Dear Bob, I had a low risk sexual exposure 8 months back. Two month after the exposure, I feet severe ARS like symptoms. I kept on testing until 6 months after the exposure. I still had symptoms like pain in throat, armpit and groin even if I tested negative after 6 months. Finally I went to see an ID Doc. He tested me all kind of std and everything came back negative. And like any other, he found the villain, STRESS. It is 8 months passed after the incident, still I feel tiredness, pain in groin, armpit and groin. Please advice me, who do I see next? An immunologist?

Thanks

Sam

Hey Sam,

OK, let me get this straight. You had a low-risk exposure, negative HIV tests out to 6 months, and an evaluation by an ID doctor who "found the villain" to be STRESS! OK, that all makes sense. Now your question is "should you see an immunologist?" Now Sam, let's think about this. If your house has a leak and water is pouring through your ceiling, and you call several specialists who all agree that the cause of your problem is a leaky bidet in your upstairs master bathroom, what would you do next? Call an electrician? Of course not! For leaky pipes, call a plumber! For stress, call a counselor or psychiatrist, not an immunologist. Immunologists do not fix stress problems any better than electricians fix leaky pipes! Make sense? Of course it does!

Good luck.

Dr. Bob