Worried about symptoms? READ THIS !!! - TheBody.com's Bulletin Boards

(I've posted before as Steve, Steve2 and Suffering Steve. If I post again, I'll just go back to being plain old Steve!)

I've just tested negative at thirteen weeks, which is great news for me. I've decided that's enough now, I'm willing to move on and accept the result.

(My exposure risk was unprotected vaginal sex with a street-working prostitute, who was, almost certainly, an IV drug user).

The main reason I'm posting here is to give you a list of all the symptoms I've experienced, which I took to be definite signs of the acute retroviral syndrome and which made me 100% certain I was going to be HIV+.

Why am I bothering? Well, hopefully to give some reassurance to anyone going through the same thing. I've noticed that like me, people are very concerned about their symptoms, and like me people are diagnosing themselves. I was certain I was HIV+ but I'm convinced now that I was mistaken. So, even though I didn't believe it, the message is repeated: YOU CAN'T DIAGNOSE BY SYMPTOMS! The only way is by a test at the right time.

OK, so here goes (I kid you not, I have experienced every one of these, some occasionally, some regularly, over the past eleven or so weeks. I have not imagined any of them. Some are still there, but I don't feel concerned about them any more).

Sore throat : dry cough : fever (or sensation of fever : temperature was OK when I finally got round to measuring it)

Swollen, tender, hot glands/lymph nodes (especially groin, armpits, neck). Same sensation in knees, elbows

Aching joints : pins and needles in hands and feet : pain in hands and feet, muscle tension/cramps : pain/intolerance of usual physical contact : abdominal discomfort/pain, ultra-sensitivity to cold

Poor skin colour/texture : spots on both thighs (clusters of small ones which stay, larger ones which come and go) : tiny blood-red spots over the body : breaks in the skin which appear for no (apparent) reason : general redness in the neck and upper chest - hot to touch : spotty face and head

Mottled white appearance of tongue : excessive saliva/ "foam" in the mouth (thrush? don't know, could've been)

Night sweats : excessive sweating following mild exertion

Tiredness : fatigue : general weakness

Difficulty getting to sleep : constant waking through the night : difficulty getting back to sleep

Hyperventilating : shortness of breath : racing pulse (over 100bpm for nearly two weeks), pacing/restlessness

Diarrhoea : flatulence : frequent urination

Weight loss : loss of appetite

Occasional ringing in the ears : strange taste in the mouth

Watery eyes

So there you go. All those symptoms and I was negative. A lot can be explained due to stress and anxiety. The rest I don't know. I would guess that the prolonged stress did have some effect on my immune system, and made my body wear down, making me more susceptible to some unidentified bug, or reigniting something dormant in me that I was successfully keeping at bay before. But who knows, that's just a guess. I'm not a doctor, and if they can't explain it , then neither can I!

Anyway, time to move on. Best wishes to all.

Post Extras: Remind Me!