Aa
symptoms/anxiety/testing
Wanted to post as I recently tested negative for HIV today. I had some unsafe and unfaithful moments over the last couple of years and wanted people know that living with the fear of infection can be debilitating.
I had every symptom in the book: headaches, fever, upset stomach, night sweats, etc. I was sure I was infected and spent weeks/months pouring over these forums, wasting countless hours online convinced I was infected. I have wasted months dealing with this and has affected my job and family life. I kept reading over and over to get tested but I was too scared but finally realized my only option was to get tested if I ever wanted my life to get back to normal. My first step was getting tested for std's with the exception of HIV. Came back negative. Afterwards, a new symptom would show up and I would get scared again.
I basically started with the irrational fears again and again told my self to get tested. I looked into the Home Access which sounds like a good option but decided to call the local Planned Parenthood (in a city of 750,000 + population). I stopped by, they were not busy and was out the door with a negative result in about 15 mins (rapid HIV test). While waiting for the results I asked the nurse how often she see's a positive: in her four years at this location she tested only 1 with a positive result. In the month of April they had a special for HIV testing. They tested over 400 people that came in and ZERO were positive. 400 people thought they were infected and NONE were.
Forget about symptoms, be safe, get tested and move on with your life.
I had every symptom in the book: headaches, fever, upset stomach, night sweats, etc. I was sure I was infected and spent weeks/months pouring over these forums, wasting countless hours online convinced I was infected. I have wasted months dealing with this and has affected my job and family life. I kept reading over and over to get tested but I was too scared but finally realized my only option was to get tested if I ever wanted my life to get back to normal. My first step was getting tested for std's with the exception of HIV. Came back negative. Afterwards, a new symptom would show up and I would get scared again.
I basically started with the irrational fears again and again told my self to get tested. I looked into the Home Access which sounds like a good option but decided to call the local Planned Parenthood (in a city of 750,000 + population). I stopped by, they were not busy and was out the door with a negative result in about 15 mins (rapid HIV test). While waiting for the results I asked the nurse how often she see's a positive: in her four years at this location she tested only 1 with a positive result. In the month of April they had a special for HIV testing. They tested over 400 people that came in and ZERO were positive. 400 people thought they were infected and NONE were.
Forget about symptoms, be safe, get tested and move on with your life.
Yes you should leave. You didn't have a risk and you don't know anything about HIV or it's testing. This forum goes by the approved testing guidelnes from the manufacture of the tests, the FDA approvals and the CDC guidelines. A conclusive negative test has never changed from 3 months post exposure. Early detection is not the same as having a conclusive test result. Have a good day.
I was initially going to treat that with the response it deserves: silence. But on second thoughts it was spiteful enough to require me to say that I feel that is a very low accusation, and entirely at odds with anything I have posted in the last few days.
I will not get into a war of words with you, or flatter your insults by attempting to justify myself further, as that would be of no service to anyone on here (which is the overriding objective after all). I just wanted to register my disgust, and suggest we leave it there.
I will not get into a war of words with you, or flatter your insults by attempting to justify myself further, as that would be of no service to anyone on here (which is the overriding objective after all). I just wanted to register my disgust, and suggest we leave it there.
Trolling this forum and giving out incorrect information that you don't know anything about isn't help anyone.
This is not about me. I have moved on. I was tested at 7.5 weeks and given the advice I received from my own doctor and after reading the advice of trained professionals on here and elsewhere (not to mention the assessment of no risk anyway from you and others) have no concerns for my own status. So re-posting that link has no bearing here, but thank you for remembering me.
However, because this forum helped me greatly, and having experienced the anxiety of all of this myself recently, I resolved to do what I could to try and help others if possible.
All I did above, variously, was advise the OP to put his uplifting post onto the anxiety forum (which is more of a 'hand holding' forum, where it would doubtless be of help, and explain why based on my experience of the two forums it belonged there not here. Do you disagree that the post belongs more in that forum than this?
