Worried - epididymis cyst + HIV test

Further to my other thread about a spot on the glans of my penis, I'm glad to report that after visiting my doctor today and then the uro genital clinic ( waited 3 hours to be seen at the walk in clinic ), it is nothing but a blood vessel and nothing to be concerned about. Short of laser treatment, there isn't a way to remove it, but I'm not bothered anyway.

However, while at the clinic, I was sat down with the female doctor and she asked me about my sex history. I told her that I had paid for sex now and then over the last 4 years, but that I hadn't done intercourse with any of them, only oral sex. And that the last time I had intercourse was 1999. Lol, long time eh.

She said there is still HIV risk from oral, but low risk and recommended I take an HIV test. This is something I've always been scared of, but I said ok and she took my blood and a urine sample. She said if there's anything to report such as HIV, gonorrhea, syphillis, or chlamydia, they should be able to let me know by monday, and that if I haven't heard from them at all in the next 2 weeks, then all is good. I'm shitting myself! I mean, there may be nothing, but I feel really worried just in case. Well, not so worried about STDs, they can at least be cured completely if I have any. But worried about HIV. She said "don't worry".

Then, she continued the test on me by examining my testes and found something I'd noticed a few months ago. She said she thinks it's a cyst on the epididymis and it hurt when she squeezed it. But it DOES hurt anyway when someones teste is squeezed, right? I said "is it cancerous?"
She said " No". I said " Why did you then give me a leaflet on testicular cancer? Are you implying I might have it?" She said " just because the leaflet tells you how to check your self properly". She said "feel it tonight and keep your eye on it. If it gets bigger we can do an ultrasound". I've read up about it and by all accounts, it's nothing much to worry about. But I am worried!

i wish you the best and wish these hags would support you as much as they enjoy tearing each other down. the wait for those results can feel like eternity. good luck

Thanks. That's the worst bit. I want to feel relaxed and enjoy my weekend but feel nervous. I want those results now. Also, if its negative, doesn't it take 3 months for hiv to show in the blood after the last sexual encounter? And my last encounter was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. So how accurate can the test be for any sexual encounter less than 3 months old?

This sounds like something I would've written. Not the situation, per se, but the worry. It's easy for everyone to tell you "don't worry", but that's not how some of our minds are wired. A test before the weekend, is the worst. It seems that most of the time, that's what I end up doing, and then kick myself. You have to try to comfort yourself with the fact that transmission is made a challenge because it's still a rather delicate virus. There are two schools of thought, and you have to take the two extremes, and find the truth as being somewhere in the middle. Oral, is probably THE most debated means of infection. Some will say it's totally safe, and others will say that more people are infected than we know about. As far as testing goes, it is POSSIBLE to find the virus quite quickly after exposure with an antigen test, but it's pricey ($200-300) and not usually done as standard practice. With the tests more commonly done, the antibody test, checks to see if your body is responding to exposure. It takes a while for your body to respond, which is why the accuracy of that test goes up with time. If I remember right, it's about 90% accurate, at about 3 months, and almost 100% accurate at 6 months. I'm sure someone here will chime in with better info. If you were exposed 2 weeks ago, standard testing, from my understanding, most likely wouldn't pick that up, but again, I'm sure someone here will know better.

Try to not worry, because the stress of worry, takes a horrible toll on the body on its own.

Dan, until you know for certain what you may or may not have, do not let your mind run away with you. What you have now is F.E.A.R., False Evidence Appearing Real. And it can make you be crazy. I am convinced that the medical community gives you the worst possible scenarios. In reality, if it was serious, and they knew it, they would say then and there. Since they are doing the AMA tap dance, you are very healthy, and better educated. Go about your day, have a nice weekend, and live life.

actually it's six months. what i've been doing for awhile now is getting tested regularly, i go every 3 months but twice a year is sufficient (unless you're fairly active, i'd suggest gettin tested more often)

Dan, you got hit with a lot of stuff in a short time--no wonder you are freaking out a bit. I won't say don't worry because as Novice stated, some of us are hardwired to worry about anything and create the worst possible scenario. I agree with Scottish...the medical community often portrays the worst. I find that if I keep myself busy and focus on the positive (i.e. the results will be negative, what do I have to worry about?) versus the negative, it minimizes the stress some. The best of luck to you.

I feel for you. Have exactly the same, and i need to do ultrasound at may.
Doctor said also to me not to worry, btw

Thanks guys! I am a bit of a worrier by nature anyway. Gotta pop out now. Cheers!

So many times we think the worst. I also had a lump in the epididymis. A common infection. It just happens. A round of anti-biotics knocked it out.
Relax but always be aware. If something doesn't feel right (you know how your body feels) then it's not.
Best wishes!

I know it's easy to worry about things that could be wrong, especially down there, but in a lot of clinics, it's common practice to advise men to do testicular exams (as common as advising women to do breast exams).

I hope everything turns out wonderfully!

Check out this web site for doing a self testicular exam

Testicular Examination and Testicular Self-Examination (TSE)

Results on my tests.

HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphillis, and all other NSU tests.......

















Negative.

Guess from now on you will be practicing safe sex???????