Weakness and yellow tongue, could it be due to HIV?

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have a question about HIV. For the last 6 months I have been continuously worried that I may have become infected from my ex-boyfriend. I have no reason to believe he was infected. We had unprotected sex several times in January-May of 2011. After our last contact on May 31st 2011, I had a negative HIV test in June, July and August. I also was tested (it was the OraSure test) in late October of 2011 which would have been nearly five months since our last contact and that was negative as well. I have also tested negative for any STDs. I am worried because I have experienced some of the symptoms of HIV infection such as tiredness etc. I also recently noticed my tongue has a yellow disocoloration (yellowish) but it is not painful and does not bleed and the spots are not raised. I have read that this can be caused by dehydration and nutritional deficits (I am a vegetarian) so I know it could be caused by either of those two things. I think I have myself so stressed out thinking I could have HIV that the symptoms I am experiencing are caused by the stress. Since I had a negative HIV test at 5 months, do I need to be worried? Thank you A from NY

Dear Abigail: This is a very difficult phase that you are going through, and I do understand your concern. The period of time you should wait before taking an HIV test will depend on the type of test that you are taking. In the majority of cases, the standard test that will be offered at an HIV testing center will be an HIV antibody Test. The HIV antibody Test detects antibodies to the virus in your blood. For most of the people these antibodies take 6 weeks to 3 months to develop, sometimes, in very rare cases, may take up to 6 months.

Since you've tested negative after 5 months of the contact, we can presume that you do not have HIV. Symptoms of HIV infection are fever, headache, tiredness, and swollen nodes in the neck. These symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks. I would suggest that you consult your doctor for your symptoms of tiredness and yellowish discoloration of tongue. Take care.