Hiv anxiety

[Extremelyanxious99]

I have very bad anxiety as you can see on my username, so baiscally I had a night out and I got very drunk but not a blackout just faded memories but when I seen pictures my memory was jogged as I had anxiety it was triggered by this event I thought to myself what if I had sex and I don't remember? Is this possible I remember where I was nearly every hour I was in the club  plus it's a club if I was to have sex it would be either standing up or in the bathroom and I didn't go to the unisex toilets only the women's that night and none of my friends said I did, this probably is very silly but I just have awful awful anxiety and I have trouble with thinking 'what if' but I became very anxious about hiv as I feel my node on the side of my neck feels kind of swelled sometimes especially in a hot room, I also had a tiny blister on my tounge 2 weeks ago and I have one again I've never had s fever lasting longer than a week or anything, I am from Ireland so not a high rate of hiv infections here and I am also only 16 I know I wouldn't comepletly remember having sex especially standing up but some people say different which makes me once again think what if but are my symptoms hiv related I am terrified

[Extremelyanxious99]

Thank you haldir1970 you are very helpful.. Yes I went on the statistics of 16-24 year olds diagnosed with hiv last year and it was only 44 people, I know you can't answer my questions obviously but I really just want reassurance due to my anxiety this is the wrong forum but you are just so helpful, but if I had a lot of memories from that night wouldn't something like loosing my virginy particularly stand out? It's not like I have no memories of that night I have a lot! Sorry for all these questions it just my anxiety speaking

[Haldir1970]

One last thing - your symptoms, based on what you are describing, sound psychosomatic (in your head).  Get a checkup with your doctor - if she/he suspects something more serious she/he will advise you and arrange for applicable tests - and not necessarily HIV.  Try to relax and seek a professional opinion it WILL help.

[Haldir1970]

Hi again!  Well, I hope that you were just late with your period (you did not say if you finally had it or not).  As for determining HIV infection (or not) based on symptoms alone - not possible.  The only way to know is to be tested.   I am not aware of the statistics regarding HIV infection being lower in Ireland than elsewhere in the world but I would expect that the statistics are based on the percentage of a population that actually gets tested - so if there is a stigma in Ireland associated with being tested for HIV or STDs, people might avoid being tested, in which case the statistics in Ireland re. HIV infection might be unreliable.  As for your age - whether or not you are less at risk would - I suppose - depend on how sexually active teens in Ireland are.  You say you have no memory of having had sex (or not) but if you had woken up the morning after there would have been some physical evidence that "something" happened - I.e you would know.  Bottom line - no one can give you assurances either way based on symptoms.  If you are unsure and cannot recall having had unprotected vaginal or anal sex, then the only way to determine if you have HIV or not is to get tested.

[Extremelyanxious99]

Sorry and just about the symptoms it's just I feel I have swollen glands on one side but I can't feel them it's feels kind of like my throat closing in, but the problem is when I feel I have a swollen gland I don't have any sore throat or any other infections and I heard this is an Indicator of hiv if you are not showing any sign of infections just swollen glands

[Extremelyanxious99]

Thanks you guys! But is being from Ireland and the age make a difference, it was a teen disco so everybody was 16, I know I shouldn't but I was really just hoping for reassurance as I'm all alone in my mind.. But in regards to having sex i never thought when I got home oh did I have sex or not, it was a few weeks after where I still didn't get my period and it popped into my head so it wasn't an immeadiate I think I had sex thing but because my anxiety I wrote down where I was and what I was doing every hour and I remember that so I truly don't think i did, I'm sorry this was probably a silly post I'm just young and scared

[Vance2335]

We can't guess if you had sex or not. Seek a therapist to help you with anxiety issues.

[Haldir1970]

Another point regarding the symptoms you mentioned - they are pretty non-specific i.e. swollen glands is not necessarily an indicator or HIV infection - many other infections/illnesses can cause this.  Also, while I am not a doctor or a nurse, I am pretty sure being in a hot room does not trigger swollen glands/lymph nodes.  Finally, and I have done this out of anxiety myself, we can often become so anxious and preoccupied with the idea of having contracted an illness that we can literally manifest physical symptoms.   Try to relax - speak to a health care professional - this will also help.

[Haldir1970]

Are any of the friends you are with able to tell you if you met up with someone?  Information I have seen in this forum indicates that the highest risk of contracting HIV comes from having unprotected vaginal/anal sex.   Also, information provided by many indicates that HIV is not transmitted via oral sex (of any sort).   In your case, if there is no way to recall whether or not you had unprotected vaginal/anal intercourse, the only way to be sure of your HIV status is to get tested.  My understanding is that conclusive results can only be obtained from testing done a minimum of 3 months after the suspected exposure event.   Some information also suggests that an additional test after 6 months is sometimes warranted.   Get tested - HIV is a difficult virus to catch so a negative test result would surely put your mind at ease.   Also, another lesson to be learned - if you often have memory lapses from a "night of it" you might want to limit the number of drinks you have when you party and keep your wits about you!  Good luck!