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Q: HIV Symptoms - rash on body, sores, fever blisters
asked by: info22 on October 2nd, 2007
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Hi. My girlfriend is having alot of trouble being sick lately.
She started by having a horrible rash all over her body and in her mouth she had sores. She has also had what look like fever blisters on and off at times.
At first it was not bad but progressively got worse.
The rash would come and go and often she would have to go to the emergency room for meds.
They dismissed it as an alergic reaction but after a while she had more symptoms. She has had cold chills at night, and sometimes a fever.
She has also had loss of energy and weight gain (25-30 pounds in three months.)
She has had this problem going on 3 months now and the rash comes and goes almost EVERY day. Sometimes it breaks out worse than others.
It is a very itchy rash.

She went to the doctor and they told her she had mono.
But I read the sypmtoms for HIV and AIDS and I am worried now.
Also... she had had blood in her stools at times. I did not see this listed in the symptoms for mono but I saw it in the symptoms for HIV/AIDS that people would bleed from holes in their body for unknown reasons.
Should she get tested?
The doc said she DID have mono but all these symptoms are so close to the sypmtoms I read with HIV/AIDS that it worries me.
The bleeding in her stools also makes me worry because like I said I did not see that listed with mono.
Note: She also is insulin resistant and the doctor said someday she will have to take insulin shots. right now she is on NO meds for this.

She if very young but ... she worked as a stripper for about a week or so
about 8 months ago. She did it being young and not knowing any better and said she had sex with no one while doing that.
She also talks down on people who are very sexually active so I really do believe her but I worry sometimes because I know she did work at a place like that... even though it was for a short amount of time.
Again the doctor DID say she had mono but I am still worried about HIV/AIDS.
I am really worried and need some advice.
Thank you


Last edited by info22 on October 2nd, 2007 08:40 AM; edited 1 time in total
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Marianne0558
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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If you are worried about HIV/AIDS, you need to get both of your behinds in a doctor's office to be tested. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. If you are worried, get tested. It would be very sad if it came out positive and neither of you knew. Plus other people could have been infected as well. Both of you really, really, really need to get tested. I can't stress that enough.
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info22
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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I told her that she should get tested. She is going to the doctor today because they are testing what her seizure medine is doing to her in relation to her blood sugar problem (she has siezures caused from a tumor that she has had for quite a while in her brain, for a number of years ..it is not growing but they give her meds for it.)
She told me she would ask them to do it. She was not acting embarrased or anything but then her mom called me back and said I freaked my girlfriend out.
She was kinda lauging but was like "you really scared her".
Her mom acted like I was an fool.

So now I don't even think she is gonna get tested because her mom will probably tell her not to worry. Her mom said her dad had hemmaroids really bad and thought that might be what the bleeding was.
But I know bleeding from your butt is not something to be taken lightly.
I just hope her doctor is smart enough to really check her out.
The thing is it took the doctor forever to get her in when he first diagnosed her with mono and I don't think he is a good doctor.

I don't want to offend her which I know now I did.....
And I don't want her to think that I might have given her some kind of STD or anything because I know I don't have any.
She is young though so it is easy for her to missinterpet things.
Now she is probably gonna think I'm some sort of male swinger or something haha.

I am just worried for the both of us.
If she has been diagnosed with mono ... I guess I could be over reacting myself..
But the fact that she had blood in her stool a couple of times just worries me.
I know that we both already have health problems. (I am diabetic and also have a genetic lung disease). When you have health problems and grew up with them you WORRY about things.

I think Ima be in real trouble with her later today and I'm gonna feel like crap for asking her to ask the doctor to test her but what the hell else should I do...?
I just care.
Hopefully maybe they will joke around with the doctor about it and he wil suggest to test just in case. But I dunno if they are even gonna mention it now.. because her mom acted like it was ridiculus.. even though she said she would ask him.
I don't want to worry her or look like an ass because I love her but I do worry.

What do you think about all these symptoms...?
And the fact that that the doc already said she had mono?
Am I being just too paranoid?
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Marianne0558
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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I don't think you are being paranoid at all! Sometimes doctors misdiagnose ailments and that is not uncommon at all.

Being sexually active, you should always ask your partner to get tested if they haven't. That's not being paranoid, that's being safe. You not only have her to worry about, but you have yourself too.

I would push her to get tested, just so you can rule it out. Worrying about her health and well-being shouldn't cause her to be mad at you. It shows her that you care.
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info22
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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I'm going to see if she asked the doctor about it today.
Her appoinment is after the blood test to see how her medicine might be affecting her blood sugar levels. She goes from the lab to the doctor.
I just HOPE that she gets tested now, being as I asked her too and hopefully it struck some kind of cord in her.
With her mom being there tho... she may talk her into brushing it off.
I'm not going to interrrupt them again while they are there but I hope they did it.
She has mono yes... but she needs to be extra carefull, and so do I, being as we both already have health issues.

