Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 06:53:46 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772944
  • Total Topics: 66310
  • Online Today: 375
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 348
Total: 348

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Welcome to Do I Have HIV?

Welcome to the "Do I Have HIV?" POZ forum.

This special section of the POZ forum is for individuals who have concerns about whether or not they are HIV positive. Individuals are permitted to post up to three questions or responses in this forum.

Ongoing participation in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum (posting more than three questions or responses) requires a paid subscription, with secure payments made via PayPal.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There is no charge to read threads in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the other POZ forums. In addition, the POZ Basics "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "HIV Testing" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Do I Have HIV?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author Topic: Insertive + lymph node  (Read 10125 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Insertive + lymph node
« on: August 13, 2013, 01:27:02 pm »
Dear Moderators

As someone with health anxiety, I have probably read the entirety of your archives over the last few years. Unfortunately, I am writing with an actual high-risk exposure, unprotected insertive anal with a promiscuous much younger guy who claimed to be negative and was adamant about knowing my status but clearly practiced a range of dubious protective strategies including serosorting and not accepting full ejaculation in the anus.

I made the poor choice of abandoning the condom when it inhibited my erection. I then made a second poor choice by foregoing pep based on the advice of a counselor who thought the odds were minuscule for a one-time unprotected top.

As I mentioned I am a rather severe hypochondriac and attributed a range of probably random symptoms to this event in the month that followed. However, my latest discovery strikes me as more dire.

On day 36 post-encounter, I accidentally came across an enlarged, shotty lymph node below my jaw on the left side. It is moveable and can be rolled with two fingers. Additionally, I am aware of a congested sensation in the area when turning my head or sitting in different positions. While correlation does not equal causality, it seems that hiv and lymph swellings are somewhat ubiquitously paired and I have never noticed anything like this in my own body before.

I also know that this site doesn't really address symptoms but am still compelled to seek feedback while I pass the time until I can test. Incidentally, I am living abroad without any real health coverage and am planning to travel to a nearby larger city to test anonymously, since I don't know what impact a diagnosis would have on my unique professional situation.

One week following my unearthing of the shotty node, my throat swelled up and has today resolved leaving me with a seemingly typical cold.

The worst part of all of this for me is that I have likely been infected at a time when pep and chemo-profilaxis (prep) are making hiv more or less avoidable for anyone who doesn't want it.

I ask not to be lectured as I live under my own judgement already. That said I welcome, from experts, both reassuring responses and those that share my skepticism that this is just a mere coincidence.

Yours painfully and with gratitude for your work...

Offline Jeff G

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 17,064
  • How am I doing Beren ?
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2013, 02:23:00 pm »
The only way to know if you are infected is to test , your symptoms are not HIV specific so there is really nothing more to say about that .

You can test 6 weeks post exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the results . You probably need to get checked out for all std's since they are much easier to contract than HIV and linger without symptoms .
HIV 101 - Basics
HIV 101
You can read more about Transmission and Risks here:
HIV Transmission and Risks
You can read more about Testing here:
HIV Testing
You can read more about Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) here:
HIV TasP
You can read more about HIV prevention here:
HIV prevention
You can read more about PEP and PrEP here
PEP and PrEP

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2013, 03:30:51 am »
Since the discovery of the enlarged lymph node on week 5, I've been in a living hell with symptoms not in any way coming all at once and disappearing together but diversely accumulating, some likely due to anxiety but others that would be difficult to manufacture. A few days ago, my eyes, which had been feeling odd in their sockets, began to burn acutely. Since then I have not been producing tears (after crying profusely for weeks) and am suffering persistent, sometimes painful dryness also involving the sinuses and numb facial sensations. It seems the tear-duct issue is a common chronic problem that can be triggered by hiv, other viruses and auto-immune disorders. 

Two days ago, I was stunned when I tested negative on an insti rapid test at 8 weeks (58 days) post-exposure as I was fully expecting a positive result. The test result brought considerable relief but only until I realized all of my symptoms remained and that the result was likely false or my antibodies still not detectable or that maybe I'm hosting a different virus (or co-infection that is rumored to extend the time to antibodies).

