Shitting myself...!

[monkey1982]

Well I have my HIV test on Wednesday and I am shitting myself, I seriously believe that I may be poz. All this came about because I went to the doctors last week with anal warts, and they booked me in for a GU appointment ASAP.

Reading up on the symptoms a lot of things seem to be making sense now, like my constant tiredness, bouts of really bad ulcers in my mouth and under my tongue, and flu like symptoms that come and go within a couple of days 

[thunter34]

Symptoms mean nothing when it comes to HIV.  People may present with several or none at all.  You do not provide details of your sexual encounter, so there is no way we can properly assess the risk.  In any case, you're going to see a doctor and get an HIV test - which you SHOULD be doing regularly if you are being sexually active.

[Ann]

Monkey,

Thunter is absolutely correct in what he says. Neither symptoms nor the lack of symptoms will ever tell you a single thing about your hiv status. ONLY testing will.

The hiv testing window period is three months, so only a negative result at or after three months past your last incident of unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse will be conclusive.

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 is highly unlikely to change, but must be confirmed at the three month point.

If you've been having unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, then you have been at risk and you do need to test. Keep in mind that UNLIKE hiv, the virus which causes warts (HPV) is spread through simple skin-to-skin contact and condoms won't necessarily protect you.

Condoms WILL protect you against hiv.

There have been three long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but no barrier for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one.

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!

Ann