Hi Doctors,
I have had asked few questions in this forum in the past and the last one was #1114. I am doing my best to come over my anxiety, and I was doing really well until I woke up with the following symptoms:

1) Yesterday (42 days after the exposure), I Woke up with a stiff neck, and it hurt when I pressed hard on both the sides.

2) Today, I feel little bit disoriented and it hurts when I look towards the ceiling. It hurts specifically below the right ear where the salivary glands/tonsils are. Overall, my neck feel very stressed out and stiff. Could this be ARS?

3) My last test was at 33 days after the exposure and it was negative. Is the test reliable keeping in mind it was a RAPID test and not a conventional lab test? I went to the nearest hospital and they have the Alere Determine HIV 1/2 Ag/Ab Combo test.

4) If we forget about the exposure (deep closed mouth kissing) for a minute as I know it was a no risk exposure, is the 33 days RAPID DUO test reliable? Or would it be reliable only if I go to a lab instead of opting for a RAPID Alere Determine HIV 1/2 Ag/Ab Combo test?  I am asking this question for any futuristic tests that I may go for, for a different exposure.

This is really my last question in the forum. As I said, I was doing well until I woke up with the neck pain and it flared up my anxiety again.

Regards,

As Dr. Handsfield told you on your last question, repetitive, anxiety-driven questions will be deleted/closed and that is what these questions are and what will be done.  I mean you no disservice but adding nuances or worrying about new minor discomforts does not change our responses related to your no risk exposure.  As you were already told, the results of the Combo test are DEFINTIE at 28 days (4 weeks) and you did not need testing to begin with.  Your new symptoms do not change this and are not suggestive of HIV in your situation.

This thread will be closed later today.  There will be no further answers and additional questions really will be deleted with no comment at all.  As Dr. Handsfield has already suggested, the best thing you could do is seek counseling about your unwarranted and inappropriate fears following the exposure you described.  EWH

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Hi Doctor
I do understand your comments about my anxiety, but if it had been that easy to get over with it, I wouldn't have been here. I wont go into much details about what caused my OCD with HiV, but one reason is the lack of clarity about few ways it could get transmitted. I very much remember that you did tell me that deep kissing doesn't cause the transmission, but there are stories floating around about it. I understand that they could just be stories, but to an anxious mind it could mean a lot of things.

As I had said, I am trying to get over my anxieties and this is really the last time I have posted a question here.

If you could please answer one last question, it would be really nice of you - is there a difference between the RAPID Alere Determine Combo test and the test that they do in the lab, lets say labcorp? I mean the reliability of one over the another. The general perception is that the RAPID test might not be that reliable versus the lab tests. And I am asking this so that in near future if I had to go for testing for a different reason, I do trust the RAPID test.

Thanks for your service.