r/HIV_Anxiety

I was started taking art on 23 june after 1 week I start pain in left deltoid, back shoulder blade and back neck , and pain is too intense that I woke up at night because of pain. every night start at 2am and pain start to go away after 7am. And my CD4 was 140 on start of ART. Medical staff says my liver enzymes are elevated but liver is fine. What going on with me. Does any having this ?

I’ve been scared of HIV for a long time.

I last had sex with a lady on 2 December 2025, and I haven’t had sex since then.

After that, I got an HIV test done on 19 March 2026 and it came back negative, but I’m still scared.

It’s been so many months and I’m living in fear, and now this fear is beyond what I can bear.

Please guys help me, what should I do?”

Around 3 months ago I met someone on Grindr and I gave him oral sex. He ejaculated in my mouth and I had a canker sore. I didn’t know his HIV status and that was enough to make me spiral. I actually got tested 25 days after the exposure and it came back negative but it still didn’t give me peace of mind because I knew I still had to wait for the recommended testing window. After that my anxiety got even worse.

For almost 3 months I convinced myself I had HIV. I was only sleeping 1 to 2 hours every night. I had no appetite. I felt feverish because of how anxious I was. Every muscle ache every sore throat every lymph node every little symptom I searched on Google and Reddit and somehow I always connected it back to HIV. I honestly couldn’t take it anymore so I finally got tested again today and thankfully it came back negative.

I also talked to an HIV counselor during those months and they told me they had never personally encountered a documented case of someone getting HIV solely from giving oral sex. It helped me understand why oral sex is considered low risk even though it’s not zero risk.

Also, even though oral sex is considered low risk for HIV, it’s still not zero risk. Please don’t let that make you careless. Always try to practice safer sex, ask about your partner’s HIV status if you’re comfortable doing so, and consider using protection or PrEP if it’s appropriate for you. We only have one life, and taking a few moments to protect yourself is always worth it. Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions or prioritize your health.

If you’re going through the same thing please stop trying to diagnose yourself through Google because it will only make your anxiety worse. Get tested when you’re within the recommended testing window because no amount of Googling will ever replace an actual test.

I hope this helps someone because I know exactly how terrifying HIV anxiety can be. Stay safe everyone. :))))

Hi all. I work in healthcare and recently got through the interview process for a job in the BVI. I'm HIV positive, undetectable viral load, CD4 count over 430. I'm trying to understand the work permit process and how my status might affect things.

I know a medical exam is required as part of the work permit application. I'm not sure if HIV testing is part of that exam or what happens if it comes back positive. I'd like to know if this could lead to a refusal even with an undetectable viral load and healthy CD4 count, or if it's handled case by case.

If anyone has gone through the BVI work permit process, especially in healthcare, I'd appreciate hearing what the process was like. Also curious if anyone has experience getting HIV medication or care once living there.

Thanks for any help.

I'm 24 I've never did casual stuff in my life but 18 days ago I suddenly got brave and hooked up with a guy. i gave him blowjob and he came in my mouth and thats it. Right now i have slight fever paranoid about swollen lymph nodes. can i be really got infected with just one bj.

My 22nd-day 4th-generation HIV test after the exposure was negative. Now it's been 60 days, and I've been experiencing symptoms like body aches, lower back pain, and my shoulders feel heavy whenever I walk or stand. I don't have pain in my shoulders, they just feel heavy. Based on this, do you think my 61-day 4th-generation HIV test is likely to be negative or positive?

So I had unprotected sex on March 28, and I was the insertive partner. That was my first time ever having penetrative sex. At that time, I didn’t know much about PrEP because all I had done before was oral sex. A few weeks later, I started feeling feverish with what I thought was a low-grade fever. I got tested on April 22, and the result was negative. After that, the clinic gave me PrEP.

The guy I had sex with was the receptive partner. He told me it was safe, reassured me that he was on PrEP, and even told me to go get tested for my peace of mind. But my mind keeps saying, “What if?”

Now it’s been 3 months, and my anxiety has become really bad. I’m scared that when I go back for my follow-up test, the result might be reactive. For the past 3 months, every muscle ache, joint pain, or new symptom makes me panic. I never had a high fever or a rash just feverish feelings, phlegm, sinus-related symptoms, and an itchy throat. I honestly don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just really scared and wanted to share this because my anxiety has been overwhelming.

Hello Everyone , i had sex 15 days ago with a girl i met online , her hiv status was unkown , and she is active in sex and she didnot disclose her body count to me .
She clearly denies that she does not have any symptoms , but the thing is she tends to remain mysterious and she had lied about something in past so i dont trust her
We had protected sex but i gave her oral vaginal sex.
Now i am in fear that i may came up with any STD.
Please help me guys is it my anxiety or should i be genuinly fear for the hiv ???

