POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Janet876 on April 05, 2014, 12:05:04 pm
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Hi everyone and thank you for taking the time to read my post (I can see how many there are and how tedious it must be).
Basically I’m posting because I am worried.
I know it probably sounds stupid but I have health anxiety and am very worried that I may have the HIV virus. I’m now 25 years of age and when I was 16 I was seeing a guy (we have sex twice unprotected) and later found out he was smoking crack, this is my only reason for worrying about this particular encounter. To be honest, I’m aware the UK (which is where I live) doesn’t have extortionate cases of HIV (and I don’t wish to insult anyone living with HIV by making reference to drugs, but if I'm correct drug users are a high risk group) frankly I’m terrified.
As I have got older, and hopefully a bit wiser, I’ve found myself worrying more and more about this particular situation, although I’ve never had any symptoms. As I said I have got health anxiety and have convinced myself numerous of time that I’m going blind, got cancer etc I’m just so fed up of feeling like this... Just posting this message online has taken a lot.
Anyways, thanks for reading/replying it’s much appreciated.
Take care everyone.
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Hi Janet . The only way to know if you have HIV is to test, its also the perfect solution to ease your anxiety over this concern .
The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. Most who are infected will test positive by 6 weeks. For various reasons a small number will take longer and that is why we follow the CDC recommendation to test at 3 months for a conclusive negative result.
It does not sound like you have been tested so since you did have unprotected sex the responsible thing to do is to test . You can do at 6 weeks past any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the result . If you have not had unprotected anal or vaginal sex in the last 3 months you can test today for a conclusive result and end your anxiety .
Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.
To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.
Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.
Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.
If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.
Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
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Thanks for your response Jeff,
I'm going for a test tomorrow but will have to wait 2 weeks or the result, I can only hope.
I will look at the links thank you for responding.
Take care.
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You are welcome .
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Janet,
You need to understand that the only TRUE risk group, sexually speaking, is that group of people who have unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with persons of unknown or positive hiv status. ANYONE can end up with hiv simply by having sex without a condom. (Do you not watch Emmerdale?)
I'm in the UK and you'd never think to put me in one of the so-called "risk groups", but yet I'm hiv positive.
Please wise up and always insist on a condom until such time as you're in a monogamous relationship with him for at least three months before you get tested together. You cannot go by what someone tells you about their hiv status. Many people honestly don't realise they're poz, and sometimes people lie.
Good luck with your test. BTW, most GUM clinics can give you a rapid test. They're every bit as valid as the blood tests and you only have to wait a matter of minutes for the result, rather than days.
Ann