Herpes and HIV

[WorkingOnIt]

Ok. So I was diagnosed last week with HSV2 and I can't help but to think I have HIV too. I hope I'm psyching myself out because I literally have no symptoms of HIV and I've read about the transmission rates for HIV but I also had no symptoms besides the lesions so I'm worried. My tongue is kinda swollen but I don't know if it's from my medication or what. And then I also figure that if I was infected at the same time, my symptoms would be doubled, right? I don't know what to think. And three months are kind of a long wait so if anyone has experience, please let me know.

[Sil88]

I doubt I can say anything to change your mind, but I went through months of thinking the same way too. Even after the first test at 3 months+ I was still dubious.. and I actually had warning symptoms. Anyway, few tests and a year later and I believe it. You must be one of those people who expects/prepares for the worst but prays for the best. Don't let it stress you out, those thoughts will drive you crazy if you let it. Maybe have a look for 'nomorepanic' forums under health anxiety - struck a chord with me at the time.

[2Legit2Quit]

If you look at statistics, HIV isn't as spread as easily or as common to come in contact as you think. It's not common at all in fact, but obviously it does happen. Just as w Herpes, it's not something you can do anything about at this moment, so as hard as it is, you have to just wait and see. I could be wrong, but there is Antigen tests (RNA tests) for HIV that detect 1-3 weeks after infection. These are a lot more expensive than antibody tests and limits e to where they are offered. I would Google HIV antigen test w your zip code and see what it turns up.

[TryingtoReach_Peace]

It may sound silly but i was very worried too, when i got my test and realized i'd had this for 3 months, and none of my doctors ran an HIV test...I felt very concerned. I ended up ordering a home HIV oral test and taking it. I just had enough bad news from the doctor and wanted to just face this myself alone. I'm all about studies and trust it's accuracy. When I go for my annual in January, I will certainly gt a blood test, but knowing i took a test that is 92% accurate it helped. It came out negative. After Herpes, well I now am avid about using protection, though i'm also cognizant of exactly how much 'protection' actually does.

[Bambina3]

I share your concerns, I think most sexually active people do, some are strong enough to face their challenges with prompt testing...some are not.

I have hsv2 and read during breakouts we are susceptible to hiv when we go unprotected, like hsv1 or 2, hiv does not always show symptoms until late stage.....

Try not to worry, use condoms, and test annually unless you feel the need to test sooner.

 

Good luck, hugs

 

[NothingGoodGetsAway]

::raises hand in paranoia club ::

 

I was in your same boat until I did my 13 week confirmation test. I had recurrent tonsillitis, a few joint issues and tummy troubles. Almost every single thing I had was coming from the antibiotics from tonsillitis, but I had that EXACT thought - "if I have hsv-2, couldn't I have gotten HIV too?"

 

Again, not much I can say to change your mind except to say that hsv-2 is a hundred times easier to contract than HIV. So just because you got hsv, it's so much harder to get HIV IF IF IF the other person was infected. And the chances of that are very small, with the exception of intravenous drug users or high risk (Male to Male) populations.

 

Some things I learned: 4th generation tests (tests for antibodies and HIV virus) are pretty much 100% at 4-6 weeks. So you could get one of those much sooner. Rapid tests and antibody only tests are generally accepted at 6-8 weeks, but a negative at any of these points are really really really unlikely to change.

 

Also, no one is ever diagnosed by symptoms, so don't start psyching yourself out. GOOGLE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. WEB MD IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.