Hi,

I’m a 25 year old male and I’m worried I may have contracted HIV. I dated a girl for about 2 weeks. We had sex 7 times. The first time I used a condom, but it turned out she actually has an allergy to latex and sex with a condom was really unpleasant for her. So the next 6 times we had sex we did so without a condom. I never came inside of her though.

Prior to being with me, she was tested for everything (about 2 and a half months earlier) and came up clean. 2 weeks prior to sleeping with me she was with another guy, but he was also recently tested as clean and she told me she trusted him and had no reason to think he was otherwise carrying anything.

However, she was sick when we had sex. She had quit smoking a few days prior but I later found out she also had what she thought was a sinus infection. I found out that she gets these about 8 times a year and that’s exactly what it felt like. She had lost her voice for a few days, felt really tired, and had a very bad sore throat. Pretty much though she seemed totally fine to me other than coughing a whole lot and having a lot of congestion in her chest. A few times she coughed up some mucus but I just figured that was from her quitting smoking or the sinus infection. When she saw her doctor the doctor wasn’t worried she had anything and within a few days she felt fine anyways.

Now I’m a really paranoid and anxious person and about 2 weeks after we had sex I began to read up on the symptoms of an early HIV infection. Keep in mind I’m perfectly aware that stress and anxiety can cause a person to get sick. But later that day I began to get a mild sore throat. A few days after that I had a mild fever. Then, about a week later I find myself having extreme fatigue. The sore throat is still present although about as mild as can be. I’ve also had one incident of diarrhea. No sweats or aches, no joint pain, or headaches. No weight loss or loss of appetite as far as I can tell.

The fatigue has lasted about a week so far as has made me miss three days of work. Its been odd, because I will feel very fatigued for a few days then get more energy and then a few days will pass and I’ll feel fatigued again. The fatigue is very bad and I sleep for extended periods of time as well as lay around in bed with no energy to do anything.

Also, a coworker/friend of mine recently came down with Mono. I got tested for that and am still waiting on the results. We spend a fair amount of time together, but we haven’t shared any food or kissed so I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten mono from her. But from what she has described, her symptoms sound similar to mine.

However, since the symptoms for mono and early HIV infection are so similar I’m very scared and don’t know what to think. I’m just wondering what are the chance I might have contracted HIV or some other STD? I’m scared out of my mind right now and I just need some reassurance. Other than this incident I have no other reason to think I may have contracted anything. I haven’t engaged in any other risky behaviors.

Thanks.