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Potential Symptoms of hiv

Hi, hope all is well with you all. Could y’all please bear with me as I go down memory lane.

I am a Gay African American male (top) I been celibate for about a year and a half! I was over dating. But recently I was watching a show of a family whom appears to have lost their loved one from aids. Instantly I’ve had no more distractions. I knew this fear was something I had to face and lay to rest or else it will keep getting bigger and bigger.

I knew my status prior to meeting my ex whom I was with for 2 years! He told me knew his too!

After that breakout around December of 2020 I had a hookup, prior to that I had not had sex for a whole year because I was still getting over my breakup! But it happened! But around February I started to have these muscle aches. I pinpointed it to me stop working out cold turkey plus arthritis run in my family. Shortly after that I developed diarrhea. I however was so depressed around that time though! Taking a lot of sleep aid pills to get through the day! All I wanted to do was sleep. But I thought it was because of that! Because when the diarrhea came everytime I toke some my bowels would become loose almost instantly. The diarrhea lasted on and off for over a month. I was finally prescribed Omeprazole which pretty much stopped it. In March I had 2 more sexual encounters (penetration) with 2 different people! I didn’t expect the next guy to put it in! It all happened super fast smh. The second and final time I had a condom on but it broke and we immediately stopped. He said it didnt break near the tip and flushed it but I can’t trust anybody. The next 2 hookups in April and May were only oral sex (head). But to rewind a little at the end of March/early April, the bottom of my feet and palms of my hands started to peel badly. I also had a rash on my face! It looked red and inflamed! I had just bought a new skin routine so I thought it was that plus I always had bad skin but not exactly to that extinct and my skin peeling never happened since kindergarten. But my tub was backed up at the time so after each shower I had to unfortunately plunge the filthy water out because my maintenance guy would take a long time to fix anything. So I thought maybe it was from the bacteria of the water, Idk! But It’s been a year and a half and I haven’t had those problems since. Only concerning symptom is sometimes my nails will look slightly orange and my memory is pretty bad. Like I can’t remember a dawg on thang! Also picking up more weight because I am now a emotional eater.

I got blood work done a couple months ago when I was in the E.R for stress but they didn’t test for hiv. But everything else said I was healthy. I am completely terrified. I can barely sleep or think straight! It’s been driving me up all the wall!!! Do these symptoms sound like I may have it??? Like can you have these symptoms and not have it? They ALL said they didn’t have it! Esp the first guy! He said he test regularly! But who can you really trust these days?!

All and all I do have an appointment scheduled. I just want some clarity in the mean time. Here’s a pic of nails a few weeks ago.

Please pray for me and send good luck.

  1. I'm glad you posted with these questions, it can be so hard to wait and not have answers. I hope we can clear some things up and give you as much information as possible going into your appointment. Is your appointment a testing appointment?


    First, there are many misconceptions about living with HIV and bad messages. HIV can be transmitted through five bodily fluids including breast milk, blood, precum, semen, and vaginal secretions. It cannot be transmitted through saliva, and in the case of transmission through oral sex, the risk is at the lower end of the spectrum compared to unprotected vaginal or anal sex. You can definitely learn more about the specifics which may ease your mind through this article: https://h-i-v.net/transmission .


    In terms of your upcoming test, here are the types of tests - https://h-i-v.net/test-types - you may be given. They will likely ask you when the encounters you are worried about were, to see how long it has been. I hope you can also make an appointment with your doctor to look over your symptoms and rule out anything else that could be causing them. When is your appointment? Please keep us updated!


    - Liz (Team Member)

    1. Alafia (Peace) Heyimfromthesouth Thank you for reaching out and trusting us with your questions. There are a lot of moving parts in you experience. I commend you for being proactive and getting blood work done and now scheduled testing. I understand waiting is stressful and it can make our mind wonder about so many things. I suggest you breathe and maybe call back to see if anyone has canceled their appointment so you can get in sooner. Khafre (H-I-V.net Team Member)

      1. Alafia (Peace) Checking in with you to see how yourpl scheduled appointment went. Please check back in with us so we know how to continue to support you. Khafre (H-I-V.net Team Member)

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