angry, nervous, disappointed

[RaKroma]

10 days after I have hooked up with a guy from online, I came down with an isolated sore throat and elevated fever of 99.3 and cold sweats that lasted for 2 days. But I still have funny throat feeling, feeling of weakness, and slight joint and muscle pain.
I went to my doctor on 2nd day after the fever but did not feel comfortable discussing STD/HIV scare that I had on my mind. Doc ran blood tests for Strep, Mono and general blood work, they all came back negative but she told me I had high white blood cell count 14,000 (meaning there is some infection in my body.) Doc prescribed 500mg of amoxyciline antibiotics just in case but wants to redo the blood work in a month.

I'm angry at myself for hooking up. We used condoms for anal sex only but not oral, he also rimmed me without a barrier. I will go to a free std clinic for HIV and other tests, but I'm waiting a little longer for the tests to be accurate, because everything I've read says that rapid antibody tests that the clinics do only work 3 months after possible exposure (it has been only 3 weeks so far since.) Are my symptoms pointing to an STD and worse HIV? I will not forgive myself if the tests show positive for HIV or some other serious STD. If you look at my sex life, you'll see how pathetic it is because I have not even been with 5 guys in my life. I have never had unprotected anal sex. I already have anxiety about having sex, and this will just devastate me.

 

[vidarr]

Take time not to focus on the test results, but how you will change your habits so you don't get a scare like this again.

HIV is not the end of the world.. If over a million people in the US have chosen to live and endure, then certainly you can too.

If however your test comes back negative, I hope this will give you a renewed appreciation for your health.

It's good that you played it safe with this guy. And oral sex has a very small risk to it, so I'd imagine you can be very likely to come back negative.

 

[medic1]

Hey there buddy
As the other poster has said it is highly unlikely that you have contracted
HIV or Hepatitis B or C .
Though from what you have posted it sounds like you may have picked up
an oral std .
My advice would be to pay a visit to your local std clinic and explain it just
as you have here they will take blood,s but more importantly they will do
a throat swab which will show if you have caught something and what that
something is , My guess would be oral gonorrhea which is 100% treatable
usually with a 5-7 day course of penicillin .
Also do it now rather than wait a few weeks if you are still worried about HIV
then you can go for a test at a later date.
Hope this helps take care.

 

[KaraBulut]

We get a lot of posts in H&W where the diagnosis is "Post-Orgasmic Remorse" accompanied by the signs and symptoms of a cold.

If you kiss a stranger, you might end up with an upper respiratory infection. It happens. And if the kiss is good, it's a much more fun way to get a seasonal cold than having someone just sneeze on you.

Based upon what you've described and the precautions that you took, you have no particular reason to suspect that you have contracted an STD. It's far more likely that you have an upper respiratory infection.

So, don't let your anxiety and guilt over being a sexual being keep you from enjoying a healthy sex life. Make smart choices, avoid anonymous hookups and use condoms where appropriate.

With that said, anyone who is sexually active and outside of a monogamous relationship should be getting STD testing on a regular basis. If your physician did not specifically test for gonorrhea and chlamydia, you should get tested for it when you go in for your regular HIV test. If you still have the signs and symptoms you've described after completing the antibiotics, then return to your doctor and ask for a throat swab culture.

 

[Seasoned]

Anxiety is best treated by ruling out the cause. You need to be honest with your doctor, or second best, go to an STD clinic now. If you have an STD the quicker it's treated the better.

Doctors are doctors to treat illness an advise how to stay well. Nothing about the human condition ought to surprise them.

 

[medic1]

Sorry but i have to disagree with Karabulut it does not sound like an upper
respiratory infection.
Pain in the joints high fever sore throat and the very important amount of
time between the hook-up and the presentation of symptons points imo
to another cause .
Also why then suggest throat cultures which i think should have been done
at the time ? As i said in my last post even if it is just to put your mind at rest
dont wait a couple of weeks go to your local std clinic explain your concerns
a simple throat swab would rule out any oral std,s or confirm .
Again as i said before if you have caught an oral std then a correct course of
treatment with the appropriate antibiotics will treat it completly .
As for hiv i agree your chance of catching that from what you described is so
astronomacly low , though as i said before if you are still worried then you can
go for an hiv test after the 12 week period . Again take care buddy wishing you
the best .

