My recent HIV story - might help others who are worried

[timoup]

Here is my recent story - it Started off with a recent random swollen lymph node in my chest. It was really odd and painful and a quick Google search later I found this was a further potential symptom of HIV.  I then started to panic- thinking about my history.. I remembered a time few years back where I was probably a bit reckless with the ladies (hetro male) and then started to connect the dots : close to that time I had developed a random rash on my arm , had a bad cough , used to have night sweats, I often have diareah and heartburn , always get colds, when bruise it takes long to heal and suffer from mouth ulcers often. This revelation had me totally convinced . I spent three days without sleep or food I was so anxious . I now have a family and had no idea how I was going to test and tell them! I then found biosure website and thought this is the only way . Ordered the test to work, came very discreet.  Did the test in a car park after work, hands shaking with fear . Test came back negative.  I couldn't believe it - how could it be right with all my symptoms ? I then started googling false negative statistics (very low) and convinced myself that must be the reason. So I ordered another one and went straight to the hospital to get a full STD test.  I had to be sure .... 2nd biosure came out negative and just found out so did my hospital test. This test was so easy to use and gave me the confidence to act. I have learnt so much about this condition and have now decided to help in any way I can.

The main lesson I have taken away from all this is DO NOT GOOGLE - it totally convinced me of something not true.

Good luck all 

[CaveyUK]

This is indeed a point that many people should take on board.

The problem with symptoms of any kind is that they are so general that they could relate to any number of issues, most of them completely benign and mundane. Google, however, will bring back results for all possible things and there are two that also happen to manifest with fairly mundane symptoms that have people in a spin - HIV and Cancer. HIV in particular tends to be latched onto because most people can think of some convoluted scenario in which they 'may have had a risk' and the associated terror of a possible diagnosis, and the frantic googling increases, along with the anxiety levels.

The truth is that there are only a few very specific ways that HIV can be transmitted, and even the most common way (unprotected sex) still has the odds stacked in an individuals favour.

The other thing that many people don't understand is that HIV as a condition is very different now to how it was years ago. Well, the virus is the same but the treatment is out of this world. Yes, it's lifelong but it's easy to take with few side effects and nowadays allows someone newly diagnosed to live a full and healthy life, with a lifespan similar to someone who doesn't have the virus and renders them unable to pass the virus on. It's no longer the death sentence it once was.

Google is an amazing tool, but it's also fuelled an epidemic of health anxiety in modern society. One look in this forum will show the bizarre non-risks that have people losing sleep over fear of it. Type 'headache' into Google and eventually you will find somewhere convincing you it could be a brain tumour, type 'Rash' into Google and eventually you will find somewhere convincing you it could be HIV. But if you have a headache, you would just pop a painkiller and go about your daily life. Somehow the same logic doesn't prevail when people think about HIV.

The bottom line is always the same. If you have had an actual risk (ie. unprotected vaginal or anal sex) then get tested. Chances are it will be negative anyway, but if it isn't then it can be managed.

If you haven't had unprotected sex then there simply hasn't been a risk. Shut off the laptop and take a holiday from Google. Go out there and get on with your life.

Anyone who is sexually active should get periodically screened for all STI's as a matter of routine - most of which are far easier to catch than HIV but are all easily treated.

Thanks for your story and I'd love it if people didn't try and self diagnose via google although I'm not holding my breath...