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Extremely Anxiety

I’ve been having extreme anxiety over hiv. I got triggered by taking an oraquick test that showed a false positive/invalid result apparently, after that I took 2 hiv 4th generation duo test from blood from my vein at the appropriate times 35 days (5weeks) and 60 days (8weeks) after possible exposure. I’ve asked over on the hiv prevention page if I needed anymore testing, and I was told my results are conclusive after 28 days (4 weeks) and it would be abnormal to continue testing. I just can’t seem to get the fear of hiv out of my mind. I’ve had panic attacks the past 2 months, been to several hospitals for panic attacks thinking my test will somehow turn positive if I went back for another test, but I have been told that another test would be unnecessary and my results won’t change, and if I continue testing I would continue to not trust my results and run the risk of a false positive. What are some recommendations to finally get this behind me?
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973741 tn?1342342773
Since you've been clearly told that HIV is not a reality for your situation, you need to talk to your medical care team about treating the anxiety. How anxiety is treated is based on the individual and depends on things such as how much the anxiety is impacting your day to day life.  Some can control their anxiety through use of coping skills and lifestyle things. That would include meditation, mindfully distracting yourself, deep breathing, regular exercise, healthy diet, good sleep, etc.  Some will need to do psychotherapy or talk therapy where they receive treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy.  And some will benefit from medication along with that psychotherapy prescribed by an MD or nurse practitioner.  Your problem and disease is not HIV, it's anxiety.  Anxiety is also a medical condition and it is treatable.  So, go get treatment.  
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2 Comments
Okay, thank you. I will do that.
sounds good.  Treatment DOES often work for anxiety. good luck and let us know how it goes.  
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