i-base.info\/u-equals-u<\/a><\/p>\nYour levels of anxiety sound extreme though. So your reactions are likely related\u00a0to earlier experiences – either in life in general\u00a0or about HIV. But if you won’t let professionals help you, and don’t believe them, then perhaps find alternatives to having sex.<\/p>\n
Or maybe try finding partners who are also living with HIV, or who are on PrEP, or just use condoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi everyone, I am HIV-positive and have been on Biktarvy for many years. I take my medication every day, usually at 10:00\u201310:20 pm, and I have been undetectable for around eight years. <\/p>\n
My latest viral load result in June was undetectable, and my CD4 count is around 1,100. My HIV clinic has repeatedly reassured me that I can rely on U=U.<\/p>\n
However, I have been struggling with significant anxiety, especially over the past year. <\/p>\n
Whenever I have sex with someone and they later develop symptoms such as a sore throat, cough, runny nose, headache or fever, I immediately become afraid that I might have infected them with HIV.<\/p>\n
Recently, a woman I was intimate with developed cold-like symptoms about a week after we met. Another man I was intimate with also became ill around a week after our encounter.<\/p>\n
I know that these symptoms are common and that their timing does not prove I transmitted anything, but I cannot stop connecting these events to myself. <\/p>\n
Even hearing someone cough can trigger intense anxiety and make me feel as though I am going to lose control.<\/p>\n
I have consulted doctors, nurses and a psychologist at my HIV clinic. They have reassured me that, with sustained viral suppression, HIV cannot be transmitted sexually. I take my medication consistently, yet whenever someone becomes ill, I start doubting everything I have been told.<\/p>\n
I also struggle with feelings of guilt. I have had several sexual partners recently, and I sometimes wonder whether my anxiety is a sign that I should slow down and reconsider my approach to intimacy. I am believer, and sometimes I worry that God might be trying to tell me something through these events. <\/p>\n
I do not know whether this is a genuine reflection of my values or simply anxiety making me feel guilty.<\/p>\n
My main question is: has anyone else experienced this kind of persistent anxiety despite being undetectable for so long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,23,51,36,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-topics","category-hiv-transmission","category-prep","category-sero-different-couples","category-sexual-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}