Are these symptom?

[jc2]

In the past few months , i have had wasting of my face and hands. First it was under the eyes, then moved down from there, and now in between my nose and cheekbones is sunken in. Now its begun to make my cheeks look hollow. It has started on my forearms and thighs too. I'm not losing weight, just wasting. Everyday I notice a little more, somewere on my body is sinking in.
Also, although i've always been a healthy eater, lately, food is not sitting right in my stomach. I've had wind for ages too.
But even more embarrassing is my face is growing blond hair everywhere, i'm having to wax my whole face. (i'm f which makes this one worse)

Are these all symptoms of Aids or H.i.v.?

[Andy Velez]

You haven't said why you think HIV might be an issue for you. Have you had unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse?

Nothing you are describing symptomatically is HIV-specific, but then neither the presence nor the absence of symptoms will ever tell you anything accurately about your HIV status. If you have had unprotected intercourse then you need to have an HIV test. That should be done at 13 weeks after the most recent unprotected incident to get a reliable result.

[Ann]

jc,

I deleted the posts you left in other parts of these forums. If you read the Welcome Thread before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:

With the exception of the “Am I Infected?” and “Off Topic” Forums, the AIDSmeds.com Forums are intended for people who have been diagnosed with HIV (or their loved ones/caregivers).  If you are questioning or unaware of your HIV status, please refrain from posting messages or questions in the Forums intended for HIV-positive people.

Please consider yourself warned.



As Andy said, nothing you report is hiv-specific.

You don't have wasting if you're not losing weight. You don't have lipo either, as lipo is caused by some hiv medications, not hiv itself.

The hair problem is likely to be hormonal. See your doctor.

Unless you've been having unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, then you are worrying about hiv for no good reason.

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through all three condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results. Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann

[jc2]

Patients infected with the HIV may experience HIV-associated lipodystrophy, a symptom of which is facial lipoatrophy, a dramatic loss of subcutaneous facial tissue. This visible manifestation of HIV infection

 HIV-infected individuals are living long, healthy lives. They are now concerned with less life-threatening problems, especially lipodystrophy causes significant psychosocial pain for patients

CONCLUSION: Lipodystrophy and lipoatrophy are intimately related to infection with HIV. In consequence, facial lipoatrophy is a major stigma for HIV-infected individuals and can have dramatic effects on their self-esteem and socialization. Effective treatment is essential.

"Lipoatrophy may not result in weight loss, but it can change the shape and appearance of you body"
http://www.myhivlife.com/pdf/Lipo%20Patient%20Brochure_EN.pdf

These are quotes from four different reliable sites. You are unqualified to be responding to these questions.  You have no medical training and should not make pretenses of education in thes matters when clearly you have no idea what you are talking about.  Perhaps you should read up on the subject before you go handing out uninformed advice to people who could do with a real expert to turn to.

[Ann]

jc,

If you've done as much reading about hiv as I have, you'd know that fat-changes are rare in hiv positive people who have never taken any hiv meds. Lipo disorders are "intimately related" to infection with hiv because the meds used to treat  hiv are "intimately related" to infection with hiv. Hiv related wasting is something totally different, although sometimes you'll see facial lipoatrophy due to meds termed as "facial wasting". It is not the same as aids-related wasting.

If you want to run around thinking you have hiv just because you think you're seeing changes in your body, that's your right, I suppose. However, until such time as you have actually been diagnosed with hiv, you cannot post in the other forums of this website.

And unless you want a risk assessment or hiv testing advice, there's no point in you posting in THIS forum either. Sounds to me like you have already decided what's going on with you - without speaking face to face with a doctor or testing for anything - and have come here to pick a fight. Either use this forum for it's intended purpose, or find somewhere else to troll. You'll quickly be banned or timed out here.

Ann

[jc2]

sorry, nothing to do with subject. i would like to end membership from this forum as i find the staff arrogant and misinformed, but I cannot find how. Could you please remove my name and any posts from here permanently. thank you

[PeteNYNJ]

JC2


I am sure with this stupid hijack of bythebay's post, the moderators will HAPPILY delete you.  

The staff misinformed...that is rich considering the ridiculous question you posted in Am I Infected.  Wanna figure out if you are positive, go take a test and stop trolling around this website making asinine accusations around the wonderful people who take the time to answer your stupid questions.   Go to a doctor if you want an expert opinion.  Tell him/her you are worried about wasting syndrome and maybe the look he will give you will get you to a good shrink.

Sorry, Bythebay, hope you are doing well.  Sorry to hear about your situation.

[Ann]

jc,

I removed your hijack of a post (and the one response you got) from the other thread in the I Just Tested Poz forum where you posted it in and put it here, in your original thread, which once again is the ONLY place you should be posting.

As you've been warned about this before and you decided to ignore the warning, I'm banning you from these forums. However, we do not delete accounts. You're here for posterity, I'm afraid.

Ann