 

[RaKroma]

Update. I found a clinic that did a free rapid HIV blood test. The test showed that I'm HIV negative, but the nurse said she wouldn't be so confident of the results because it has only been 3 weeks since intercourse, so the tests won't even work so early. She told me to redo an HIV test in 9 weeks or more from now, just to be certain.

My new concern is the cluster of redish quarter sized blisters that I discovered last night in an awkward part of the inner thigh near my scrotum. I have not found anything similar on other body parts. When I read around the symptoms for Herpes HVS-2 the symptoms also included flu like symptoms in addition to the red blistering. Again, I don't want to self diagnose and want to do testing for Herpes and the rest of the STDs.

I'm going to search around if some clinics offer herpes, and other tests for free. Today, I've been to city's health department clinic in Chelsea and they don't even do HIV testing anymore let alone other stuff. Other clinics are basically the same. The nurse said after the summer, it will be harder finding free HIV testing because of budget cuts.

The tests for syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes run at about $100 each. I want to see if I can avoid getting tested for all and might just do Herpes. But I keep reading that HSV-2 antibody test is not accurate? Is 3 weeks long enough for other STD blood testing or do I need to wait longer for the tests to be 100%?

 

[SuprSonic]

Herpes really isn't worth getting tested over. Assuming you do have it, all you need to do is take some l-lysine whenever you feel an outbreak coming on.

A bottle of L-lysine shouldn't be more than $5, and you can get it at the grocery store or drug store with the vitamins/nutritional supplements.

 

[medic1]

Hey buddy.
If i can remember i think that you said the guy rimmed you without the use
of a barrier , if these blisters are around your anus that along with the other
symptons you have described does point towards herpes.
AGAIN i really think you have no need to worry unduly about HIV because
again if i remember you were responsible enough to use a condom , please
dont go around kicking yourself and calling yourself an idiot we have all done
things that we later regret .
What i will say is that while you are presenting the symptons that you have
described , you will be very infectious if it is herpes .
Though the other posters advice about the $5 way is really good advice i have
seen patient,s who can feel an outbreak coming on using this cream and it does
seem to be effective. Wishing you the best.

 

[KaraBulut]

There isn't a reliable test for HSV2. The diagnosis is based upon a physical exam.

There are several possibilities for the lesions that you're describing on your leg. But to get a diagnosis, you would need to have a doctor or nurse practitioner examine them.

 

[medic1]

^^^^^^
I definatly concur with Karabulut we can offer opinions based on what you
have posted but for a correct diagnosis you do have to see a dr.
Wishing you well , take care dude.

 

[RaKroma]

Hey guys just to update, I had a physical done by a dermatologist who told me that the rash cluster on my inner thigh was a fungal infection/jock itch and not herpes. He prescribed a cream for it which seems to be working faster than I expected. Of course I was very relieved that it is not herpes and felt lucky. I also had other STD tests for bacterial STIs and syphilis that were negative as well.

This entire ordeal is still traumatic for me in terms of fearing hooking up with guys. This pride weekend, I turned down several attractive guys who were interested, because I can't get over my new fear of having sex with people because of STDs.

 

[bankside]

That fear can help keep you from ever getting an STI, but it doesn't have to stop you from having sex...instead of turning down attractive guys, get to know one well enough that you don't mind telling him you're tested and STD free, and vice versa. And also well enough to know whether he has issues with lying or not.

 

[RaKroma]

That fear can help keep you from ever getting an STI, but it doesn't have to stop you from having sex...instead of turning down attractive guys, get to know one well enough that you don't mind telling him you're tested and STD free, and vice versa. And also well enough to know whether he has issues with lying or not.

Of course dating a guy before sex would be an ideal thing, but I tend to not be lucky with that goal at all in clubs/bars or worse online dating. Those environments have always been breeding grounds for hookups and where people go to get lucky with one night drunken stances.