Yesterday, I, unwisely, gave oral sex to someone with an unknown status. The unwise part was doing this while I have a wound in my mouth (cheeck to be exact). We got interrupted, and they weren't able to cum. Before we stopped, I didn't taste much pre-cum. Should I be concerned? Am I being silly?

I and my friend tested for hiv rapid antibody Home test kit, first i pricked my finger and using dropper i took my blood and drop it on casette and then around after 2-3 mins i pricked my friends finger using different lancet and using dropper i drop blood on different casette 2 times till that time I remember my pricked site didn't touched his fresh blood from his finger as i used dropper then he went to washroom to clean his finger with water and then he took some object from cupboard and give it to me and we both tested negative but now I am worried that after washing his finger some fresh blood might from his finger would have touched my prick point or blood from the object that he handed over me would have touched my finger prick point.

5 days already past...Please let me know if I am at risk of HIV or if I need to test for this incident ? Note - He is a Bottom Homosexual and as per him his last encounter was in February 2026 but I am not sure whether he is lying ...Please help.

Hi all, 2 days ago i had sex with a hooker. I met her at a bar inside a hotel where apparently bookers go all the time to find rich men to use their services. The thing is that I of course wore a condom from the start of the action, but unfortunately it broke, i’m not completely sure of how much time i penetrated her with the broke condom but i’m pretty sure it was less than 30 seconds as I have this habit of checking if the condom is okay every few seconds. As soon as we noticed it, i immediately replaced it and finished the deed. I did not cum, and she was seemingly not lubricated enough (meaning not too much vaginal flux was present) as she said at the end, which is probably the reason the condom broke.

After we finished , i asked her if the condom was broke for a long time, and she said she was pretty sure it even broke outside of her , and she reassured me saying she is vaccinated agains the std’s that have vaccines and that she always uses condoms with her customers, which I can tell because she provided me with all the condoms we used.

I am very worried about contracting HIV specifically as I believe it’s the most dangerous std you can get , and I really don’t know how big the risk is . If anyone could help me giving me information about the risk specifically if the condom broke and it was with a prostitute, as that would help me very much to remain calm.

I would like to add that i visited a hospital and had the chance to speak with a doctor who said women to men transmission of HIV is very unlikely , but he didn’t seem to take my issue very seriously so it didn’t reassure me as much as I wished it did . When I told him about the possibility of taking PEP he said I could but he wouldn’t recommend it straight away as he said it’s a mostly unlikely situation. However I’m seeking for more information / similar stories to get reassured. Thank you

My husband and I had a threesome a few weeks ago and I came back positive a few hours ago and he is negative. He is being super supportive but I can feel myself spinning out of control and feel like everything is falling apart. I’m terrified and feel disgusted by myself, I don’t know what to do and I have no family but him to turn to. I keep going between crying and being completely numb like it’s happening to someone else. How do I continue on with this, I just don’t know what to do.

I have done multiple partner last may. Some of those I have done multiple times and other is just one time thing. Normally, I'd go with protection it is a way for me to think to keep myself safe to any exposure. But this 2 girls was able to convince me not too.

It was fun at first, gone multiple rounds just having a blast! It was all fun and all till I felt some symptoms 2 weeks later.

Felt like burning pee stay with me for weeks, I thought it was just irritation for just having too much sex. Feign ignorance for it till the 4th week where I decided to get tested for hiv, syphilis and hepa B (through blood drawn). It was non reactive, it gave me sigh of relief. A very huge one.

5th week later I got discharge, I get tested for STD i tested positive. In my mind thank got it was only STD and It can be cure for 1 week. I'm confident about it, I was still talking to those 2 girls I ask them to get tested cause I tested positive on STD. It was a nice conversation and I ask them to update me for their result. Till one of them block me i don't know why! My mind going haywire everywhere because of this, I know that the chances of going positive for 4th week is pretty high too and 6th week was like guarantee to detect. Tomorrow is the 6th week and I'm thinking of getting tested again for assurance.

But I can't help my brain thinking that she might be positive and I might contract it. I can't help but get huge blown of anxiety when I found out she block me. I'm panicking and I'm trying to smoke to calm myself down..

I felt a bit of relief while typing this. I have no one else to tell this about..

What would you do?? I was assisting in surgery and we had to crash on bypass. My pants, compression socks, and into my shoes got soaked with patient blood. Patient is diagnosed with HIV but has been compliant w meds for many years and has an undetectable viral load. I did continue to just stand in the blood soaked socks and shoes for about two hours because it was an emergency….. Am I gonna get HIV if I shaved and cut my toenails literally hours before the surgery?

Google is telling me that U=U doesn’t necessarily apply to blood and is mostly a rule of thumb for sex