Why am I telling you this? Maybe to keep myself from another desperate call to my therapist or exhausted friends. I will finally seek medical attention, something I've been deferring due to logistics of my situation and likely at great cost.


Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2013, 04:35:43 am »
DE,

Your eight week negative is highly unlikely to change when you confirm at the three month point.

If you feel unwell, see a doctor. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv. If your symptoms did have anything to do with hiv, you would have tested positive at eight weeks, no doubt about it.

We don't want to hear about your symptoms. Go tell a doctor about them, not us.

I absolutely do not expect you to go on to test positive over this particular incident. I hope you learn from it and stop having unprotected intercourse.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2013, 08:12:43 am »
Thank you for your response and tough reassurance. Although a strong believer in coincidence, it's hard for me to imagine that my next test will not be positive given the still-enlarged lymph node and this completely sudden & uncomfortable tear-gland shutdown amongst other associated but non-specific physical clues. It may very well all be due to an auto-immune disorder or cancer but the timing in relation to my risk is conspicuous. I can't help but think it has just taken me a bit longer to detectably seroconvert or that I received a false negative (I came across a study were INSTI missed 3 of 15 early infections). I do still hope to test negative but am suspiciously already inhabiting some sort of disruptive systemic process.

Anyway, there goes my last free post. If I am negative, I'll purchase a subscription and give an update as I do not wish to fuel anyone else's panic around the generally well-established stability of 8 week test results.

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2013, 08:42:26 am »
If any of your symptoms persist you should discuss them with your doctor. They are not in any way HIV specific. Like Ann I expect you to continue to test negative.

Good luck with your next result. We'll be expecting good news for you.
Andy Velez

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2013, 06:51:14 am »
Thanks for the further encouragement. I've just had a second negative INSTI at 11.5 weeks (80 days). I'd love to accept this as basically conclusive but I still have (among other lingering symptoms) an enlarged lymph node in my neck that is mobile and feels like a small to medium-sized bean (fluctuates a bit). After the 8 week test, I saw a doctor who told me the swelling was bilateral, pointing out a much smaller twin node on the other side. I am ready to look into other causes but will probably also want to have an actual blood draw (or at least a different kind of rapid) in case the 60 second finger-prick is not detecting an infection. The tests have been at a peer-based clinic so they are not health professionals (though the project is overseen by a board of medical advisors).
Should I let myself feel any more relieved than I do? It was incredibly soothing to be told not to worry (or at least to worry about other things) but I'm also confused and still not sure how to resolve this with what (& when) my body is presenting.

Offline Jeff G

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 17,064
  • How am I doing Beren ?
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2013, 03:05:32 pm »
You are HIV negative but if you want to test again in 10 days for peace of mind then do so if it makes you feel better .

Your test results are not going to change this late in the testing process .
HIV 101 - Basics
HIV 101
You can read more about Transmission and Risks here:
HIV Transmission and Risks
You can read more about Testing here:
HIV Testing
You can read more about Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) here:
HIV TasP
You can read more about HIV prevention here:
HIV prevention
You can read more about PEP and PrEP here
PEP and PrEP

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2013, 04:24:12 am »
Two weeks ago, I had a third negative INSTI at 16 weeks, this time at a private clinic, where I was told it's 99.9% accurate after 90 days. But each time I eliminate another cause for the tell-tale swollen nodes in my neck, I return to hiv, the original obvious suspect.

I don't dismiss the results I've been given, but they haven't given me closure since multiple depressing signs of a systemic problem still persist. Is it really possible that I'm not infected? Instinctively, I don't believe it but I agree to be reasonable. I will be seeing a new doctor and I will also do a lab-based elisa. I've had negative tests for syphilis and ebv.

