ALL ARS Symptoms at 8 weeks - Scared and Convinced of HIV

[stupidgirl21]

My story is no different from any others. On the night of 9/12 I went out and got super drunk with a friend. We ended up in a swingers club on a whim because we could get in free. I hadn't planned on doing anything (in fact i was against it). In any regards I ended up having oral sex with a woman both insertive (only clitoris) and receptive that included mutual fingering. There was a man in the room as well having sex with the woman. At the end of the night they both fingered me and he put (what I was told was my vaginal fluid in my mouth). I left the club angry at myself for allowing this to occur, but didn't think I was at any real risk. Three days later i experience mild tingling on my genitals that last for several weeks. Along with the tingling/burning sensation came muscle twitching (mainly in my legs), severe butt aches, and pins and needles everywhere on my body including hands and feet. I got so worried during the 2nd week that I tried to shave my pubic area to get a better look. As soon as i stepped out of the shower I noticed very dry skin and what looked like candida on the crease of my thigh/vagina. Immediately freaked out I went to urgent care, because I feared I had contracted herpes. They sent me home saying it looked like I had candida and maybe some folliculitis. I also had backaches and diarrhea. I then went to a OB/GYN for a full exam and all of my tests came back negative. A few days later I develop what looks like shaving bumps on my vagina the doctor popped it and said that it wasnt herpes put it had white pus. I went into a deep state of depression and flew home to be with family. While there I developed pericoronitis (infection of the gum around my impacted wisdom tooth). I've read that this could be an opportunistic infection. I didnt think much of it and went to the dentist who gave me an antibiotic (Clindamycin) and I was scheduled to get my wisdom teeth extracted. I was also told during my gyn inspection that I had a very large uterine fibroid tumor (the story just gets worse). i am scheduled for surgery soon.
 
8 weeks after my potential exposure I woke up with very painful/sore calf muscles like I had just run a marathon. I went out that night (the weather had just dropped drastically) and I started to feel like i was catching the flu. My body ached and for some reason my lips were burning and face twitched. I came home that night and tried to medicate with cold/flu medicine. I woke up the next morning immobile with a high fever/chills and severe sore throat. Fever went up to about 102.8 at its highest. I suspected strep throat so I went to the ER, but the culture came back negative. I was given a steroid shot (decadron) and sent home with what was diagnosed as viral pharyngitis. I have been aware of ARS symptoms, and was immediately spooked. That night I came home and started to experience night sweats for about 3 nights. I tried to write it off as an effect of the steroid shot, but became hysterical when I developed thrush a couple of days later. Since my oral procedure (wisdom teeth removal) was the next day the dentist wrote me a script for Diflucan and it went away. I panicked and immediately went for an 8-week HIV test which of course came back negative. I am convinced at this point that I have HIV and have not been functional for at all. I cant perform basic work or household tasks.
 
I am now 12 weeks post exposure and my muscle twitching still continues. I had another STD panel (including HIV) done at 10 weeks which came back negative. However I am doubting my results big time as it is not yet 13 weeks and I had so many classic ARS symptoms. I am worried my body just didn't have enough time to build up detectable antibodies. At this point I am in a state of shock and depression. Is there ANY WAY I do not have HIV? Can it be anything else? Please help me I am terrified and am about 99% sure I have HIV. I am so confused as I thought i didn't have a risk. I considered PEP but didn't think I needed it. Now I am racked with extreme guilt, depression, and hopelessness. I will of course test again at 13 weeks. The week following that I am scheduled to have my fibroid surgery.

[Jeff G]

You do not have HIV ... you would have tested positive at 6 weeks and most certainly by 12 . Its conclusive, you do not have HIV and its no wonder because you never had a risk in the first place . HIV is sexually transmitted from unprotected anal and vaginal sex and not from fingering or cunnilingus ... also, the fluids a woman makes when excited is not infectious for HIV, if present, HIV resides deep in the vagina in a mucosa near the cervix .
If you are sick go see your doctor ... its not HIV .
Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

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 the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Although you did not have a risk and do not need to test for this specific incident , 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. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

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

[stupidgirl21]

If I didn't start having ARS symptoms until week 8 then that means I would not have seroconverted before then resulting in a negative antibody test. By week 10 they may no thave been detectable. I am contemplating going today as it is 12 weeks. Instead of waiting until next Friday 13 weeks.

[Jeff G]

A 12 week test is conclusive ... It will be negative again no matter how many times you test because YOU NEVER HAD A RISK IN THE FIRST PLACE .

[stupidgirl21]

I am concerned that there may have been mixing of vaginal fluids when the third party (the guy) was fingering us. Also i think the fluids he put in my mouth may not have been mine. Today is 84 days, but I am apprehensive to test before the full 90 days. I am terrified to get a positive result. I am just having way too many symptoms. I can go today at 1, but am too afraid to go by myself before my parents arrive in town. I didnt even think i had a risk...I cant believe this is happening.

[Jeff G]

Nothing you shared with us is a remote risk for HIV ... not even a little .
HIV is a fragile hard to transmit virus . Once HIV leaves the human body small changes in temperature and PH levels damage the virus and render it unable to infect and this is why sexual fluids are not infectious for HIV once outside the body and is also why you need not worry about the fingering and I you were advised already vaginal fluids are not infectious  for HIV .

Unless you had unprotected anal or vaginal penetrative penile sex that night or shared IV drug equipment you did not have a risk for HIV ... its just that simple .