Well I though i'd update my situation.
I tested at 5 weeks (4th gen rapid test), 7 weeks, 9 weeks and 13 weeks.
All came back negative. To be honest my mind was pretty settled after the 5th week test. Actually i was so overcome with relief that I cried in the testing office.
I truly believed that the physical feelings i had were ARS. I was absolutley convinced. I can't even explain my levels of stress and anxiety during those first five weeks. And of course this all fed into the physcial symptoms, no sleep, not eating properly. A vicious cycle.
For the record I had a sore throat, muscle cramps and fatigue. Swollen glands in weird places, and a light rash.
Turns out the sore throat was from Lpr (acid reflux), the glands swelling were from dermititis(sp?) on my scalp and behind my ears which the doc thought came about through, wouldnt you know it, ANXIETY!
And all of this from what was a more or less "no risk encounter". The mind is a powerful thing and it can turn on you.
The experience has really changed me. Made me look at myself and what i was doing. Really woke me up. Still got a lot of things to work through in regards to side issues but overall it has given me massive perspective.
So all i want to say is if you are feeling anxiety, step back and look at the actual situation. The facts. Those sticky posts written by Joggen (I think) are absolutley true and if i had got myself to truly take them onboard then i would have saved myself a lot of stress and emotional pain.
Protected sex IS protected sex. If the condom fails you will know about it.
This was strongly put to me again by an HIV counsellor who has been working for 15 years and come into contact with 1000s of positive cases.
Thank you so much to everyone who responded, you may not know it but your words help the people on here and they gave me, even if only for minutes at a time, comfort.
Overall, reading the internet will drive you mental, but if you are like me you will keep on searching anyway becuase you can't stop yourself.
Be safe everyone.
If you wish you can do a 4th generation duo test at 28 days just to get some peace of mind. This helped me alot with my anxiety. Your result will be negativebut atleast you will be able to sleep better. Your mind is very powerful and can cause the anxiety symptoms. I actually broke down and wentto a therapist who helped me alot in dealing with my guilt and anxiety. It really helped me and i am still in revovery stage and have vowed never to make this stuoid mistake again. I know you are hiv negative and you must accept the fact that once your condom was intact and did not break or tear you are 100% safe from hiv. It took me weeks to believe my results and still to date i have very small doubts and bouts of anxiety but i have started to think positive and this has caused me to rest easy. keep thinking positive and you will be fine
The physical feelings i have are real though. I know they can not be used to diagnose but they are making me feel terrible.
I don't think it is guilt, more just anxiety over ruining my life.
I feel I'm at the point of nervous exhaustion.
You are having the same guilt problem i am having. We are human and make stupid mistakes and sometimes we have trouble forgiving ourselves. You cannot contract hiv from condom protected sex and it is all in your mind as the guilt is causing this. The mind is a very powerful thing and you need to relax and forgive yourself. Think positive bud.
hi dear u probably just got a viral infection or something. dont worry about it. u used condom and the risks of contracting hiv using condom is very low;-)! u would be fine dont worry...
NO, you read wrong, protected sex is no risk for HIV. I believe that your guilt over having homosexual sex is manifesting as HIV Anxiety Syndrome. Work on your guilt, but forget about HIV.