwards the back it sometimes bleeds if I scratch kind of hard. Also, I havent lost of gained any weight since last year, which is the one thing I can say I feel pretty good about.

WHEW. Almost done. haha. My last symptom I can think of right now is that I have kind of dark purplish circles under my eyes. My father also has the same bags under his eyes but I read that it could also be a symptom of HIV. so PLEASE please someone give me any insight into what any of this could mean. I am very worried. And the sooner I get responses the sooner I could sleep better at night, or know that I have smething to actually corry about. THANKS!

its scary...read my thread
that is all i can say
go get tested
i did but was scared to get the results
i will tell you not to read too much into symptoms

I think your test is conclusive but you should probably test again just so you won't have any more doubts.

I agree...test one more time...you have one thing in mind, and you and frankly all of us can find things that indicate such when panicked... Please take a deep breath....go get tested one more time.
You are going to be OK!!. Do it for reassurance...and learn a lesson from this. That one night was not worth all this.

Dear David: A couple of things seems to be intrinsically important to your questions:
#1: you had protected anal intercourse in which your partner did not ejaculate within you. Therefore, this is a no-risk encounter and you would have tested negative as long as everything you have mentioned is true.

#2: your partner did ejaculate following you having given him a hand-job. Again, unless there were significant open sore or wounds on your hand, there should be no mechanism for entry of the virus into your system. HIV is not absorbed through the skin.

#3: regarding your symptoms. As you stated, you have been reading these post for a while and, therefore, you should know that you cannot diagnose HIV based on symptoms. However, regarding your tests: you were tested just shy of the three month mark and I would suspect that, based upon the encounter you described, the test should be conclusive. However, if you need to ease your own mind about this issue, then get tested again. I would have to ask if this was the only encounter you've had in which you were the receptive person?

#4: Again, with the symptoms: it appears as though the issues related to 'thrush' or 'candidiasis' are probably not 'thrush' or 'candidiasis'. Did you experience significant pain during these white-tongue episodes? Because, pain is certainly one of the symptoms of thrush. If you "google" thrush or candidiasis you will see that it can be caused by a multitude of issues including stress, antibiotics, a change in diet, menstruation (not your problem, right?). And, the purple bags under your eyes? Where did you read that this was a symptom of HIV? I've been positive for 12 yrs and, certainly, I've never heard that one.

#5: rest easy...I really think you're OK. You've done everything right from having protected sex to getting tested. chris

ok. thanks. that makes me feel alot better. But still, If I got a bunch of blood work done, including my tcell count and all of that, as well as random check ups with doctors, would they notcie something weird going on with my body or in my bloodwork and would they say something without an HIV test? Just curious. Im still kinda nervous though. I mean, I have alot of symptoms pointing in the "positive" direction, but everyone says dont look into it too much.

How or why would you have a t-cell count done if you were HIV negative and why on earth would your doctor order that test?! Since you had a negative test and a no-risk encounter, you need to rely on the results of the tests.

It is not necessarily true that the doctor would order an HIV test based upon the other indicators in your blood work ie: CBC. The need for an HIV test would be based on your telling the doctor about your history and sexual encounters. Everyone who has blood work that is abnormal, for example, does not have an HIV test done unless there is reason to expect and exposure. chris

I am HIV negative, but i've been through a similar scare. I was stuck with a needle that had sombody's blood in it. I was freaked for about a year. Every time I had a cold or flu or just didn't quite feel right, I was sure it was HIV. I got tested at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.

I just have two comments for you. 1) having your 3-month test a few weeks early probably wouldn't make it much more likely to be inaccurate. I don't know the statistics on the 3-month test, but my doc did recommend that I follow up with another one (at 6 months), just to be sure. 2) even if you were infected with HIV (and from the sound of things, I bet you are not) it's unlikely that you'd be having tell tale symptoms of HIV so soon. Once you are infected with HIV, it takes a long time for it to completely take out your immune system. I think 3 months would be too soon to see major symptoms....so, if you wake up tomorrow with a cold, it's probably just a cold.