I am sympathetic as to the approach of this forum, as stated, and can envisage the problems and excess time consumption that would entail by taking a less peremptory approach. But do I not have as much right to post here as anyone else? Perhaps I misread the rules. I do not profess to be a medical professional or expert, have been careful to back up anything I have said which requires it with evidence, and have stressed the importance of people making informed conclusions based on appraisal of sometimes conflicting advice.
As I was helped here I feel it is my duty to do likewise if I possibly can, so in that regard I do not intend to move on.
Common sense and courtesy, amongst other things, require that if I see that there is a well-argued alternative viewpoint to any provided on here, I should, if necessary, present it so that concerned people may make up their own minds on a point of possible contradiction. That applies even if it conflicts with your advice Teak, in the same way it would anyone else. The information is freely available anyway, if I can speed up someone's access to it then so be it. It is up to them what they take from it.
However, because this forum helped me greatly, and having experienced the anxiety of all of this myself recently, I resolved to do what I could to try and help others if possible.
All I did above, variously, was advise the OP to put his uplifting post onto the anxiety forum (which is more of a 'hand holding' forum, where it would doubtless be of help, and explain why based on my experience of the two forums it belonged there not here. Do you disagree that the post belongs more in that forum than this?
I am sympathetic as to the approach of this forum, as stated, and can envisage the problems and excess time consumption that would entail by taking a less peremptory approach. But do I not have as much right to post here as anyone else? Perhaps I misread the rules. I do not profess to be a medical professional or expert, have been careful to back up anything I have said which requires it with evidence, and have stressed the importance of people making informed conclusions based on appraisal of sometimes conflicting advice.
As I was helped here I feel it is my duty to do likewise if I possibly can, so in that regard I do not intend to move on.
Common sense and courtesy, amongst other things, require that if I see that there is a well-argued alternative viewpoint to any provided on here, I should, if necessary, present it so that concerned people may make up their own minds on a point of possible contradiction. That applies even if it conflicts with your advice Teak, in the same way it would anyone else. The information is freely available anyway, if I can speed up someone's access to it then so be it. It is up to them what they take from it.
Is that addressed to me or the original poster? If it is me, can you read? If it is ba64baba then I rest my case.
I think you need to realise the tone of this particular forum. For whatever reason, and I won't speculate although several have occurred to me, you will not get any sympathy or empathy from the loudest voices here (there is the odd exception). That is why I advised posting on the anxiety forum, where a modicum of those things are supplied to help people through these frightening episodes. This particular forum serves precise functions, namely to assess risk, and/or give advice on prevention, both of which are done in a (largely) efficient and accurate way. I, like many others, initially but mistakenly expected a slightly kinder 'bedside manner' too given the fear, worry, anxiety, confusion, despair, isolation, and so on, that even the thought of possible exposure to this disease often creates. My (charitable) guess is that, through time, it has been decided that such an approach would not be an effective way to deal with the issues in question, which seems logical. I don't think it pays to take the house style personally.
Had you tested positive for a no risk issue that was a false positige what would you had felt like then?
my thoughts were that i was scared beyond belief and thought that my exposure was real, albeit minimal. how else to calm fears regardless of true exposure or not than to get tested?
i also did not list my exposure in that post. anyway, thanks for the work that you guys do.
i also did not list my exposure in that post. anyway, thanks for the work that you guys do.
You didn't have an exposure from oral sex and telling people to test for no risk issues only increases their anxiety.
Yeah you probably had low level of exposure. Especially if you are heterosexual.
Teak, can you answer my question posted after this post. Thank you.
Teak, can you answer my question posted after this post. Thank you.
Thought I had an exposure(s)....2 years of insertive oral with partners of unknown status....thought I had symptoms.....
My post was to tell people to get tested if only to put fears to rest.......if I can do it anybody can.
My post was to tell people to get tested if only to put fears to rest.......if I can do it anybody can.
Hi, could you perhaps post this, or something similar on the HIV Anxiety forum as I think it would be extremely helpful there.
Congratulations on your good news.
Congratulations on your good news.
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