Question
How is PCP diagnosed?
1 December 2010. Related: All topics, Opportunistic infections.
I had a high risk exposure of HIV 4 years and 5 months ago. About a week or 2 weeks after the exposure I was really fatigued. Then 3-6 months after the exposure I got shingles. The doctor did a blood count and everything came back fine and I naively thought that meant everything was ok. I also had a sinus infection in 2008.
Now in 2010 I had a bad urine infection that I had to take a week’s course of antibiotics for. Then I started to worry about HIV again as I saw a poster that said you can have it and not know you have it.
Then I started getting all the late stage HIV symptoms – loss of appetite, weight loss, white tongue, numbness in hand and arm, diarrhoea, night sweats, tiredness, sore throat, hair loss.
I am also worried I have PCP as have a dry cough and back pains.
I went to the doctors today to get tested for HIV as I was worried – they seemed to think I was worrying for nothing but I think my symptoms show otherwise. So they didn’t check my lungs for PCP.
I do not get the results for 2 weeks and I am worried that the PCP will progress in this time and it will be too late for treatment. How is PCP diagnosed?
Your advice is much appreciated.
Answer
Thank you for you email.
I have to first of all stress that we are not doctors.
From what I have read in your email all your HIV tests have come back negative. The symptoms you describe as late stage HIV symptoms are not unique to HIV. There are other diseases that have similar symptoms like HIV.
Lastly, the main symptoms of PCP (Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia) include shortness of breath, dry cough, tightness in the chest, profound fatigue and a fever, chills, just to name a few. There are different tests that are used to diagnose PCP and they include chest X-rays, pulmonary function tests, induced sputum tests, and bronchoscopy.
If you have PCP, it is important to see a doctor.
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