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HIV????
Jul 13, 2008
I had intercourse with a man (I'm a woman) 7 weeks ago, and we had a problem with the condom. I took the morning-after pill and started feeling VERY sick the day after, with many symptoms. I've never had so many scary symptoms at the same time like I've been having for the last 7 weeks. In the beginning, I thought the symptoms were side-effects of the pill, but then I figured out they couldn't last forever (like it's taking).
I've been experiencing night sweats, swollen/ painfull eyes, rash, sore throat, sinusitis, loss of appetite, diarrrhea, nausea, dry cough, etc etc etc
I had blood tests for HIV and syphilis and both came out negative (maybe because it was too early?). I got tested again today (don't have the results yet) and will get tested again 3 and 6 months after exposure to that guy's body fluids.
The point is that today I got the result of blood tests, and things would seem ok, except for a high lymphocyte count. I would like to know if this CAN predict an early HIV infection (it's ok if you say so, I just want to know if there's the slightest possibility for this to happen. I won't be desperate or anything, I just want to know if there's a possibility, because I can't find other causes for it, so I want to get prepared for whatever comes). I know a high lymphocyte count means infection by virus or bacteria, and HIV is a virus... can it be possible that I was infected with it?
Thank you for your time.
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Response from Dr. Horwath
A high lymphocyte count is very non-specific. It could occur for many different reasons. Any viral infection and other types of infection could cause a high lymphocyte count.
You should be reassured by the negative HIV test. Today's tests can detect the antibodies to HIV several weeks after exposure. If the repeat test at 3 months is negative, then you should not be concerned about HIV infection. A negative test at 6 months would further confirm that.
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