Someone please help! I don't know what's wrong...

[itneverends]

Hi everyone...can someone please help...cant get any answers from my docs

Im 28 yr old hetero male 5'10" 175 lbs with history of HIV like symptoms...timeline and symptoms scared about HIV tested antibody neg 14 times out to 3 years post any exposure

02/06 - unprot 1 nt stand w girl 2 wks later fever, chills, headache, etc 4 days
12/06 - strep like illness - weak positive rapid test - treated with antibiotics - didnt finish them completely/symptoms gone in week
10/06 - unprotected sex with coworker & protected with new girl
01/07 - Vegas bachelor party - make out w stripper for 2-3 min
01/07 - Heavy makeout w girl at bar - protected sex for 5 minutes
02/07 - 18 days later - horrible illness with very high fever (up to 104 for 5 days), chills, headache sore muscles/joints swollen/painful nodes in neck white stuff on tonsils back of throat, vomit, diarreah, night sweats, etc - not flu or strep this time, neg monospot - given levaquin - cbc from ER shows high neutro, high monocytes low lymphocytes - symptoms gone 2 days after levaq- postviral tingling, numb legs, burn feelings, etc in extrem...gone 2 weeks - no diagnosis of illness - 3 mts later went to ID doc - pos EBV igg neg igm, pos mycoplasma igg neg igm - doc says possible mycop illness, neg cmv, lyme, west nile
08/07 - new monogomaus girlfriend (so i think) for 1 year - had regular unprotected sex - similar illness as last fever, etc no ER or antibiotics - symptoms gone in 5 days
04/08 - diagnosed with molluscum on stomach, genital area - treated/gone
07/08 - break up with girlfriend after 1.5 years
12/08 - diagnosed with sleep apnea
01/09 - get tonsils, adenoids (adenoids), uvula out & trim soft palate - sleep better & no sickness since   
06/10 - tingling, burning,etc in extremeties again - been going on for 2 months now - doc says neuropathy - no diabetes, b12 good, cbc normal
08/10 - neg HIV 1/O/2 labcorp, negative rapid test from clinic
08/10 - EMG done - doctor says peripheral nerves are fine and actually better then average person no neuropathy
09/10 - MRI spine and brain - results normal
Current - last 6 months - always tired even after sleep, ankle joints hurt, sometimes sore muscles, tingling, burning, numb - worse at night, bad headaches come and go, sometime feel nauseous, etc - always tired, sore and stiff muscles when i sleep and wake up...i feel like I'm 65 years old!!!

Whats wrong with me? Chronic Fatigue? How is this not HIV?? random viruses?

Went I went to the ER I had low lymphocytes - I've read that that, moluscum, neuropathy, etc are definite pointers to HIV...do I need a PCR test?

Please help!!!

[jkinatl2]

You are reliably HIV negative. I absolutely hope you do not obsess over HIv to the detriment of finding out what, exactly, is causing your issues.

[itneverends]

Unfortunately, I am obsessed with HIV because it seems to be the ONLY thing that makes sense...I put in everything I had and it ALL points to HIV...I don't know how to believe the tests...are they honestly reliable? What else can I do???

[Matty the Damned]

Unfortunately, I am obsessed with HIV because it seems to be the ONLY thing that makes sense...I put in everything I had and it ALL points to HIV...I don't know how to believe the tests...are they honestly reliable? What else can I do???

What else can you do? Get your tuchus to a therapist and work on why you can't accept the clinical reality. You're HIV negative.

Please be aware that we cannot provide you with that kind of support.

MtD

[itneverends]

mtd,

I appreciate the thoughts...but I know why I'm obsessed...it's because I have all these damn symptoms...it's not all psychological...I promise. What else am I supposed to think? How am I supposed to really know that these tests are reliable? what if they're just not picking it up? I've read about people who have trouble making antibodies to certain illnesses and get sick often...well, I got sick often...what if i'm one of those people? what if i can't produce the antibodies? wouldn't i need a pcr test? i mean i've produced antibodies to other viruses - I'm so confused...

