Is Dr Saying I’m Out of the Woods?
Dear Doctor,
I had intercourse with a man (vaginal), and gave him unprotected oral sex. I began having symptoms about two weeks after our sex, swollen tonsils, swollen neck lymph nodes night sweats, leg bumps which my doctor called follicular something, redness all over my face, rash on my back, low grade fever, EBV, mono, gonorhea, chlamydia, and all tests showed to be negative. At about 3 or 4 months post exposure I came down with a high fever for one day, thought I was getting the flu but it was gone the next day and I was left with swollen lymph nodes everywhere, they are highly painful in my chest area, making me cry @ work even. The CT scan said many enlarged nodes, not sure when/if they’ll biopsy. I took a DNAPCR @ the 5 month time and an ICMA through labcorp, they were negative, but the power was out in our city for 9 days due to ice storm(oklahoma) at the time and I worry about the results (transporting, contaminating, blood arriving late). At 6 months and 9 days I took oral test, it was negative. I continue to have the most awful pain in my lymphnodes (elbows, chest, collar bone area, neck, left side of groin. I’m mostly worried because the scan shows enlarged nodes.
Could the high dose steroids given to me when my throat was sore effect the result?
What effect does being HLA-B27 positive have on test results or antibody production?
Would my lymph nodes still be swollen & the folliculitis still be abundant nearly 7 months later?
Do you advise that I take another test? While it will be protected, I’d like to have sex with my guy without feeling guilty – I don’t want to disclose all of this if it isn’t necessary.
Two months later, the guy claims he had a negative result, his ex wife is an IV drug user in a poor economic area, and I can’t help but be concerned.
What do you make of all this? My doctor says he doesn’t even know who to refer me to.
Reported Report this Spam
Miscategorized
Abuse
Was this question helpful to you?Yes No
Doctor’s Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.
View Profile
H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.
Seattle – WA
, Jan 24, 2008 05:54PM
There are many causes of enlarged lymph nodes, and HIV is one of the least common. Your test results prove HIV is not the cause in your case.
No medication is known to alter the reliability of HIV test results; there are theories about immunosuppressive drugs, potent chemotherapy, and the like, but few or no actual cases documented. High dose corticosteroids might do it, but only if taken for weeks on end; a brief course of treatment wouldn’t change anything, and in any case you were long off the treatment during your later tests.
As you likely know, people of HLA type B-27 are at increased risk of certain autoimmune diseases, but not to altered reliability of HIV test result.
On top of all that, you describe very low risk exposures in terms of HIV. Oral sex carries almost no risk and you give good evidence your partner wasn’t infected. But even you were at very high risk, it wouldn’t matter: the test results always tell the correct story.
Bottom line: Continue to work with your personal health care provider(s) to address the real cause of your symptoms and the enlarged lymph nodes. But put HIV out of your mind. You don’t have it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes– HHH, MD
Was this answer helpful to you?Yes No