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STDs (Expert Forum)
Need Peace of mind until test results come in
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
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IMPORTANT
This forum is limited to questions about STDs other than HIV/AIDS. For questions about HIV prevention, or if you have general questions about safe sex (e.g., condoms, how to protect yourself from HIV and STDs), please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum
Some of the most common types of questions concern the risk of HIV or STD after a particular sexual exposure, and about symptoms that might or might not be due to HIV. If your question is along these lines, please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum.
This forum is limited to questions about STDs other than HIV/AIDS. For questions about HIV prevention, or if you have general questions about safe sex (e.g., condoms, how to protect yourself from HIV and STDs), please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum
Some of the most common types of questions concern the risk of HIV or STD after a particular sexual exposure, and about symptoms that might or might not be due to HIV. If your question is along these lines, please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum.
Need Peace of mind until test results come in
by danielle5247, Apr 15, 2006 12:00AM
Hello, First i would like to thank you for this wonderful forum it has been very helpful to me over the past week. I have kind of an odd worry that was brought on my a class that i am taking at the university of rhode island. The class covered statistics of the hiv virus and so forth, and they seemed really high and very scary. This class had me think that maybe I myself was at risk of having contracted this virus. So now for the past week I have been a nervous wreck and have decided that I must have HIV. Two years ago i had sex with my best friend, i know exactly who he has had sex with in the past which was only one other person than myself. I dont think i ever displayed any symptoms of the virus, the only thing i do remember is losing my voice a couple weeks after, my throat didnt hurt so i attributed it to the extreme stress i was under at the time. But for some reason two years later I am worried about this, so i started to think about things and one thing that i thought about was that i have been diagnoses with mono twice, but never really showed symptoms either time the fist time i got tested because my boyfriend had it so i got tested and had it but really no symptoms, then the second time i got a normal cbc done and my lymphocytes were up so they tested me for mono and it was positive again. So this is what i am basing this on, tell me im being silly. The statistics just seem so high and scary, I dont know what to think. But they have scared me enough to get myself tested, which in the small state of rhode Island results can take from 7-14 days to get back and it has now been 8 so...
1)having unprotected sex three times two years ago with my best friend (he is a male and I am a female), who does not do drugs and is not bisexual and has had one other partner (whom does not seem permisquous in the least, i have met her a few times) other than myself would be low risk i assume? Would you under normal circumstances even recommend someone in my position to get tested?
2)having mono twice should be no reason to diagnose myself with hiv?
3)if it is so hard to contract like you say 1 to 1000 which makes my odds so good of not having it even if he did have it...why are the statistics so high. I have seen stats such as 1 in 500 college students are thought to have HIV!
Im sorry if these are repetative questions but I really need some peace of mind, im not only driving myself crazy but those around me who tell me im fine and my chances are insignificant, even having mono twice or not. This has been the worst week and a half of my life and it was all brought on by these scary statistics that i see in class and online.
Thank you so much for your help
1)having unprotected sex three times two years ago with my best friend (he is a male and I am a female), who does not do drugs and is not bisexual and has had one other partner (whom does not seem permisquous in the least, i have met her a few times) other than myself would be low risk i assume? Would you under normal circumstances even recommend someone in my position to get tested?
2)having mono twice should be no reason to diagnose myself with hiv?
3)if it is so hard to contract like you say 1 to 1000 which makes my odds so good of not having it even if he did have it...why are the statistics so high. I have seen stats such as 1 in 500 college students are thought to have HIV!
Im sorry if these are repetative questions but I really need some peace of mind, im not only driving myself crazy but those around me who tell me im fine and my chances are insignificant, even having mono twice or not. This has been the worst week and a half of my life and it was all brought on by these scary statistics that i see in class and online.
Thank you so much for your help
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Apr 16, 2006 12:00AM
, Apr 16, 2006 12:00AM
Relax; "those around you" are exactly right. The chance your test will be positive is extremely low. It's not a bad idea for all sexually active people to be tested from time to time; in fact, in a few months CDC will release guidelines advising that every American age 13-64 be tested for HIV the next time they visit a health care provider for any reason. So to that extent, sure, it's a good idea for you to be tested. But your sexual lifestyle and the particular sexual exposures you describe are not, in themselves, reasons for testing. Except, of course, for the anxiety factor; clearly you will sleep better once you know your test result is negative.
