Is it stress or am i actually positive for HIV

[paranoidia]

I had unprotected sex and got hpv, maybe trich.....

Firstly, I am extremely scared of being positive for HIV, and as the result have driven myself into almost a week of anxiety attacks. I had headaches, a more frequent bowel movement, loss of appetite (i can only have water without thinking of puking), extreme breathing problems, light headedness, fatigue. This was a few days before a month after exposure so i thought they were signs. Of course, this did not help me and friends had to beg me not to read into them. It was very hard. I am force feeding myself, only because of the extreme belly pain from hunger and fatigue, i do not want the food. 1 week after the anxiety attacks, i am controlling my thoughts better. However, one day was extremely stressful, my mind was a mess and i had headaches and bouts of anxiety symptoms coming up from the morning till way at night.

This is where my problem comes in. The following day with was one month and 5 days after exposure, i 'caught a cold'. When i was under a fan i started sneezing and for that time i felt worse and worse. When i left i felt better. Having to go back i felt worse again. The second time i went back it started again and by the time i left, my slight fever was more sure, i was sniffing, my head was cloggy, lymph nodes were swollen (though i have been bothering them for many days on end to see their size). When i control my outer surroundings, i feel better.

I am scared that this is the cold/flu like symptoms about a month after exposure

Caring friends tell me that its because i made myself weaker from the stress, infections like flu are going around and you caught it easily. I did hug a friend on my extremely stressful day who i realized was sickie a few hours before my fan episode the following dat. soooooo maybe. Am i sick because i think i should be?

BUT the timing of it all is annoying me. Its about a month after. Stress can weaken you, but it can also make the symptoms that HIV may produce more evident, so i cannot get peace.

I took one HIV test, but that was 3 weeks after, i will go for one for 3 and 6 months. However, i am sick now and the test days are so far. To think i could have the virus in me and cant do anything about it.


I was wondering, if my environment affects me, does it rule out the fact that its HIV, or not.

If someone else catches my cold, then it would be due to a cold virus and not HIV, should i try this and make it up to the person.......??


I am paranoid !!!!!!

oh, and i also had a skin rash on my lower back and neck/shoulder region. It started as a burning sensation then scratching. They were small blisters, very hard to see. I believe i got them a few days before that odd day i mentioned, even closer to one month. I read where it could be due to anxiety, but i was calmer. Is it more likely due to anxiety or HIV?

[Xhost]

Your description of how you are feeling right now takes me back to a rather scary time in my own life. Namely, at one point, I was fairly certain that I had contracted HIV, and I had every symptom you are describing, plus a few more. Swollen lymph nodes? Oh yeah, you bet. Fever? You better believe it. Sore throat? Check. Ulcers in my mouth? Ouch, heck yes. Fatigue, dizziness, tingling in my hands and feet? Yep, yep and yep. A rash in the shape of the Great State of Texas upon my bony posterior? You're darn tootin'!

The thing is, all of these "symptoms" was the result of my anxiety, my overwhelming levels of stress. Stress induced by the thought that I may have, against all odds, contracted HIV. Didn't matter that my fears were unrealistic, I still had them. Didn't matter that, intellectually, I understood that the odds for contracting HIV were slim to none. I still had the FEAR. And the fear overrode my innate sense of logic and proportion.

My guess is that you also have the FEAR. You are also suffering from all of the phantom symptoms I suffered from for so long, and to such detrimental effect to my emotional and physical well being. I have been down this road before, and I hate to see anyone else travel down this same road for as long as I once did. It wasn't fun, and you do not need to do as I have done. So, you know, don't. I know, easier said than done. But, try, at least.

[LIZZIE LOU]

This is where my problem comes in. The following day with was one month and 5 days after exposure, i 'caught a cold'.

this is NOT indicative of ARS.  symptoms, or lack thereof, are not a way to diagnose hiv...only a test will do that.  

sounds like anxiety is getting the best of you.  if you are sitting around thinking about hiv...spending countless hours on the computer researching hiv...STOP!!!!  you are only adding fuel to the fire.

hiv is not an easy virus to contract.  odds are you didnt!!!!!!!

test at 6-8 weeks post exposure for a good indication of your status...but follow that up with a test at 3 months for a conclusive result.  

[Teak]

You don't get trich from unprotected sex. If you have a concern about your symptoms see your doctor. Rashes with ARS don't itch.