POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: splashsplash1 on December 04, 2006, 09:01:24 am
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Hi,
I had a pretty much non-risk exposure, I have no qualms about that. But three weeks later, I have had this persistent lump in my throat feeling, as if food is there. It has continued for one wek now. I do not have any white spots in my tongue, however, my tongue is white (which I realize is not thrush) but I have been able to scrap some white gunk off the far back of it (probably normal, I know). There is no pain in my throat and no difficulty eating or drinking, its really quite minor except that it constantly reminds me of my worry! I got a negative antibody test our at 21 days and am going to a ear nose and throat doctor about my throat but they are quite backed up this time of year and I can't get in until the towards the end of the week.
1) In the meantime, can any of you who have had throat thrush or read about those who have tell me if these symptoms indicate that?
2) It seems like there are some people on here who have had thrush and tested negative, so certainly thrush is not a terribly suggestive of HIV, especially if the risk was extremely low? I have read a few accounts where thrush shows up during ARS, and I am not on any sort of antibiotics or diabetic or anything else. I did, I suppose, have a few days of very very poor nutrition prior to the symptoms, but who knows?
Thanks, I hope this is not a stupid question but I could not find anyone having a similar sensation on your forum! God bless you all.
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No, hon...it's not a stupid question. But you can relax. I'm going to quote the Goddess Ann on here and tell you that "symptoms mean absolutely nothing when it comes to HIV". You can have thrush without it having anything at all to do with HIV. Anyone can potentially get it.
Good news #2 is that if you ain't feeling any pain in your throat and have no difficulty eating or drinking, you ain't got it! I don't think you'll ever hear anyone with throat thrush use the phrase, 'It's really quite minor'. LOL
Grab yourself a throat lozenge and buckle down til you get to your doctor's appointment, but you can stop worrying about thrush.
Cheers!
~tim
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Thanks so much Tim, you are so wonderful! I was a bit worried because it seemed like many sites and "experts" said that thrush mainly resulted from either HIV/AIDS or antibiotics and such. A few doctors online said to people with thrush that they "must have something serious going on" to have thrush! So you can see how when I got a white tongue and lump in throat that wouldnt go away how scared I got! Have you ever had thrush in mouth or throat?
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I've had thrush and it is very painful. Only a doctor can diagnosis thrush. Thrush is not hiv/aids specific. Anyone can get thrush. Babies usually have it more than anyone.
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Thanks guys, I appreciate your fast responses! I will try to put this worry behind me, and was able to get a doctor's appointment tommorow. I just hope I don't go in there, and then he tells me that he thinks I have HIV based upon a thrush diagnosis, which, given a fairly widespread misunderstanding of HIV, is not inconceivable!
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Your doctor will not automatically think HIV.
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Are non-"moderators" not allowed to respond to questions on this forum? I responded to a question in "still worried about insertive fellatio" and was told by Rapid Rod to keep my "thoughts and questions" in my own thread. My response in the other persons forum was entirely relevant and did not reference my situation except in passing. I do not see why anyone else's evaluation of the studies the individual cited are any more valid than my own. I cannot imagine that a worried person would not want to hear the thoughts and opinions (when they relate to their question). With all due respect to you wonderful moderators, I am a bit frustrated that I responded with a thoughtful evaluation of these studies and was treated as if I were trying to hijack a thread.
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If you would have read the guidelines in the "Welcome Thread" like you were suppose to, you would have known. You were not singled out by no means. You are not the first nor will you be the last to be told to keep your questions and thoughts in your own thread. By the way, you come here to ask questions, but you give advise on medhelp, this really puzzles me.
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I asked about thrush in an online community where HIV+ have had thrush; I have not seen a similar equivalent on medhelp. I feel that I can give reassurance because it seems the best help frequently comes from people who were once in similar situations as the person in need. Furthermore, if you would read my "advice" on medhelp I have referred people to this forum for help and try only to discuss things from my own experience in similar situations.
I don't see how you determined that my response represented in any way "questions that you have about your own concerns" as listed in guidelines, which I did read. I responded about the validity of studies and in no way solicited any advice or replies for me.
Please, I don't wish to be a pain or to be at odds with you. I really feel as if my input was valuable and am trying to determine how to modify it to be more appropriate in the future, should a similar issue come up. I have been helped considerably by these forums, and if I can help contribute with meaningful responses then I would love to. If not, I suppose that is okay too.
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splash,
We discourage people who are posting in this forum with their own concerns from answering the questions of others. This is because often times the information is close, but not quite right - and sometimes it is just plain wrong. When this happens, it makes extra work for us to go and "undo" what the inexperienced responder has told the person.
We used to allow anyone to answer questions in this forum, but was chaos and many times people ended up even more confused than ever. This particular on-line forum isn't like any old forum - hiv prevention and testing information is serious business and we want to make sure the information being given out is correct.
If you want a less closely moderated hiv transmission, prevention and testing forum, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere.
Ann
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Thank you for the answer, Ann. I certainly applaud what you do and that makes a lot of sense. I was a bit confused about what I had done wrong, but I now see your reasoning. Thanks and keep up the good work guys.
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splash,
You're welcome.
Ann
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Splash,
I agree with what everyone else has told you on the thrush issue. I had that same problem with the lump in my throat some months back. I went to my doctor and he ordered sonogram of my thyroid done, whatever they were looking for came back negative. He suggested that I eat a little salt because of the iodine in it. I guess my body didn't have enough in it. I did that and have had no problems since. But please discuss this with your doctor. Because I don't know if you have high blood pressure or anything like that. I was just sharing my experience.
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I have a bit of an academic question about insertive oral. I realzie this has been talked about to death, but I have been wondering: it is said by many, many experts that there has never been a documented case of transmission via insertive oral sex. My question: how likely is it that such an event, if it were to occur, would end up being documented? Do medical providers usually inquire about apparent route of infection, or are there other ways of knowing (in addition to the studies from Spain and SF).
I am DEFINITELY not second guessing you guys, I was just very curious and am doing my best to educate myself! If this question does not fit the scope of the forum please disregard it entirely. Thanks very much!
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Tested Negative after 13 weeks!
But what are the chances a 13 week negative will turn positive? just kidding.
Only now do I realize how rediculous my previous posts (on here and medhelp) were. I hope this post and many others by WW's who tested conclusively positive will help the current WW's to calm down and appraise their situations with logic and detachment. Good luck to everyone and thanks again to the moderators and contributors. Bless you all. :)
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Congrats on that happy and conclusive test result.
Glad you found the exchanges here to be helpful.
Cheers,