Advice Help please?! young mother in DISTRESS!

[ebaby125]

Okay... so basically i am just going to get to the point... I am 22 years old and im female... in the past year i have been fighting addiction to opiates... i did use IV... and i also have unprotected sex.... i was tested about 6 months ago and i was negative but after that i just went crazy again on drugs and i did somethings i am not proud of... okay i know i could have contracted HIV in those ways. but one of my questions is could i get HIV from giving head and swallowing someones semen who has HIV!? and my second question is maybe getting some info on how a lot people felt with their first symtoms?! i think i am super paranoid about having it... I have been super tired but i am also on medication that could be causing it? i havent have swollen lymph nodes or a sore throat... i havent had a rash.. or any yeast infections but i have been getting like hot flashes.. but no night sweats... and i have had sum headaches here and there. i think i worry so i dont really feel good ever and it is always on my mind.. i mean i know there is a possibility i have it because of my past. i have two small children and i am scared to death of a positive result.. my children dont have a father and im scared i will be here for their lifes... If i am HIV positive.. i wanted to kno how the medications work? do they make u feel better? less symptoms!? i would have had to contract HIV about 2 1/2 months ago when i went on another drug run for a week. thats the only time i could have contracted it.. so how i been having symptoms still!? IM TOTALLY A MESS I THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME AND I KNO I NEED TO BE TESTED BUT I FEEL LIKE IF I KNOW THAT I JUST DIE!? please someone just tell me something?!

[Ann]

ebaby,

For a start, forget about worrying about symptoms or even the lack of symptoms. Neither will tell you a single thing about your hiv status - ONLY testing at the appropriate time will.

Sexually speaking, the only proven risks are unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. Unless you have horrible oral health (think meth-mouth), stop worrying about oral.

The other risk adults need to worry about is sharing needles. You need to know that if you have ever shared drug injecting equipment, you have also been at risk for hep C infection. Hep C is much more easily transmitted than hiv and can be transmitted even if you're only sharing filters, spoons, a water source and/or tie-offs.

If you've shared any drug injecting equipment - even if it was only once - you need to test for BOTH hiv and hep C. You are far more likely to have been infected with hep C than hiv if you've been sharing injecting equipment.

You do need to test at three months past your last incident of unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse or incident of sharing drug injecting equipment for a conclusive result. This goes for both hiv and hep C.

The earliest you should test for hiv is at six weeks past your last risky incident. The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A six week negative must be confirmed at the three month point, but is highly unlikely to change. 

If you are hiv positive, you need to know sooner rather than later if you want to be here and be healthy for your children. People who have been recently infected and diagnosed today are expected to live a normal life-span. The treatment of hiv has vastly improved in the past ten years and many of the modern meds have little or even NO side-effects. Hiv is no longer a death sentence - particularly when diagnosis is made in a timely fashion.

If you wait to test until hiv has been present for years, you may have a very rocky road back to health. If you test before hiv has had much of a chance to damage your immune system, you will be in a position to preserve your health and live a full life. Early diagnosis will enable you to applaud at your children's graduations and dance at their weddings. If you wait until you're very ill, all bets are off.

Early testing and diagnosis of hep C will also put you in a position to preserve your heath. Late diagnosis of hep C also has a much poorer prognosis, just like hiv.

Yes, it's as stark and simple as that. Early testing saves lives and it will save yours too should you test positive.

Go test. It's the smart thing to do.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ann

[ebaby125]

Thanks Ann, i know i just need to go ahead and get testing done. I am going to go this coming week.. how long does it usually take for results?!

[Ann]

ebaby,

Rapid tests can give you a result in a half hour or less. While there is now a rapid hep C test available, it is not yet in use everywhere. You will simply have to ask at the clinic where you have your testing done about their turn-around time and what type of tests they have available.

Non-rapid hiv testing can take anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks for the results to come back and the same goes for non-rapid hep C testing. Again, you'll have to ask at the place you go to about their usual time-frame for results.

You can find a testing center near you by putting your zip code into POZ.com's Health Services Directory.

Please do not forget to also test for hep C if you have ever shared any items of drug injecting equipment, even if it was only a spoon, or filter, or a cup or cap of water.

Good luck.

Ann