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Freaking out - Almost all symptoms and several risky acts! Please help
Since yesterday I've been freaking out fearing potential HIV infection. Have been spending countless hours reading up on this stuff, reading others' stories, and still unsure how to proceed. Talking to someone here and getting your guidance/thoughts would go a long way.
Background - I'm a healthy 25 year old heterosexual male. Have always been super cautious with using condoms and it's been a bunch of years since getting tested and having many partners since. In the last 5 weeks I've engaged in a few acts of unprotected sex with different girls. Each unprotected act lasted no more than a few seconds to a minute or two, before putting a condom on. Not sure if that lessens the chances of contracting anything or not. Even though each risky act was only for a very brief time and alcohol was involved, that's no excuse and doesn't make it right....I know. I've more than learned my lesson...Believe me on that!! Ok, so now you know my history...
Now - It all started a week ago...Slightly sore back for 3 days. Followed by a 100.9 fever and cold chills for 2 days. Also a sore throat, throat mucus, & pressure in one of the ears for 5 days (bringing us to today). For the last 3 nights I've been sweating in bed, although it seems to be getting better as last night I only woke up sweating 1x which was a big improvement. Yesterday morning woke up with an enlarged bump below my jawbone which I suppose is the enlarged lymph gland. Figued this was just part of a cold or bug, until I decided to get checked out by a friend who is a nurse...
The nurse examined everything and first suggested my body has been fighting a strain of the flu. Ok cool, it's almost over and that's it. But then she looked in the back of my throat/mouth again and instead of seeing canker sores she explained I had lots of painful looking ulcers which are less common....That caused her to ask about my recent sexual history and when I told her, she said I may want to get tested because the symptoms I have could just as much be for HIV. Wow talk about a bomb getting dropped. That was yesterday.
I've been a wreck ever since. I haven't read anything about ear pressure being a symptom of HIV or ARS, what does that mean? And I haven't felt any other symptoms as mentioned online. Is that good news? As fearful as I am of getting tested, part of me wants to do it so I can move on....but on the other hand....When would taking the test actually provide reliable results? I was ready to get in the car today, drive to the store and pick up OraQuick but if that's a 50/50 chance of showing accurate results than it's not worth it. I've read you need to wait 6-12 weeks from infection?? If my body is showing symptoms does that mean a test would pick up the antibodies this soon, or not necessarily? If I really do need to wait 6-12 weeks, how does one get through that waiting period??? The first potential exposure was 3/1, the last being 3/30.
Any guidance and/or support would really be appreciated. Thank you!
Background - I'm a healthy 25 year old heterosexual male. Have always been super cautious with using condoms and it's been a bunch of years since getting tested and having many partners since. In the last 5 weeks I've engaged in a few acts of unprotected sex with different girls. Each unprotected act lasted no more than a few seconds to a minute or two, before putting a condom on. Not sure if that lessens the chances of contracting anything or not. Even though each risky act was only for a very brief time and alcohol was involved, that's no excuse and doesn't make it right....I know. I've more than learned my lesson...Believe me on that!! Ok, so now you know my history...
Now - It all started a week ago...Slightly sore back for 3 days. Followed by a 100.9 fever and cold chills for 2 days. Also a sore throat, throat mucus, & pressure in one of the ears for 5 days (bringing us to today). For the last 3 nights I've been sweating in bed, although it seems to be getting better as last night I only woke up sweating 1x which was a big improvement. Yesterday morning woke up with an enlarged bump below my jawbone which I suppose is the enlarged lymph gland. Figued this was just part of a cold or bug, until I decided to get checked out by a friend who is a nurse...
The nurse examined everything and first suggested my body has been fighting a strain of the flu. Ok cool, it's almost over and that's it. But then she looked in the back of my throat/mouth again and instead of seeing canker sores she explained I had lots of painful looking ulcers which are less common....That caused her to ask about my recent sexual history and when I told her, she said I may want to get tested because the symptoms I have could just as much be for HIV. Wow talk about a bomb getting dropped. That was yesterday.
I've been a wreck ever since. I haven't read anything about ear pressure being a symptom of HIV or ARS, what does that mean? And I haven't felt any other symptoms as mentioned online. Is that good news? As fearful as I am of getting tested, part of me wants to do it so I can move on....but on the other hand....When would taking the test actually provide reliable results? I was ready to get in the car today, drive to the store and pick up OraQuick but if that's a 50/50 chance of showing accurate results than it's not worth it. I've read you need to wait 6-12 weeks from infection?? If my body is showing symptoms does that mean a test would pick up the antibodies this soon, or not necessarily? If I really do need to wait 6-12 weeks, how does one get through that waiting period??? The first potential exposure was 3/1, the last being 3/30.
Any guidance and/or support would really be appreciated. Thank you!
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