Best 'am i infected' advice

[29032903oj]

is simply just get tested.   

I know it sounds so simple yet so hard to do.     For 4 whole months until y'day I had been exceptionally stressed/worried/freaking out whether or not I had become infected.  During this time I googled and read everything I could find about HIV, symptoms, info etc etc  that it kind of consumed me to the point i didn't think about anything else.   

I had full on unprotected sex with somebody who would be classified as high-risk in February, I was ok in my head until I had a flu like illness 3 weeks later and then I was convinced i had become infected and the more I googled and read about HIV the more anxious/worried I became, so worried I didn't want to get tested as then it would be confirmed/real and id have to deal with it.    I'd play out scenarios in my head about what i'd do/how i'd deal with it and somedays they weren't good thoughts.   I'd read about symptoms and would experience some of them days/weeks later and they would seem real or at least I thought... I couldn't be imagining everything, could i?   

Anyway..... I figured out i needed to know either way and got myself to the local clinic and had blood drawn for testing and went home & waited for a text message saying 'to contact the clinic for to make appointment'   as opposed to the all clear message.      Right till the minute before the text came through I was telling myself I have to be positive as id had a cold for almost 2 weeks and there was no other explanation possible!   

So, if your worried get tested as soon as you can (you may have to wait for a certain time for test to be accurate but don't wait any longer)   I wish I had, months of stress and worry which could of been avoided if only I had the balls to follow my own advice.     

Best wishes to all....   

[Ptrk3]

Correct.  The best and, really, only way to know for certain whether one is infected by the HIV is to be tested, if sexually active, routinely.

If one engages in a "risky" activity, the recommendation is to be tested for HIV antibodies six weeks after potential exposure and then at 13 weeks past potential exposure for confirmation of the six week results (although some testing protocols may indicate conclusive results in a shorter time period, so seek the advice of your healthcare provider or the healthcare professional who administer the test).

No can assure someone of his or her HIV status over the internet.  We moderators on this forum attempt to make risk assessments, based on the purported facts of the specific poster.  But, if anyone has any doubt or seeks complete peace of mind, he or she should test for HIV antibodies.