Also, for the future, remember that in an unprotected situation, bottoms are much more likely to catch HIV than tops. So be extra carfeul.

the major thing im worried about, like i kinda said before, was that my tongue has those wierd ridges and lumps torwards the back near my throat, and when I brush them they bleed slightly. I dunno. I also mentioned that I was a smoker but noone seemed to say anything about that, so I guess that doesnt contribute to anything. But does anyone who is HIV+ have anything wrong with their tongue? Or anyone who ended up being HIV+ noticing any oral problems about a year or so after infection?

Smoking wouldn't affect your throat (at least not until you were older). It's possible that you have have contracted different STD in your throat (like herpes, for example). But, I don't want to scare you. ANYTHING is possible.

It's also possible that you are looking at your own tonsils and and freaking out about nothing. Tonsils can sometimes look pretty weird and they'll bleed if you brush them hard enough. Sometimes, if you get a sore throat, your tonsils will have white spots on them.....this could be strep throat or mononucleosis or a whole number of different, non-life-threatening things (these spots can appear even if you've had your tonsils removed). During these times, it would be normal for your lymph nodes to swell and for you to feel bad.

Look on the internet for some pictures of normal tonsils and see if they kind of look like what you are seeing. Of course, nothing is going to replace having a physician look at it, but if he's not concerned, you're probably OK.

I don't know posting rules on referring other sites. So, if I get scolded I'm sorry. Thrush is a Common symptom amongst HIV Positive people, Thrush is also common in a million other people. The Body had a good reply to someone who was freaking out about HIV and their possibility? Like CLFAS said it can be caused by many other symptoms. My best friend had Thrush and it ran rampad on him, why?Because he was a huge smoker and abused alcohol. That's just one of the causes. I think you need to speak to your Doc and get some closure. Your gonna go bonkers reading internet symptom sites. Deep breaths alright, I think Anxiety might be a factor for you too? Just a thought. But, you gotta lotta cool people on this site to chat with, that's great too,but, use your resources starting with your Doc. :)

To make things quick: A conclusive result from an ELIZA test is usually after the window period of 6 months - that is usually the max time for a person's antibodies to develop from an HIV infection.

Your white spots can be a number of things. Oral Thrush and Harry tongue usually grow bilaterally - look up pictures on Google Images - if it doesnt look like that then youre fine. Also, the symptoms you say you have are usually found in AIDS patients, not semi-newly infected HIV patients.

You MUST get tested again because it is the only sure-fire way to know. As for the lumps - your body has tons of lymph glands throughout your body. They are in your chest, under your armpits, in your neck, groin, arms, legs, etc... they are typically the side of peanuts and will only enlarge if they are fighting an infection or are infected with cancer. If they are hard and large then cancer may be the culprit, but if they hurt, then its usually an infection by a virus or bacteria.

Did you have any significant, large-scale sickness within a month of your possible initial infection? Most HIV positive people will distinctly remember a significant illness following their infection - not all people have this, but it is common.

Finally, your smoking habit is probably contributing to your mouth issues the most. Smoking causes the hairs on your tongue to grow long (smoking kills the tongue hair regulator) and the whiteness is usually just longer tongue hair, snot from post nasal drip, or dead skin. Most people can take a toothbrush and move the hair on their tongue - its nothing to be frightened about. Hell, I have huge taste buds on the back of my tongue and the hair on my tongue is white and I dont smoke nor am I HIV positive.

Just remember: The only way you can know for sure is to be tested again.

got tested. waitijng for results. The DR said that my lymph nodes werent swollen at all, but he could feel my glands ever so slightly. Im terrified. waiting for the results will take up to 4 or 5 days if the ";ab is backed up" so obviously i wont b sleeping even tho everyone says I have nothing to worry about. Haha. Any feedback guys? u have been great so far. but again, anything to worry about?

One more comment here. If you are young, male and thin, chances are you can feel your lymph nodes in a lot of places.....totally normal.

soooooooooo. Got my results yesterday. Just getting to posting now. Turns out the test was NEGI! So I am super happy about that. Almost wanna remain absitinent to keep it that way!

I am so happy for you D. Congratulations! chris