To your specific questions: 1) See above. 2) No, your mono episodes don't raise any alarms. 3) I haven't seen the 1 in 500 college student figure, but it sounds plausible. However, almost all the positives in that group will be people who are gay, bisexual, injection drug users, or the sex partners of people known to be infected with HIV.
The reasons are very complex why heterosexual HIV transmission is much less frequent in most (but not all) populations in the U.S. than in (say) parts of Africa or Asia. Search the STD Forum threads and archives for "HIV transmission risk" for more information.
I don't want to minimize the risks; they are low for people in your situation, but not zero. Hence the general advice about careful partner selection, condoms, etc. Anyway, one of the take-home messages for you is to be tested regularly (e.g., once a year) for more common STDs, like chlamydia--as well as HIV.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
To your specific questions: 1) See above. 2) No, your mono episodes don't raise any alarms. 3) I haven't seen the 1 in 500 college student figure, but it sounds plausible. However, almost all the positives in that group will be people who are gay, bisexual, injection drug users, or the sex partners of people known to be infected with HIV.
The reasons are very complex why heterosexual HIV transmission is much less frequent in most (but not all) populations in the U.S. than in (say) parts of Africa or Asia. Search the STD Forum threads and archives for "HIV transmission risk" for more information.
I don't want to minimize the risks; they are low for people in your situation, but not zero. Hence the general advice about careful partner selection, condoms, etc. Anyway, one of the take-home messages for you is to be tested regularly (e.g., once a year) for more common STDs, like chlamydia--as well as HIV.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Sweetheart, I am a gay male...much worse for me than you.
Consider this, your heterosexual and your risk is significantly LOWER.
Media coverage/exposure can enhance a sometimes scary situation such as HIV/AIDS.
Considering that you have only one partner, your risk is very low.
Unless your bf is an IV drug user, having multiple sex partners, etc....you do not carry a high risk.
No less getting tested is the only resolution to the dilemma....especially if it dwells in your mind. (Feeling like Dear Abby here) I think you have generalized anxiety...all too contributed and fueled by the HIV/AIDS drama of today.
Also, quoted from someone I cannot remember, "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and statistics." So, do not rely on statistics.
Take care and always protect yourself. I certainly have learned.
I know i am paranoid, and actually i have seen a pyschologist due to this unbeleivable amount of anxiety and he also things i have generalized anxiety disorder. But either way I am absolutly terrified that for some reason this test is going to come back positive.
But again think you
and keep yourself safe also
You can read and read and read about how low your chances are of having HIV but nothing is going to quell your fears until you get that test back. I would read about how low my risks were and then immediately think, but there is still a chance.
One thing that comforted me was that when I actually went to get my blood taken, I asked my Dr. how long do people with HIV live now. He said forever...no one (with good heath care) dies of it anymore. He told me that in 1984 you have 220 days from diagnosis to death, now, people just keep on living. He told me that this has actually added to an increased number of cases because people are becoming lax about getting HIV since it’s not a death sentence anymore.
I rationalized that even though I knew my risks were really really low, that even if I did turn up having it, I will still live. I won't turn into Tom Hanks from the movie Philadelphia.
Just keep taking deep breaths. You'll get though this.
Thanks for the support!
I read that someone recently infected may be expected to live 40+ years. It didn't state if that was based on current medication available or if that factors in what is expected to come in the near future. Without treatment, 10-12 years or so.
I know my risk is low (that is what im hoping what the doctor will tell me when he respons) and i know im probably overreacting but i read stuff online and it scares me. Mono for example, i hear you get it twice only if your immune supressed, but when i got it for the second time, my doc did not seem to surprised at all...so I dont know. like i said i just need peace of mind until i get the results, it seems like its taking forever. And soscared i will be on the lookout for your name on that site, it would be nice to talk to someone as anxious as myself about this stuff (im 23/F by the way)
thanks all and i will keep checking back in hope of the doctor responding soon.
I just went through almost the exact situation that you are going through, only lived with the anxiety for 8 years before I got tested (which was stupid). When I asked my Dr. for the tests (he tested me for everything), he told me that the stress I was causing myself was much worse than anything my test results would show, and he was right. After making myself sick with worry, I got my results back Thursday and everything was completely normal. I am absolutely certain that with the encounter that you describe, your tests will be normal as well. :)
quiteconcerned
P.S. Dr. HHH had accuratly assessed my risk and I totally trust his opinion. I think you can take what he says to the bank. ;)