[Matty the Damned]

mtd,

I appreciate the thoughts...but I know why I'm obsessed...it's because I have all these damn symptoms...it's not all psychological...I promise. What else am I supposed to think? How am I supposed to really know that these tests are reliable? what if they're just not picking it up? I've read about people who have trouble making antibodies to certain illnesses and get sick often...well, I got sick often...what if i'm one of those people? what if i can't produce the antibodies? wouldn't i need a pcr test? i mean i've produced antibodies to other viruses - I'm so confused...

I agree with JK's assessment of your OP. You are conclusively HIV negative. False negatives are known to occur in a tiny fraction of the population. People who are taking immuno-suppressive medications following organ transplants,. People who are receiving certain sorts of chemotherapy for cancer and in some long term (ie 20+ years) recreational drug injectors.

I feel confident in assuming that you are not in one of those groups.

If you feel ill - see a doctor. If you are having trouble accepting the clinical evidence of your HIV negative status, see a therapist.

Continually questioning a conclusive negative result is not permitted in this forum. Persist in doing so and you risk getting on the wrong side of our Moderators.

It's all explained in our Welcome Thread.

MtD

[itneverends]

I understand...but I would like to know why you are so confident that I am negative? No offense to the other visitors, but I present will all kinds of symptoms that point to HIV...I don't know what else to do

[Matty the Damned]

I understand...but I would like to know why you are so confident that I am negative? No offense to the other visitors, but I present will all kinds of symptoms that point to HIV...I don't know what else to do

Symptoms are not a reliable indicator of HIV status. Many of the symptoms associated with HIV infection can equally be caused by other things.

Which is why testing is used to determine HIV status rather than relying on quite non specific symptoms. Todays HIV tests are extremely reliable.

Your HIV testing history shows that, despite your symptoms, you have not been infected with HIV.

MtD

[itneverends]

 I haven't had sex in over 4 months...no oral...nothing...do you think I can say with 100% reliability that I'm HIV negative???

[Matty the Damned]

I haven't had sex in over 4 months...no oral...nothing...do you think I can say with 100% reliability that I'm HIV negative???

Jonathan and I have answered your questions. Based on the information supplied in your OP, you are HIV negative.

I would ask again that you read our Welcome Thread and familiarise yourself with our posting guidelines, in particular this one:

Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.

Consider yourself warned.

MtD

[itneverends]

Ann, anyone else,

What do you think about my situation? How is this NOT hiv?

[Ann]

it,

How on earth could  it be hiv? You have tested hiv negative again and again. You've also tested negative for other things - why believe those tests and not the hiv tests? I'll tell you why, because you see hiv as a punishment for having sex. Well buddy, it's not.

Get a grip of yourself and get yourself into therapy to get to the bottom of why you feel the need to be punished for sex.

And do yourself a favour. Stop having unprotected intercourse with people who you have not tested TOGETHER with for ALL STIs, including but not limited to hiv. And only do this in a monogamous relationship.

You don't have hiv. If you insist on using this forum to go on and on about your conclusive hiv negative results, I'll give you that time out Matty warned you about. No kidding.

Ann

[itneverends]

Ann,

Please don't ban me. I'm not having unprotected sex with random girls  or  girls I know  for that matter anymore...I've been in a monogomaus relationship for 2 years now. I just want to make sure I don't give her anything. Will you please just let me know why you think I'm conclusively HIV negative? Do you think I need an HIV PCR test? Do you think it could be a strain that hasn't been detected yet? Do my symptoms sound like those of HIV?

Please help me. I just want my life back.

[Ann]

it,

I think you're conclusive hiv negative because the tests prove that.

I think the last thing in the world you need is a PCR test. You need therapy, not further testing.

No, you don't have a strain that's not been detected.

No, your symptoms do not sound remotely like hiv.

This is your last chance. Keep posting about this conclusive negative serostatus of yours and I WILL give you a time out. Not negotiable.

Ann

[itneverends]

Ok...thanks for answering my questions. I wish I could get mental help but I don't have insurance anymore...sucks. Do you have any suggestions? I know you're not a doctor but do you have any idea where I should start? I'm tired of feeling like this...I'm tired of my legs feeling numb and tingling and having doctors tell me I'm fine...is it too much to ask to feel normal again? I just want to know what the heck is wrong with me...sorry don't mean to whine...just frustrated

[Ann]

it,

Peripheral neuropathy isn't caused by hiv itself except in fairly rare cases where hiv has gone untreated for many, many years, like more than ten or fifteen years. It's normally caused by some of the meds used to treat hiv, so stop equating your tingly limbs to hiv.

