[Question #3866] Please help me . im terrified

86 months ago

Dear Doctor

Im writing this from a flight from Delhi to washington. Im very scared and i dont know who to turn to. I know iv asked this before about three weeks ago but today a whole new set of symptoms have cropped up. Im feeling terrified.

Due to an incident which happened on 28th April, iv been very scared. I haven’t been able to work properly and iv nearly lost my job. I came clean with my wife and she’s stuck with me because its been the only time iv strayed in our marriage. The incident on 28th April was a Handjob at a massage parlour. Nothing else happened . no kissing , oral ,penetration . She was clothed.

Today at 7 weeks, iv got a pain in my throat and ear. I feel fever will follow. My questions are

1. Could this be the onset of ARS at 7 weeks ?

2. I got the following tests done

Day 26- Hiv Duo test

Day 37 - Syphillis CMIA test ( i had a small sore/pimple our my butt where the thigh touches the butt near the scrotum - Local doc said its just an ingrown hair or hair thats pulled out )

3. I wanted to know if these tests are reliable . I know that HIV has a 28 day test which is considered reliable . Does it mean i should test again (hiv duo) in the light of my new symptoms and that last time i took it 2 days ago ?

4. Is a syphillis CMIA test reliable at 37 days .

Please dont delete my question. I really need help and in every sense of the word - I’m getting paralysed with fear . Im working with a counsellor for fear management and made good progress over the last three weeks but this time, the intercontinental travel and onset of these symptoms has thrown me off guard . Iv had no fever or sore throat since the incident until now.

Please please help me

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

86 months ago

These are the same questions that have been answered repeatedly. The answers have not changed. You were never at risk for HIV or syphilis and your test results prove you were not infected, as discussed in your several other threads; re-read those discussions for the answers to your current questions.

I do understand that you "really need help in every sense of the word", but this forum is not the source for that help. We have found that repeated answers to anxiety driven, irrational questions simply prolongs the anxiety. Ceasing to reply is intended to help you move along with the kind of assistance you really need, including working with your counselor.

Here is our standard reminder in situations like yours: Please note the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This will have to be your last one; future new questions about this exposure and your fears about HIV, syphilis, or other STDs will not be answered and the posting fee will not be refunded. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers; because experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties; and because such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

Best wishes to you.

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