I'm so scared
Last nite I was watching a TV show and a lady was talking about how she got HIV and it terrified me.
2 years ago I had unprotected sex with someone I didn't know that well. A couple weeks later I had a really bad sore throat and got a cold sore on my lip. I've only had cold sores a couple times in my life. Besides the sore throat, I didn't really have the sniffles or sneezing, it was just the sore throat and just felt bad.
I don't know if I had a fever, I didn't go to the doctor and it passed after a week.
I forgot all about it until the tV show last night. I read about early symptoms and I saw that sore throat and mouth sores is on the list.
I haven't noticed any other symptoms since but I read that's expected.
I made an appointment with my doctor to get tested. My appointment is not until Friday.
I'm terrified. How common is it to get a sore throat and cold sore without any other flu symptoms?
Should I have experienced any other symptoms by now?
I'm so scared. I don't know how I'm gonna get through the week, how long does it take to get results? I would be grateful for any words of wisdom. Thank you
I am glad you wrote when you're feeling so scared. It isn't easy waiting for a test, especially if it is your first time getting tested. Do you have any reason to believe the person you were with was HIV positive, and if so, that they did not have an undetectable viral load? (Those living with HIV can through treatment have an undetectable viral load and therefore not transmit the virus to others). You're right that a sore throat can be one indication of transmission, but it sounds like you did not experience any of the other common symptoms including fever, digestive issues, and rash. Cold sores can be indicative of a few different things. Getting tested will certainly bring you some peace of mind and some have found it helps to ease their concern if they know what to expect when going for a test. If you'd like I can give you some information on that. We're here for you, please keep us posted! - Liz (Team Member) negative! I'm relieved but I feel for those who got a different test result. Makes me want to help in some way. I am so glad to hear you want to help. There are many ways an ally can be supportive to communities affected by HIV/AIDS. The best thing to do is to listen and learn from those living with HIV, so this is a great place to begin: https://h-i-v.net/answers/allyship. In this article out advocates encourage us to educate ourselves and share with others.
I personally find this article about U=U to be a great start to educating ourselves about HIV today. https://h-i-v.net/living/undetectable-untransmittable
- Liz (Team Member)
I found a place that does rapid testing. I'm going in a couple hours. I'm terrified.
Hi, just wanted to check in to see how things went with your test last Fall. I hope you're well. - Liz (Team Member)
