Mono or HIV... - HIV Prevention Message Board

09-15-2003, 09:21 PM

Hi all, 2 or 3 days after a possible exposure(unprotected vaginal intercourse) I was the giver(male).. I exerpeince what can be described as either mono like illness, or ARS symtoms, extremely swollen neck glands(hurt to even lay down on a pillow) chills, pharangitis, and body aches and fatigue.. she was really dry , which led to chaffing on the side of my penis, i thought it might be herpes because of puss filled sores on the hair follicles on my shaft. in the next couple of weeks I experienced large canker sores Diarrhea, and bronchitus. and almost 3 yrs later, I have decided to get tested finally since I have gotten athletes foot which spread under my toe nails, which i have read is more common in hiv patients, I also have several common warts on my hands...
any comments?
MrD

CuteSouthernGrl · 09-15-2003, 10:03 PM

The mono like illness was not related to ARS. 2 or 3 days after a possible exposure is too soon to be experiencing those kind of symptoms. I don't know about your other symptoms, but I'm positive that the mono like illness was NOT related to HIV.

09-15-2003, 11:48 PM

CuteSouthernGrl: thanks for your reply, but this is were I am most confused..I have done extreme amounts of reasearch, and many sites say that ars symtoms CAN take several days, to weeks to happen. I cant get a definitive answer from all these sites. Most say it takes several weeks for your body to find out whats going on and to start seroconverting, however its not unlikely that it can happen in just a few days after an exposure. I read on hivsite that as soon as hiv is in your blood stream it starts going to work, its just a matter of how quick your immune system can start producing antibodies...
does anyone know for sure if its a few days or several weeks?
thanks again
MrD

maybe helpful · 09-16-2003, 09:45 AM

I have been on a few reliable sites, unfortunatley I cant give the names here, who list 2-4 weeks as average time for ARS sypmtoms. So the illness 2 days after is not likley related. '

And, while what you said is true: "I read on hivsite that as soon as hiv is in your blood stream it starts going to work, its just a matter of how quick your immune system can start producing antibodies..."

The antibodie production is NOT related to ARS symptoms. It takes time for HIV to replicate and start attacking cells. THEN, once that is done, your body will recognize it and start to fight it, producing antibodies. Antibodies must build up over time, wich produce a positive result. ARS is not related to antibodies. People who do not suffer ARS, some people do not, will still show positive on an HIV test.

As for your other symptoms, HIV can cause many things in many people. You should test. Until then, no one can say for sure what you have.

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