discussion All About HIV

[suneclipse121]

13 hours ago, its_britney_bitch said:

I’m freaking out. I tested negative 28 days after a possible exposure. The guy said he was negative and on prep but um… yeah I don’t trust him. I did test positive for gonorrhea however  I got that treated 2 days ago but now I have a fever and I’m paranoid thinking I might actually have HIV. I don’t know how accurate blood tests are after 28 days? It’s been 38 days at this point, my mind is racing. I know I can’t just test everyday but I don’t think I can wait until the 3 month mark.

 

I’m really scared. It doesn’t help that I have health anxiety at the best of times

Double check if the test you took was a 4th generation test. Those check for antigen and antibodies. If it was a 4th generation test and it’s been 28 days then your in the clear when it comes to HIV. Antigens would’ve already come up on the test by then. You can always confirm at around 50 days with a 4th generation test and if that one comes up negative too then you’re in the clear 100% but if I were you and was negative at 28 days then I would feel at ease. Hope that helps.

 

On 8/31/2022 at 6:45 PM, SweetTalker said:

Has anyone ever used one of those at-home oral tests?? 

Yes I have and they do work. However they are only reliable after 90 days of the exposure though. Let’s say you had an exposure and you take an Oraquick test 20 days after you had sex then it will possibly show negative since it could possibly be too soon for your body to produce antibodies for HIV. If you want to get something more accurate after 28 days then try to get a 4th generation Antigen+Antibody HIV test and it would give you a more accurate result.

[its_britney_bitch]

6 hours ago, suneclipse121 said:

Double check if the test you took was a 4th generation test. Those check for antigen and antibodies. If it was a 4th generation test and it’s been 28 days then your in the clear when it comes to HIV. Antigens would’ve already come up on the test by then. You can always confirm at around 50 days with a 4th generation test and if that one comes up negative too then you’re in the clear 100% but if I were you and was negative at 28 days then I would feel at ease. Hope that helps.

I’m not sure honestly, they took a vial of blood and tested for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B+C. They took swabs and a urine sample to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia. I’m from the UK so this was NHS, I can’t find anything online except something that says the NHS recommends 4th generation tests, so I’d imagine it would be? I’m not knowledgable on this at all.

 

[suneclipse121]

23 hours ago, its_britney_bitch said:

I’m not sure honestly, they took a vial of blood and tested for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B+C. They took swabs and a urine sample to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia. I’m from the UK so this was NHS, I can’t find anything online except something that says the NHS recommends 4th generation tests, so I’d imagine it would be? I’m not knowledgable on this at all.

 

Ok so it seems like the standard is 4th gen for the UK so it’s very likely that is the test you received. So if that’s the case your body would have already produced antigen for HIV by 28 days and if you have it would’ve come up positive. Trust me I know with anxiety it could distort what we want to believe but these test are super accurate and something would have come up. The potential for a false negatives at 29 days is small with 4th gen test. If I were you I would hold on until 50 days to confirm but I’m very confident that when you retest it will come back negative too. 
 

Please consider Prep if you haven’t already it could really give you some peace of mind and just try to be safe as much as you can. 

[PoisonPill]

23 hours ago, its_britney_bitch said:

I’m not sure honestly, they took a vial of blood and tested for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B+C. They took swabs and a urine sample to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia. I’m from the UK so this was NHS, I can’t find anything online except something that says the NHS recommends 4th generation tests, so I’d imagine it would be? I’m not knowledgable on this at all.

 

Get on PrEP immediately, nothing is worth putting yourself through nonstop anxiety like this.

[its_britney_bitch]

I’m so scared, I woke up yesterday with really swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat and everything hurt. I just realised I could’ve been exposed again 32 days ago, but I thought the guy was trustworthy. We used a condom at first but he couldn’t find another one so we briefly did it bare but I told him to stop before he came.

 

When I told him about my gonorrhea he was very non-chalant and didn’t see the need to get tested as it’s “just gonorrhea”  The first test probably wouldn’t have picked it up as it was 18 days after. Oh my god. I’m terrified. I definitely have some kind of viral infection  I’m seeing a doctor today, I’m so so scared. I’m reading a lot about acute retroviral syndrome and the only thing I don’t really have is a rash.

[karron0624]

15 hours ago, its_britney_bitch said:

I’m so scared, I woke up yesterday with really swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat and everything hurt. I just realised I could’ve been exposed again 32 days ago, but I thought the guy was trustworthy. We used a condom at first but he couldn’t find another one so we briefly did it bare but I told him to stop before he came.

 

When I told him about my gonorrhea he was very non-chalant and didn’t see the need to get tested as it’s “just gonorrhea”  The first test probably wouldn’t have picked it up as it was 18 days after. Oh my god. I’m terrified. I definitely have some kind of viral infection  I’m seeing a doctor today, I’m so so scared. I’m reading a lot about acute retroviral syndrome and the only thing I don’t really have is a rash.

Sis, we are going into fall, swollen lymph nodes are natural rn (but you may have a viral infection or allergies). Dont worry about it sis. However i had the same fear earlier this week because my lymph nodes were super swollen and we went to a bathouse two weeks ago. But then i realized i was just actually sick ??. Had a condom ok the entire time and i was topping, chances are very low and nothing could change it at this point.

[abrahamjmr]

On 9/15/2022 at 2:56 AM, its_britney_bitch said:

I’m so scared, I woke up yesterday with really swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat and everything hurt. I just realised I could’ve been exposed again 32 days ago, but I thought the guy was trustworthy. We used a condom at first but he couldn’t find another one so we briefly did it bare but I told him to stop before he came.

 

When I told him about my gonorrhea he was very non-chalant and didn’t see the need to get tested as it’s “just gonorrhea”  The first test probably wouldn’t have picked it up as it was 18 days after. Oh my god. I’m terrified. I definitely have some kind of viral infection  I’m seeing a doctor today, I’m so so scared. I’m reading a lot about acute retroviral syndrome and the only thing I don’t really have is a rash.

What you have is not related to HIV. Get tested again if you just want to make sure and start taking PrEP is you're that sexually active. You said it yourself, you must have a viral infection which could be easily treated. 

[its_britney_bitch]

I woke up to this text from the NHS today:

 

Quote

 

Hi Ryan. We need to discuss your recent tests. Please call xxxx Monday - Friday 1-3pm. Please mention this text when you call

 

That was at 9am, I couldn’t call them until 1pm  I’ve just about been having a mental breakdown all day but when I called they told me I was still positive for gonorrhea… in my throat, the rectal one was negative now. I’m so confused, I didn’t know that was possible  I’ve been on 2 different antibiotics that should’ve treated it. I’m just so relieved it’s not HIV, but they really need another way to do that that doesn’t trigger a panic attack

[its_britney_bitch]

So I’m officially negative 46 days after a possible exposure, I guess I’m safe right? This antibiotic resistant gonorrhea is a ***** tho

[Cottonmouth]

Does anyone know if you can take PreP medication abroad? I'm going to France tomorrow (from the UK) and can't find any information online. 

 

My clinic said I just need to show my clinicians signature on the packaging - and I should be good. But it doesn't really seem sufficient to me. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Cottonmouth