While I know that there are other less self-evident possibilities, I'm worried about false negatives, accuracy of rapid tests with early-ish infection, slow seroconversion caused by coinfections and all kinds of speculative outliers, like the fact that INSTI has antigen for gp41 and not also gp120. For now, my (Am I) question remains open, at least for me, but maybe something will come to light soon. Over time, it becomes a bit less about a particular fear and more about the troubling uncertainty of an undiagnosed condition.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2013, 05:41:06 am »
http://www.cdc.gov/globalaids/Resources/pmtct-care/docs/TM/Module_6TM.pdf
Page 11
#4
  In an adult, a positive HIV antibody test result means that the person is infected, a person with a negative or inconclusive result may be in the “window for 4 to 6 weeks but occasionally up to 3 months after HIV exposure. Persons at high risk who initially test negative should be retested 3 months after exposure to confirm results

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2013, 06:55:48 am »
Error,

If you're touching your lymph glands all the time to see if they're swollen, you could actually be causing them to swell. Keep your hands off them!

Lymph glands will swell for all sorts of reasons, not just hiv. Keep working with your doctor to find out what is actually going on. You believe the tests that ruled out syphilis and EBV, now it's time to believe the tests that ruled out hiv.

You do NOT have hiv.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2013, 11:53:50 am »
First off, thank you sincerely for your responses. They have given me some hope to counteract my skepticism.

I now have a significant clue in the mystery of my condition. I've tested positive for cmv with both early and late antibodies, indicating recent or active/waning  infection. This can explain my symptoms in-and-of itself if it is a true primary infection.

But my immediate worry is that this points to coinfection with - or reactivation by - hiv.

There are many reasons for this: cmv infrequently creates symptoms in immunocompetent hosts, most people are exposed in infancy, and it is so woven into the hiv narrative that it was once considered by some to be causative of aids and is still both a possible cofactor and a definite opportunistic infection.

Keeping in mind that I've only had insti rapid tests (out to 16 weeks) and no 4th generation or RNA lab-work, what is the true clinical picture?

Can a gay man - over 35 -  in a high-risk exposure - contract cmv but not hiv? It's clearly possible but is it likely?

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2013, 12:14:32 pm »
DE,

Most people have been exposed to CMV during the course of their lives. So yes, it's extremely likely.

Whatever is going on, you have conclusively and reliably tested hiv NEGATIVE.

YOU DO NOT HAVE HIV!!!

If you read the Welcome Thread before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:

Quote

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.


Please consider yourself warned!

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2013, 01:20:46 pm »
Thanks. Just to clarify: I'm talking about active / recent infection (igm & igg).
I understand I may be more skeptical of FDA-approved rapid tests, but think it's important not to shut down dialogue/curiosity?

Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2013, 02:44:22 pm »
Thanks. Just to clarify: I'm talking about active / recent infection (igm & igg).
I understand I may be more skeptical of FDA-approved rapid tests, but think it's important not to shut down dialogue/curiosity?

We certainly do not shut down dialogue on this site. But this forum is not a discussion forum.  That is why we have the three free post maximum and the paid subscriptions, to discourage excessive posting when we have exhausted our science-based risk assessment.

As for CMV, it is a very very common virus that the at least 60% of the population is exposed to, and develop antibodies for, by the time they reach adulthood.

If you do not trust the efficacy of OTC rapid tests for HIV (which are identical to the tests used in many clinics) then by all means see a doctor or clinic and get a blood test done for peace of mind. If you are skeptical of even blood tests, then I am at a loss as to what you should to to ease your fear of infection, except to suggest counseling to deal with it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has shown great promise in overcoming irrational fear of HIV and other pathogens.

In any case, you do not have HIV.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline Doubleerror

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Insertive + lymph node
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2013, 06:12:51 pm »
Yes, thank you. I'm very appreciative of your work. I guess I'm just leaving a record for myself and others. I certainly will not post again if nothing changes in my tests but I think it's worth sharing my experience. I'm frightened but also know that if I have a positive test, I'm in very good company!

It's strange to have swollen lymph nodes in the neck, a hallmark of hiv, for months - after a real risk - and to then be told it's cmv, a disease mainly suffered by the immunocompromised. I don't claim to know what's happening. I also do have a history of hypochondria, but hypochondriacs also do get sick.  And then there is data out there about delayed seroconversion and limitations of rapid tests that look for a single antibody.

I will definitely avoid excessive posting! I'm just trying to make sense of my experience and I am aware of being a bit paranoid and skeptical by nature but I think that's important.

Please understand You all have my gratitude and respect...



 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.