Dr. Bob -

Suppoe a gentlemen went to Vegas for a weekend on the town withthe boys, and while there engaged in protected sex with a pro where the condom stayed in tact. Suppose I, I mean that same gentlemen has had generalized swollen lymph nodes for 3 months, mild but recurring headaches constantly, a red but not sore throat (caused by post nasal drip for 3 months), stiff neck and sore shoulders (3 months), and muscle twitches for past 1 month. Now suppose that on the same day at three months, he took an Oraquick advance (finger prick) which was negative, a P24 antigen which returned non-reative, and a Amplicor 1.5 ultrasentive PCR RNA that returned less than 50 copies. Would it be premature for me to tell myself, uh I mean this gentlemen that he is not infected with HIV, and needs to look elsewhere for the cause of his symptoms? I'm trying to look out for the sanity of my friend. He (and I) are seeing a counselor about this already by the way.

Hi,

Oh you don't have to bother trying to relay to your friend all the information and advice I could provide. Just have him write to me directly, O.K.? Although I must admit that it is wonderful that your friend can count on you and confide in you to such a degree! Also, when your friend writes in, remind him to post his question in the proper forum. This forum is dedicated to HIV-positive folks with concerns about fatigue and/or anemia. Your friend should post his question in the Safer Sex/HIV Prevention Forum, O.K.? Can you tell him that for me? Oh, and since you're going to be chatting with him anyway, go ahead and tell him to WOO-HOO! His risk was nonexistent if the latex condom was used properly and did not fail. His three-month negative antibody test confirms his negative status. Regarding the PCR, that's also corroborative, but in general, I don't recommend PCR testing for routine HIV screening.

Congratulate your friend for me.

Stay well, both of you.

Dr. Bob