It's a shame you don't have insurance and I really do feel for you. However, whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv as you have reliably tested hiv negative. I have no idea where you should start as I do not live in the States and therefore I am unfamiliar with what medical services may be available to the uninsured where you live. You'll have to do the looking for that yourself.

And no, it's not too much to ask to feel normal again - or to be able to afford to go to a doctor or therapist in order to feel normal again. Make sure you vote for politicians who advocate for socialised medicine. I was born and lived in the States until I was 29 and I know what a struggle the current health care system can be. I now live in the UK and I can tell you that socialised medicine is fantastic and not the horror show the Republican party would have you believe.

However, the bottom line here is that you do not have hiv and so whatever else may be going on with you is outside the scope of these forums. Don't keep coming back as there is nothing further we can do for you. Good luck in getting yourself sorted out.

Ann

[itneverends]

Hey Ann,

Even though it FEELS like neuropathy awhile back I

[itneverends]

Hey Ann,

Even though it FEELS like neuropathy awhile back I had a neurologist do an EMG on me and he said my peripheral nerves were just fine...I don't know...it definitely feels like neuropathy. I read that molluscum and neuropathy can be the first sign of HIV for many people...am I wrong? I also read that there are other retroviruses out there that mimic what HIV does...I'm so worried...I don't want to give whatever I have to my girlfriend...I'm glad you're confident that it's NOT hiv...I gotta find a way to convince myself...

thanks

[Ann]

it,

PN can be a first sign for someone who has had undiagnosed and therefore untreated hiv for many, many years. And I don't mean undiagnosed because the tests didn't pick it up, I mean undiagnosed because they never tested in the first place.

Molluscum can and does happen to anyone - in fact it is more prevalent in children than in adults. It's not a first sign of anything. It is a virus transmitted through skin to skin contact with a person who has it and it can also be transmitted from things like towels.

If you don't want to give whatever you have to your girlfriend, you should use condoms. It's that simple. It's also not hiv, this "whatever" you have.

Keep coming back and you'll be given a time out. There's nothing more we can do for you here. Sorry.

Ann

[itneverends]

Ann,

How come a lot of these sites and doctors say that PN can be a part of ARS/Early HIV? I don't get it...there's so many different opinions...I guess what worries me is that this ALL started (the neurological issues) after a virus...I can't seem to find any other viruses that are linked to the issues I have/had...so you really think I don't need a PCR huh? I'm sorry...I feel like I'm beating a dead horse with you but I need to get some sort of reasurrance from somebody who knows about HIV...

[Ann]

it,

I've only ever heard of one person who had PN that was associated with seroconversion, but the person was so ill he had to be hospitalised for over a month and the only reason he had PN was because he was so ill. The PN resolved by the time he was released from hospital. Cases like that are rare in the extreme. Most people don't have a single symptom of seroconversion.

You don't need a PCR test because you don't have hiv.

I'm giving you that time out you've been warned repeatedly about. Do not attempt to create a new account to get around your time out because if you do, you will be permanently banned.

Ann

[itneverends]

Ann,

So I know you guys told me NOT to get a PCR test done but I did...I did an HIV DNA PCR test through an online std site...well it was for HIV 1 but NOT all subtypes...they also did antibody test...they came back negative...so I think the odds are in my favor that i DO NOT have HIV...but you mentioned those with acute HIV and PN are very ill and go to hospital...well, I was very ill, I went to the hospital and I had PN...so how do you explain that? Also, have you heard about the new HIV/AIDS like virus in China that people have been coming down with? I read about it online...what are the chances that there is possibly another virus strain of HIV out there and we just don't know it? I'm feeling better about my chances of actually being HIV negative but it just doesn't make sense how I had all these darn symptoms and timing of HIV...what do you think?

[Ann]

it,

So you're straight back in here after your time out?

Look mate, you don't have hiv no matter how much you want it. You have tested more than conclusively hiv negative. Stop chasing an illness you could not possibly have.

I'm giving you a second time out. Your problems are beyond the scope of this website.

Ann