Anxious and Depressed (not a question just a comment)

Im very glad I found this forum as it seems to be the most appropriate for those in wait to get tested at the appropriate time for the most accurate results. Back in September I posted my question but I will repost here this once, just for input. I am not sleeping anymore.  This will be the long 3-6 months till i get tested again. God I'm scared.
I did see the doctor on Sept 30, got tested- came back negative, however it had only been 10 days since i had unprotected sex.  I don't know what to do to ease the anxiety and depression till i get tested again. This is taking a toll on my body and my mind.

I wish you all much health and happiness. I do apologize for the long winded post. I needed to get my thoughts out. Thanks

my original post a few weeks back:
"I am 34 years old and after six years for celibacy, I did a very stupid thing a few days ago. I had unsafe sex with a man i didn't know. We started off safe using condoms but continued when we ran out. We engaged in oral sex and vaginal sex, however he never ejaculated during either. I've already made an appointment to see my doctor, however i'm well aware i will be scared for the rest of the year until i do several std/hiv tests throughout and hope they come back negative. How much at risk am I for hiv/stds? I am certainly not promiscuous, but i know that one mistake can change everthing. I'm really scared."

[joggen]

Almost nobody in your situation contracts HIV. Your emotional state is completely out of proportion to your risk. And you don't have to wait 3-6 months until getting tested again.

If your exposure was September 20, then having a test right now would be very encouraging for you. A negative result after 4 weeks is more than 90% accurate, dropping the chance that you were infected (which was already extremely low) 10-fold.
Since your risk was so low to begin with, a negative result at 4 weeks makes your chance of infection one in several million.

Once you get your negative result at 4 weeks, you should fully expect subsequent tests to be negative. And if you are going to test repeatedly over this, then please do not have more than three. Frequent testing can just exacerbate your anxiety since it is so inherent in test taking.

I suggest you take another test at 6-8 weeks (only if you are still nervous), and then a final test at 3 months.

A negative result 6-8 weeks after exposure means that your negative status is all but certain. A negative result at 12 weeks is conclusive. You do not need to test beyond that.

Feel free to report your test results here- I expect them to be negative.

[Nicegirlscared]

Thank you so much for your hopeful post. I will definitely heed your advice and not overdo the testing and try and calm down a bit. Your advice is much appreciated!

[djcurt25]

Yeah try to listen what joggen has said.  He offers good advice and knows what he is talking about.

I am in the same situation as you are.  My encounter was protected, but she did lick some areas with out protection.  This lapse in judgement has absloutely ruined my life at this point.  Monday will be 5 weeks post exposure.  I have had tests done at the 4.5 weeks, which came back negative.  I am just trying to hang in there until my 3 month window is up.

I know you are going through this difficult time as well.  Just take it a day at a time.  That has been what I have been trying to do.  Although very hard at times, time does seem to go by fairly fast.  You will be fine!