Bizibob1
06-24-2004, 02:15 PM
To all,
This message is to all of those who are currently sitting in the dreaded “window period”. All the people who believe they have engaged in some risky act and are living in fear as to whether or not they have contracted the HIV virus. I have been there and can fully empathize your emotions and suffering. Please listen to this advice.
I am sure by now you are familiar with all the terms associated with early HIV infection: Acute Retroviral Syndrome, Primary HIV Infection, and seroconversion. I am also certain that you have looked at numerous web sites trying to find some way to diagnose whether or not you have contracted this disease. You must have, otherwise you would not be reading this message. In your mind you have created a checklist of all the possible symptoms and compared them with what is happening to you. While you feel this might give you early insight into the ultimate diagnosis, it will not provide any insight. The only way to diagnose HIV is through testing. So stop trying to diagnose yourself and wait to get tested.
Why? Well, each and every “symptom” of acute retroviral syndrome is common and can be attributed to many different causes. For us victims in this window period, the ultimate culprit might in fact be stress. High stress can lead to each symptom from rash to muscle aches. High stress also lowers your resistance and makes you more likely to get sick and have the “flu-like” symptoms. In fact, I am willing to bet that many of you began to feel your respective symptoms after reading about them on the internet. Stress can certainly play into phantom symptoms.
Remember, that HIV is actually a mighty difficult disease to pass. A number of other sexually transmitted diseases are considerably more likely to be transmitted. In a study that analyzed monogamous couples in which one person in fact had the HIV virus. These couples averaged 8-9 sexual acts a month, most not using condoms. This study indicated a 0.0011 (or 0.11%) chance per act of getting the disease. [ removed ]
You should still be diligent. If you feel you took a large risk, then be responsible. Use protection going forward to protect your loved ones or any other partner. Go see a doctor. You will not be their first HIV-panicking window period patient. Then, test when such a test would be conclusive. This means at 3-months for ELISA or 28-days for PCR. Testing before hand might mitigate your stress but will fall far short of eliminating it.
Outside of waiting for your test, seeing a doctor and smartening up your behavior, put this whole thing out of your mind. Stop reading these web pages. Only a test can give you the answer you need to put this misery behind you. Why make your next couple months hell if you don’t have to?
I spoke to a counselor at a testing agency. The counselor said that only about 5% of the tests he sees actually come in with an HIV-positive result. While this is frankly too high, this is from a population in which people perceive themselves as “high risk”. He also indicated that those who were positive were usually those who engaged in excessively high risk activity, like regular unprotected sex with an identified HIV positive person (like the study above).
Anyway, I hate to preach but you should not beat your self up. Your stress and worry will not impact your testing result. It will not make a negative test positive or a positive test negative. Live your life and be happy. Even if the worst comes true, it does not represent the end. Newer and better drugs enter the market all the time. You can still live a long, happy and full existence.
I hope this helps my fellow sufferers.
With love,
Bizibob
This message is to all of those who are currently sitting in the dreaded “window period”. All the people who believe they have engaged in some risky act and are living in fear as to whether or not they have contracted the HIV virus. I have been there and can fully empathize your emotions and suffering. Please listen to this advice.
I am sure by now you are familiar with all the terms associated with early HIV infection: Acute Retroviral Syndrome, Primary HIV Infection, and seroconversion. I am also certain that you have looked at numerous web sites trying to find some way to diagnose whether or not you have contracted this disease. You must have, otherwise you would not be reading this message. In your mind you have created a checklist of all the possible symptoms and compared them with what is happening to you. While you feel this might give you early insight into the ultimate diagnosis, it will not provide any insight. The only way to diagnose HIV is through testing. So stop trying to diagnose yourself and wait to get tested.
Why? Well, each and every “symptom” of acute retroviral syndrome is common and can be attributed to many different causes. For us victims in this window period, the ultimate culprit might in fact be stress. High stress can lead to each symptom from rash to muscle aches. High stress also lowers your resistance and makes you more likely to get sick and have the “flu-like” symptoms. In fact, I am willing to bet that many of you began to feel your respective symptoms after reading about them on the internet. Stress can certainly play into phantom symptoms.
Remember, that HIV is actually a mighty difficult disease to pass. A number of other sexually transmitted diseases are considerably more likely to be transmitted. In a study that analyzed monogamous couples in which one person in fact had the HIV virus. These couples averaged 8-9 sexual acts a month, most not using condoms. This study indicated a 0.0011 (or 0.11%) chance per act of getting the disease. [ removed ]
You should still be diligent. If you feel you took a large risk, then be responsible. Use protection going forward to protect your loved ones or any other partner. Go see a doctor. You will not be their first HIV-panicking window period patient. Then, test when such a test would be conclusive. This means at 3-months for ELISA or 28-days for PCR. Testing before hand might mitigate your stress but will fall far short of eliminating it.
Outside of waiting for your test, seeing a doctor and smartening up your behavior, put this whole thing out of your mind. Stop reading these web pages. Only a test can give you the answer you need to put this misery behind you. Why make your next couple months hell if you don’t have to?
I spoke to a counselor at a testing agency. The counselor said that only about 5% of the tests he sees actually come in with an HIV-positive result. While this is frankly too high, this is from a population in which people perceive themselves as “high risk”. He also indicated that those who were positive were usually those who engaged in excessively high risk activity, like regular unprotected sex with an identified HIV positive person (like the study above).
Anyway, I hate to preach but you should not beat your self up. Your stress and worry will not impact your testing result. It will not make a negative test positive or a positive test negative. Live your life and be happy. Even if the worst comes true, it does not represent the end. Newer and better drugs enter the market all the time. You can still live a long, happy and full existence.
I hope this helps my fellow sufferers.
With love,
Bizibob