MY LIFE IS ABOUT TO END!!!
Good evening to everyone on this forum. I am a 31 year old young man. I had sexual intercourse with a sex worker on November 17, 2024. 2-3-4 days after exposure, I started having a runny nose, mild sore throat (sore throat went away and came back), mild pain in my mouth (also went away and came back), Mild fever with mild headache (started today, January 22, 2025) ðŸ˜
I have some pimples on my chest and some rashes on my leg, but the one on my leg is gone and only the one on my chest is left. I have no warts, no loss of appetite/weight, no diarrhea, no night sweats.
I feel weak too, but I don't know if it's because of my job. I work 10 hours every day and I feel weak after work. I don't know if my lymph nodes are swollen or not. People don't notice it even when I look in the mirror, but I can feel it when I touch them with my hand.
I am very scared for my life. I know that the only way to know your status is to get tested, but I don't have the courage yet, that's why I'm creating this thread to receive words of encouragement from people. I contacted the lady and she told me that she didn't have any illness, but I don't know if she's telling the truth or not. I will kill myself if something goes wrong in my life. I am sad because I have been without sex for up to 2 years, I tried for the first time after two years and this happened. I don't know what to do from now on. I don't know how I feel but I am sure my body system is fighting something. Any advice from anyone would be appreciated.
Hi
. I can hear the anxiety you are experiencing coming through in your writing and please know that people here understand. I take it from what you said that you are familiar with early signs and symptoms, but want to share this article from our editorial team: https://h-i-v.net/symptoms/early-stage. Of course, I also want to note that there are multiple potential causes for your symptoms. You'll note that the article points out the benefits of early detection. You are not alone in experiencing these fears. In fact, here is an extremely similar forum where commenters noted the benefits of finding out one's status: https://h-i-v.net/forums/do-i-have-hiv-plz-help. There are multiple types of tests available and they have what is referred to as different window periods. This article goes into further detail: https://h-i-v.net/test-types.
Besides all of the medical reasons, I want to note that, while the fear of a diagnosis is certainly understandable, the anxiety and fear of not knowing is clearly also taking its toll. HIV treatments have come a long way. People now live full, happy lives. Knowledge is power. Wishing you the best and please know that this community is here for you. Richard (Team Member)Honestly HIV is harder to get from a female to male through average intercourse . Please get tested though . If she by chance is positive for hiv and knows it then she is on antiviral medication so like me and others are now what is called "undetectable" which means there is so little virus that the chances of infecting someone is less than 1%.
Im sure you wore a condom , if so you didnt get hiv, but get checked so you wont go crazy wondering.
My symptoms within 2 weeks were worst flu ever , swollen lymphnodes everywhere ect.
Youre not going to die sweetheart.
XoThanks for replying. Did you test positive? I used a condom, but it broke during the process. I've been experiencing night sweats lately, but it's not serious.
Hi Joseph.
I’m 31 years old as well. About a month ago I felt I needed to change my life before it was to late, so I hopped on a plane and travelled from one end of the country to the other with no plan other than to better myself. Luckily enough an hour after I got off my plane I landed a great job which would provide housing but wouldn’t start until after Christmas. After running out of money for hotels this left me staying in the streets. Just to get out of the rain and cold I started using sexual encounters off of the internet just to have a place to go. I started my new job at the beginning of this month and everything was going great. Then about 2 weeks ago I started feeling very unwell. I had the worst headaches Ive ever had, sore throat and painful sore on the side of my tongue, muscle aches and joint pain. I felt weaker than I ever had in my life, and started having these tingling sensations that made me feel like my limbs were asleep and I was having a hard time walking, especially up stairs. I went to the hospital and they didn’t really know what to tell me. But they did blood work and took my urine.
Two days ago (Friday, January 24) I got a call from the hospital i went to. The nurse who called me was beyond nice, and im lucky to have had someone so understanding and caring be the one to call me. She told me my blood work came back positive for HIV and Syphillis. I work Monday to Saturday, so Sunday’s are my only day off. Today is the first day Ive really had to sit here and fully acknowledge the news, and the title of your forum is exactly how im feeling today, which is how i ended up on this forum. I feel like my life’s over. Like nobody is ever going to look at me the same. Like I’ll never be able to have a normal relationship again. I can’t even bring myself to tell my mother, even though I couldn’t ask for a better mom, I feel like people won’t be able to stop themselves from thinking differently, even if they don’t want to. But as hopeless as I’m feeling about the whole thing right now, I’d rather know than not know. Because now I can at least make sure that my actions don’t put anybody else in the same position as me. From what I was told by the nurse and from what I’ve been reading online, starting treatment immediately after testing positive is essential. I’d just go get checked man. It benefits you more to know than to not.
I’ll pray for everything to work out for you.
Take care.Thank you for taking the time to reply to my message, I really appreciate it. I have had almost all the symptoms of HIV. I don't know what to do from now on and the worst thing is that I don't have the courage to go and get tested. I have recently had mild night sweats that lasted for two days and yesterday I had loose stools again. Every day I am inside my room crying and asking God for a second chance. This is not what I planned for myself. It is driving me crazy and the saddest thing is that I have been up to 2 years without sex. I was afraid of getting infected so I masturbate whenever I am horny, maybe until I get a girlfriend. I don't know what happened to me and I went to call a sex worker... 
I understand that with so many negative messages about HIV, going for a test can be something that requires a lot of courage. Things have changed a lot and there are many living healthy lives with HIV these days, despite the stigma and shame others would want them to feel. It's all about getting tested and starting treatment as soon as you can if you need it. Use this forum and all the support you're getting to help you when you're ready - let us know when you end up getting a test, and we'll send you encouraging words on that day. If it is positive, there are a lot of writers here putting out information to help you find your path forward. - Liz (Team Member)
