I have been worried that I might have thrush / hiv for about 2 years. After a relatively high risk exposure, I became convinced I had hiv and started to manifest many of the symptoms. I got a thick white coating on my tongue with red patches. My gums were even losing its skin. I went to a GP who told me it was thrush which freaked me out even more. ( I am hiv negative ) The "thrush" didn't go away with the prescribed treatment because I didn't have it. I went to a second GP who told me I had it too and then eventually to a specialist who said I definitely did not have it. Apparently, this is a common misdiagnosis. I have geographic tongue which some people believe is the tongue's reaction to stress. I finally believe I don't have hiv, but it took along time to believe it. My doctor has me on Paxil which seems to have been a life saver. I hope this helps readers of your site and don't know if this should rather be in the mental health section, but I asked many questions here

The reason I am posting this question is that there still exists a tremendous amount of confusion regarding candidiasis (thrush), coated tongue and geographic tongue. Once again, I want to stress that if you feel you have thrush, based on tongue changes alone, please have a dentist experienced in oral medicine or oral pathology take a look. If you are concerned about your HIV status and have not been tested, please take the time to undergo this test.

Take care,

DR