Aa
can't get over this fear
I'm still having so much trouble getting over my fear of testing because I feel that I definitely got this disease from the type of exposure I had. (unprotected vaginal, stranger, date rape)
I remember that right after the incident occurred, about 3-4 weeks later, the left side of my neck swelled up as well as my underarm. I couldn't feel any lumps in my underarm, but it was a sensation I had never ever felt before. It was as if putting my arm against my side was uncomfortable because they were something between my armpit and breast. At the time, I chalked it up to a variety of mosquito bites I had on my arm (even though I've had tons of mosquito bites on my arm before and never had this feeling) I rationalized that my neck might have been caused from the tooth asbcess I had that had to undergo an emergency root canal roughly the same time.
I've let this go on for a year, with my anxiety building up and subsiding periodically. Right now there are so many exciting things going on in my life that I'm not really enjoying because of this cloud hanging over my head. A few weeks ago, I started having the same feeling in my armpit as I did one year ago. This is leading me to believe that these same nodes are acting up to the infection in my body, which has really made me feel depressed. I really have no one else to talk to about this.
I remember that right after the incident occurred, about 3-4 weeks later, the left side of my neck swelled up as well as my underarm. I couldn't feel any lumps in my underarm, but it was a sensation I had never ever felt before. It was as if putting my arm against my side was uncomfortable because they were something between my armpit and breast. At the time, I chalked it up to a variety of mosquito bites I had on my arm (even though I've had tons of mosquito bites on my arm before and never had this feeling) I rationalized that my neck might have been caused from the tooth asbcess I had that had to undergo an emergency root canal roughly the same time.
I've let this go on for a year, with my anxiety building up and subsiding periodically. Right now there are so many exciting things going on in my life that I'm not really enjoying because of this cloud hanging over my head. A few weeks ago, I started having the same feeling in my armpit as I did one year ago. This is leading me to believe that these same nodes are acting up to the infection in my body, which has really made me feel depressed. I really have no one else to talk to about this.
have you read the forum? EVERYONE here "believes" they are having symptoms...even those you never had a risk.
trying to diagnose yourself, based on swollen lymph nodes, is useless.
not much we can tell you other than to test.
trying to diagnose yourself, based on swollen lymph nodes, is useless.
not much we can tell you other than to test.
I know I'm being irrational in my anxiety, but I just think that I know my body pretty well and all of these things that are happening are definitely atypical. What makes me most nervous is this armpit swelling with no discernable explanation. I've read that swollen lymph nodes can come and go throughout the duration of the infection, which is why I'm getting particularly anxious. That, and the fact that exposure happened exactly one year ago, makes me feel that my health is deteriorating.
would you rather go through life thinking that you have hiv or knowing that you don't?
easy decision, if you ask me
easy decision, if you ask me
I know that testing is the only way to know, but I can't bring myself to do it because I just don't know how I could go on if it was the worst case scenario. I've been so nervous recently because I feel like my body is trying to tell me something.
In researching asymptomatic phase, it worried me to read about swollen lymph nodes. During this phase, would the same nodes that swell during ARS be swollen again? And no other ones?
In researching asymptomatic phase, it worried me to read about swollen lymph nodes. During this phase, would the same nodes that swell during ARS be swollen again? And no other ones?
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Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
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