Hi, me again.
I just wanted to put this question out there to see if anyone has an opinion. This is what has really been bugging me.
Let's say a guy had unprotected intercource one time with a girl of questionable status about 11 years ago. This man is now 29 years old. He has never been tested for HIV before now. Dr. has Rx an HIV test because some of the signs are there now. The guy is tired much of the time although he is able to work doing manual labor full time. He has had 2 occasions of thrush. The first time it went away when he had his tonsils out a few months ago, but then it came back. (We now are told that thrush is a not so uncommon side effect of using Advair inhaler and not rinsing right after.) The 2nd thrush was treating with Diflucan and has not returned.
Our guy does not get fevers, like ever. He does not have swollen glands. He has not lost weight, in fact he is overweight and has maintained a steady weight of about 220 for a few years now. He has also had asmtha and allergies that cause breathing problems since he was a little kid.
Let me just also say that this man is by no means a health nut. He smokes about 1/2- 1 pack per day, usually has a couple of mixed drinks a day, and smokes pot like a chimney. He takes no exercise. He has a horrible diet that consists of a lot of fried foods, McDonalds, sandwhiches from the local gas station at lunch, ect. He also takes meds for depression. There are probably some things I'm leaving out too. Oh yeah, like for example he works with in a machine shop whre there are a lot of chemicals in the air. He comes home everyday covered in soot or oil or something. This has effected his lungs but not to the point where he's had to stop working.

Given all of these factors, don't you think that if this man has indeed had undiagnosed and untreated HIV for 11 years, he would have way more severe symptoms of Opportunistic Infections by this time?

I'm sure you must all be sick of hearing from me by now, but I'm so concerned I don't know hat else to do with myself.
The test resluts should be in within 3-5 days and I keep playing the senario of the Dr. telling us the results over and over again in my mind. Its pretty much consumed me. I lay awake thinking about it at night and when I wake it's the first thing I think about again. I can't eat or concentrate on anything.

Join the worry club.
Can't say about your symptoms or anything - but sympathise with the lying awake and being totally pre-occupied all the time. I forget to eat - and when I think about I realise I can't anyway.
Good luck.

Thank you for your reply. I wish you all the best. It's good to know I'm not alone.
OK so I've been trying to figure some more stuf out using the internet as a guide. I'm doing my best not to let the symptoms worry me too much because I know nothing will prove he is negative execpt a blood test.

I've read that the level of the viral load is very important. It's like a golf score, you want the # to be as low as possible.
If someone has a low viral load 5,000-10,000 the disease will progress slower and the person may not be as sick. You can have a low t-cell count and a low viral load at the same time.
I'm glad the facts are available for me to absorb, bt these are not the facs I was looking for. I was unable to find anything about who usually has a low viral load or whether your health habits have anything to do with what your viral load will be. There was something that said the viral load test can be used to determine how the person was infected and I know that vaginal secretions contain a low viral load, so now I'm worried again. Because, if he was infected by a low viral load I don't know if that would mean his viral load would be low. I'm sure that it would have to be different from person to person though, no?
I'm trying to stay optomstic here. Here is a very good thing I think I have figured out, even if he is positive (un-jinx un-jinx) he viral load would have to be very very low or else he would be way sicker at this stage.

So I just have to make it until the results come in and then everything will be fine, right?

Well there is so much here to try to absorb and so many misconceptions. First, if you want to make yourself crazy, then going to the internet to determine symptoms is the best way to get there.

Second, regarding you first post: let's say your guy had only one unprotected encounter, is that believable? But, let's continue, briefly, with your hypotheticals: your are asking for re-assurances about your sole encounter and, unfortunately, I can't give it. If you think you might have HIV, then the only way to know for sure is to be tested. Take the prescription and do it. There is no way of knowing, considering your encounter or your hypothetical symptoms, that your friend is negative or positive for HIV. Get tested!!

Now, for you second post: Viral load indicates the amount of HIV in your bloodstream. Yes, it is important that the viral load be low, but the very lowest and best place is for your viral load to be "undetectible." You will want your t-cell count to be high. Remember low, or undetectible, viral load and high t-cell count is optimal. I don't know of any test that would tell you how you were infected by the results of the viral load test. So, until I see it, it's hogwash. Imagine a test that could indicate that you were infected via anal, vaginal, or oral sex, a blood transfusion, shared needles, or a spit in the eye!?

Just for the record: I was asymptomatic until I was tested 12 years ago. I've been on meds since then and have always had a viral load that is undetectible and a t-cell count that has been up and down since tested. My first test indicated that the t-cell count was 200 and now it's 355. It has been 85 as well. chris

I'm glad to hear you are doing so well cflas!

And I appreciate your post. I didn't think that bit I read about the viral load test being able to tell you how you got the virus could be true. Must have misread it or it was BS.

But the fact is he was tested. yesterday. Now I'm going crazy with worry until I get the results.
Once I know one way or the other I guess I'll be over on the anxiety board!

Sorry, i have to come back on and say that waiting for the results of this test is just about the most difficult thing I've ever had to do!

anxiety is through the roof. i can't concentrate on anything, can't eat, break down crying everyday. And I feel selfish for it. Like I feel like I'm thinking of myself too much here. But in reality I am more worried for him.

There is nothing I can find that says phsyical trauma makes the virus progress faster. 3 years ago he was shot during a home invasion. I just assumed that if he had been infected with HIV for some 8 years at that point that the physical and emotional trauma would speed up the damage to his immune systpom. If anyone is reading this, do you have any thoughts on that?

I keep watching his every move. Every time he coughs I get another pang in my stomach. He hasn't had any fevers, but the other night he woke up soked with sweat. He says that he has no muscle pains oppains in his chest. The thrush has not come back either.

The worst part is that I called the Dr. office yesterday morning and they told me they might not have the results until well into next week! I tried to convince him to have a rapid test instead of the blood test that has to be sent out to a lab but he didn't go for it.

Thank you

Dear Worry: I think he did the right thing by getting the blood test. My understanding and my reading indicates that it is the most reliable.

I know that we would like to be able to predict the rapidity of this virus, but it doesn't seem possible. I don't think external trauma affects a patient's health (certainly at one level it does) as much as stress and anxiety. And, certainly, there are elements like drugs, a poor life style, nutritional suppression, etc that will affect how one feels. The idea is to stay healthy and that seems to be one way of dealing with this particular virus.

Just hang in there...do what you need to do to push this aside until you know for sure what the results will be. And, don't leave this post either, your knowledge is important for the next person coming along.

I decided, for some weird reason, that HIV is like going to school. There are courses you have to take; philosophy, religion, health, p.e., etc. Each time you pass one there's another to take it's place. You just keep on learning and learning more and more about yourself along this journey. Love, chris

I totally sympathise with your friend.
What I don't get is why you are constantly referring to yourself in the third person.
You are the one with the anxiety - not anyone else.
Right - now that's clear.
Waiting for the result is probably the most stressful thing imaginable and its horrid.
Just bear in mind that all the odds are in your favour and in a day or so you (or your "friend") will be floating on air.

Sorry to sound harsh but you will be fine and so will your friend :)

well the Dr just called and even though he could not give the results directly to me, he did tell me that we have nothing to worry about. I told him that i've been a nervous wreck waiting for the results and he said, "everything is just fine and you have nothing to worry about, does that make you feel better? just have John call me as soon as he can so we can go over the results"

!!!:bouncing: !!!