Feeling under the weather: sore throat, runny nose, swollen lymph nodes, body aches, and fatigue...

I have a problem. I was previously involved with someone who travels for work, and they have certain habits. We had rough oral contact—no finishing in the mouth, no kissing, and we used protection during intercourse. Since then, I’ve been dealing with constant sore throats and nasal congestion with green discharge. Later, my lymph nodes became so painful I couldn't even touch them for a week, coming in waves. My muscles were also incredibly sore; I couldn't move my legs for three days, and then my arms became immobilized. I also developed this stinging sensation under my armpit that feels like it hit my nervous system. Now, thirteen months later, I'm losing sensation in my legs, and that stinging under my arm remains chronic. Some days, I can't even move my arm. I tested negative for HIV, but I haven't checked for HTLV yet. What could this be? Is it a virus or a bacteria? Does anyone have experience or advice? This is getting really difficult.

Chloe Lopez72 said:I'm facing a serious issue... I previously had an encounter with someone who travels for work, and things were quite rough during oral contact—no finishing in the mouth, no kissing, just protected intercourse. Since then, I've been dealing with constant sore throats and nasal congestion with green discharge. Later, my lymph nodes became so painful I couldn't even touch them for a week at a time, and the muscle aches were debilitating; I couldn't move my legs for three days, then my arms, and I felt this sharp stinging under my armpit that seemed to hit my nervous system. Now, thirteen months later, I’m losing sensation in my legs and that stinging under my armpit has become chronic. Some days, I can't even move my arm. My HIV tests have come back negative, but I haven't checked for HTLV yet. What could this be? Is it viral or bacterial? If anyone has experience or advice, please, I'm struggling.

Have you gone through with any standard blood work yet? What did the results show? Have you checked your urine or your sedimentation levels?

Syphilis? Why on earth would you wait thirteen months? You should have gone to see a doctor immediately.

Serious comments only, please. Has anyone else dealt with this because of how broken the healthcare system is here in the States? I had an issue after being with someone where the only protection we had was oral sex—which, as they say, carries minimal risk. After that, my arm and leg muscles started aching, along with tingling and paresthesia right from the start, plus a sore throat, nasal issues, and swollen lymph nodes. My blood work didn't show anything majorly wrong. Once that subsided, I spent six months dealing with constant burning under my armpits almost every single day, and occasionally running a fever of 99°F. It flares up hard enough to knock me out once a month, and the rest of the time it’s just chronically there. I’ve been to infectious disease specialists three times now, but unfortunately, they ran some tests, saw negative results, and just discharged me. And I still feel exactly the same. If you were in my shoes, would you go back and demand they sit down and actually listen if you still have symptoms and haven't had every possible test run? Or would you just pay for private testing? I feel so helpless in this country. Any ideas on what this could be? It doesn't seem like syphilis, probably not Lyme, and it isn't HIV. They didn't even test me for mono. Now it turns out it might have hit my nerves—maybe MS. Is it normal to suffer for a year and a half while they refuse to do anything?

So, do you actually have a primary care doctor? Like, someone who handles all your referrals? I really feel like there should be one person looking at the big picture of your health instead of just bouncing around from specialist to specialist like a pinball... If I were in your shoes, I’d be sticking with my family doctor—I've been seeing mine for fifteen years now—and I'd be pushing them to keep digging into the diagnostics. You eventually build this kind of shorthand, this actual relationship, after being with someone for that long.
If you're still young, just take my advice for the future: having a reliable GP is everything, and honestly, as you get older, you eventually learn how to actually stand your ground and be assertive with them when you need to be.