Maybe even if they aren't serious about it they will joke around in front of the doctor and he will have sense enough to check her out.
I mean when a person has health issues already.. you check every possibility.
You do ANYWAYS.
I know he knows she has mono but jeez when you have blood in stools you check it out. The fact that mono symptoms and HIV symptoms can be alike just worries me. And the unexplained blood.

Just a personal question... Being as she does have mono
do you think maybe I am being a LITTLE paranoid?
I know you said no but... do you really think there is a good chance she could have it or do you think being as she has mono that that is the issue and the bleeding something else?
Having both of these at the same time... which gives the same sypmtoms... I know is possible but I also know it would be kinda rare.
I am both worried and thinking I am being paranoid maybe at the same time!
GRRRRRR!
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Marianne0558
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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Well the bleeding COULD be caused by hemorrhoids but it is impossible to know without getting that checked out. She should know if she has hemorrhoids because they are painful. The doctor can examine her and see if there are hemorrhoids or not.

Like I said before, I don't think you are being paranoid at all. Even if she didn't have mono or any sickness at all, she still should be tested for HIV if she has been sexually active. I think EVERYONE should be tested. The terrible thing is people can spread HIV without knowing they have it. That puts a number of other people at risk as well. I got tested when me and my boyfriend got together and I expected him to get tested as well. It's not only for our well-being but I wanted to know that my future children would be okay as well.

I think that you should still push for a test. If she decides she doesn't want to get tested, you should take the initiative and get yourself tested. All it takes is some blood, so it's not like it's painful.
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info22
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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Yeah. The question is... since she would be in early stages if she did have it
(god forbid)... when should I get tested since it can go for a certain amount of time without being detected?

She has had these symptoms for three months and I have been with her for a little over six...
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Marianne0558
replied on October 2nd, 2007
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I think the norm. is pretty much being tested every 6 months. So if you come out negative this go around, be sure to follow up anyway (regardless if she tests positive or negative) in the next 6 months. If she doesn't want to get tested, it's her own problem that she doesn't want to create a safer life for her and her loved ones.

Just don't be as naive. Get tested. Twice a year is not much at all. And the free clinics won't charge you an arm and a leg. It's being safe, that's all.
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ihavemono
replied on August 2nd, 2009
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You're doing the wrong thing here by assuming symptoms over the internet. There are a thousand different ailments that could lead to those symptoms, mono being one of them. All of the symptoms you listed your girlfriend having are possible symptoms of mono. You need to get off the computer before you let your anxiety destroy the relationship you have with this poor girl.
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logical
replied on August 21st, 2009
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You are not infected!
Marianne0558 is doing nothing more than causing everyone anxiety. I was in the exact same situation as you. I had all the symptoms of HIV plus a bunch of other stuff that I convinced myself were syptoms. Swollen nodes, fever, headache, night sweats, rash. I also had blood in stool and tingling in arms and legs (neither are a known symptom of HIV). This all happened to me a week after having unprotected sex and lingered on for months.
After looking at a bunch of posts and websites, I was totally convinced that I had HIV. I'm a 30 year old guy with a master's degree in engineering, professional job with 2 kids and all the other challenges of life. I was in perfect physical and mental health until this happened to me...or should I say until I did this to myself. I never had feelings of panic before. I also never had a headache or swollen nodes or a rash like this before. I made myself physically and mentally sick with unneccesary worry. It was hell for 3 months, but I finally got tested. Now all of the symptoms are gone. It was all in my head and the more I worried about it, the worse the symptoms got. It can be really horrible.
Here's what you need to do:
Check out this site to get the statistics:
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance /basic.htm#aidsrace
Look at the numbers and do the math. If you are not having anal sex with another man, your risk of getting HIV is about the same as winning the power ball. There are very, very, very, very few hetrosexual men and females out there with HIV. Even if you happened to get together with one of them, your changes of getting HIV in one encounter are literally 1 in 1000 unprotected or 1 in 100,000 protected. You can find all kinds of research to back that up too. So the chances that you're infected are literally 1 in a million or better.
You can probably find the stats on your individual state or city by searching on "hiv statistics Texas" or whatever your state is.

First stop worrying and return to your normal lives. If you really feel like you can't move on, then go get tested so you'll be 100% sure. I gaurantee that you'll be negative.

If you're not sure you want to get tested by your doctor, then go to one of the many planned parenthood or universities in your area.
Most universities will have free confidential testing, even if you are not a student. Most of them can even give you results in 20 minutes. Find the nearest University health center and call them. They will be very helpful.

I'm not saying that you can't get HIV, I'm saying that both you and I did NOT...despite all of our symptoms. You are not infected, get tested and move on. You'll be glad you did.
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logical
replied on August 21st, 2009
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Three different doctors have confirmed that a test at 3 months in conclusive. The average time for a positve result to show up is 25 days. If the test is negative at 3 months, then you are negative. 100% Negative.
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