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HIV Through Needle Reuse? Fever, headache, fatigue, cough, cold in ten days since
The primary hospital here told me my test at 169 days and 180 days after exposure were not required (following PEP) but I went ahead. I tested at 169 days, when I saw the needle and the seal all fine. I tested again at 180 days but didn't see the needle and the seal. Freaked out and decided to test at 270 days. I tested around 264 days or 84 days after my irrational fear began.
This is where it begins. This time, I checked the needle and the seal. It was intact but I just happened to miss out on seeing some detail, as I was rolling up my sleeve. I probably didn't see the needle's cap being uncapped. The blood was also filling up in the vial slower than it usually did, as I'd tested multiple times before. This scared me even more.
10 days later, I got a severe fever with a clutching headache, vertigo, fatigue, going out of breath for daily chores, etc. It began with a runny nose, which turned into a stuffy nose. Something is clutching my head still in parts, at different spots. Not to mention, the severe joint pain on day 1 of the fever.
The pain was severe on the back of my ribs, my spinal cord and all the bones up to my knee caps/joints. But on the second day, it went down, actually, a lot. I think this could be due to my constipation and straining during bowel movements, which is habitual of me. And I feel the pain for a day.
I called up the phlebotomist guy and asked. He said, "We can't reuse needles. Even to switch between hands, we use a fresh one, as the older one will not work anymore. These needles are not like syringes. It will not work after the first use." I find it hard to buy into this argument usually. In addition, to fuel my doubts, the blood was filling up a bit slower in the vial and I think it stopped after a few seconds, when he quickly removed it.
I also asked him if he had gone for home blood sample collection anywhere else before me, he said, "No, you are the only one I tested for this. Nobody else asks for it." This I was able to believe because people here would usually ask for diabetes, thyroid tests I believe.
I took some pills for fever and they sort of restored my strength to some extent but the vertigo, occasional fatigue, clutching headache, stuffy nose, unproductive to very mildly productive cough still persist. I checked my temperature now and it is reading 100F and 99.9F through to day 4, which is scaring me even more. Occasionally, I had 97-98 temperatures, after taking those pills.
I had a tough month, start of the year, with PEP. I fought it out with all my strength and now is a test going to cause the same? I am scared and probably going to go mad, if the test did it. I had a guilt that I could have avoided something but went ahead and did it. This began from the first SE, followed by people telling me to avoid any further tests but going ahead and missing out some detail, fearing and testing and getting guilty again.
Okay, this has gotten too long.
1) The lab was the best, ranked no. 1, but could the phlebotomist have forgotten to use the needle I picked, as I didn't see the process fully?
2) Are these fever symptoms ARS? I have avoided sex altogether (though the last one was after three years) and don't want to be f****d by a lab test for the rest of my life.
3) Why is this fever ongoing, persisting after three days, despite the intake of pills?
4) I got this fever, after attending to my mother, who went on a trip a few hundred miles away and returned. After her return, she had (almost) (exactly) the same symptoms as I do now, which subsided within just a day of treatment.
5) Are vacuum needles (as the phlebotomist told me, though he used a vial) not reusable? Do they not work on second use?
6) Can I just go ahead and have sex, if I find a new relationship or go about my daily affairs, without worrying about any of it?
Please help. Thank you
This is where it begins. This time, I checked the needle and the seal. It was intact but I just happened to miss out on seeing some detail, as I was rolling up my sleeve. I probably didn't see the needle's cap being uncapped. The blood was also filling up in the vial slower than it usually did, as I'd tested multiple times before. This scared me even more.
10 days later, I got a severe fever with a clutching headache, vertigo, fatigue, going out of breath for daily chores, etc. It began with a runny nose, which turned into a stuffy nose. Something is clutching my head still in parts, at different spots. Not to mention, the severe joint pain on day 1 of the fever.
The pain was severe on the back of my ribs, my spinal cord and all the bones up to my knee caps/joints. But on the second day, it went down, actually, a lot. I think this could be due to my constipation and straining during bowel movements, which is habitual of me. And I feel the pain for a day.
I called up the phlebotomist guy and asked. He said, "We can't reuse needles. Even to switch between hands, we use a fresh one, as the older one will not work anymore. These needles are not like syringes. It will not work after the first use." I find it hard to buy into this argument usually. In addition, to fuel my doubts, the blood was filling up a bit slower in the vial and I think it stopped after a few seconds, when he quickly removed it.
I also asked him if he had gone for home blood sample collection anywhere else before me, he said, "No, you are the only one I tested for this. Nobody else asks for it." This I was able to believe because people here would usually ask for diabetes, thyroid tests I believe.
I took some pills for fever and they sort of restored my strength to some extent but the vertigo, occasional fatigue, clutching headache, stuffy nose, unproductive to very mildly productive cough still persist. I checked my temperature now and it is reading 100F and 99.9F through to day 4, which is scaring me even more. Occasionally, I had 97-98 temperatures, after taking those pills.
I had a tough month, start of the year, with PEP. I fought it out with all my strength and now is a test going to cause the same? I am scared and probably going to go mad, if the test did it. I had a guilt that I could have avoided something but went ahead and did it. This began from the first SE, followed by people telling me to avoid any further tests but going ahead and missing out some detail, fearing and testing and getting guilty again.
Okay, this has gotten too long.
1) The lab was the best, ranked no. 1, but could the phlebotomist have forgotten to use the needle I picked, as I didn't see the process fully?
2) Are these fever symptoms ARS? I have avoided sex altogether (though the last one was after three years) and don't want to be f****d by a lab test for the rest of my life.
3) Why is this fever ongoing, persisting after three days, despite the intake of pills?
4) I got this fever, after attending to my mother, who went on a trip a few hundred miles away and returned. After her return, she had (almost) (exactly) the same symptoms as I do now, which subsided within just a day of treatment.
5) Are vacuum needles (as the phlebotomist told me, though he used a vial) not reusable? Do they not work on second use?
6) Can I just go ahead and have sex, if I find a new relationship or go about my daily affairs, without worrying about any of it?
Please help. Thank you
This fear is not rational, and is the second post about irrational fears that you have made in our forums. We strongly advise you to seek professional mental health. You do not have to live with this fear.
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********** THREAD CLOSED **********
That is an epic story that shows you are living with a lot of paranoia so you need to see a mental health expert like a therapist who might be able to calm you down. You didn't believe any medical person's advice to stop testing, and didn't believe the phlebotomist guy and your previous thread indicates you have irrational fear of getting HIV, so there is nothing anyone here can do to help you with your fears.
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