Help Please - Need Anyones Advise - HIV Prevention Message Board

01-21-2003, 11:58 PM

I have been experiencing symptoms over a year now. This was just after I last had unprotected sex with a sex worker. Within 2 days I felt very weak, with numb flushed feeling in my face (fuzziness), and could barely climb the stairs. A couple of days later I stayed in bed with flu symptoms but they cleared by next day. My neck glands have been swollen. My skin is warm/hot to touch. My stools are very soft and loose and paler than they used to be. I wouldnt say I had diarrhea since I only visit 1 to 2 times each day. My urine was strong smelling for a while but this seems to have gone away lately. My throat tends to dry very quickly. My appetite has been normal.

Occassionally the symptoms relieve for a few days but underlying I still do not feel completely right. Concentration has been difficult particularly when I experience a flare up (like right now).

Can anyone offer me any advice ? I did a home test HIV by Discreet (not FDA approved) and it came out negative. Now I am worried it may not have been reliable.

If not HIV then maybe I have Hep B or something else ???

Temperamental · 01-22-2003, 04:04 PM

Since you had unprotected sex with somebody high risk you need to see your DR so you can be screened of all STD's. Its impossible to tell what you have by symptoms alone. If you do not have a DR or health insurance, many county medical clinics, including Planned Parenthood offer free, or low cost tests.

I highly recommend you get retested for HIV at your DR as well. Or you can buy the FDA approved HIV test called "Home Access" at any drug store. Its costs about $50 but its anonymous and accurate.

Remember, just because you had a high risk act does not mean you are infected. Your symptoms can be from a thousand other virus's floating around.

Please use a condom in the future so you don't have to go through this again.

Good luck!

01-22-2003, 09:07 PM

ARS symptoms do not usually last for a year or longer. Its my understanding that ARS is like 3 days - 2 weks and then its followed by a long asymptomatic period that usually lasts 8-10 years (cdc estimates about 9.3 for the normal) therefore even if you are infected which i doubt very much, your symptoms probably have nothing to do with HIV, they ar probabl normal illnesses that go around.

01-23-2003, 12:39 AM

Thanks for your responses. I really do appreciate it. I know I was very stupid and would never have dreamt of doing this if I had been sober. I recommend people never to mix the two, you just never can gauge how badly your judgement is impaired after you have a few drinks.

I guess I need to go to the clinic and find out for sure. Now that I have taken the home test, my gut feel says Hep-B/C but Im trying my best to stay positive.

Thanks again.