Getting HIV tested. What do you have to do?

[JRandell69]

I've never had an HIV test before. I'm in my mid 30's and have done some risky sexual behavior in the past. The thing is... I'm afraid if I go to a local heath clinic, cause I think those people are going to put me on the spot and start asking a lot of noisy questions you know. "Why do you want an HIV test? What have you been up to?" So I've never gone and done it.

I was in a doctor's office once being treated for something else, and I asked the doctor could I get a blood test done while I was there, and he started saying, "Why do you want to have that done for? You think you were exposed to AIDS? Have you been shooting up drugs or something?"

I mean this ass of a doctor acted just completely shocked that I would ask for such a thing. He told me to go to the emergency room at some hospital and do it. They could do it faster than he could. But I just never did go.

Anyway, is it free to have it done? Is there some way you could get tested on your own? They should have ways a person can do it on his own.

On another note, I do have a suspicious mouth sore, which I've had for about a week. It looks and feel like the kind you have when you bite your lip. Only it's on the lower gum line. I could have just cut or burnt it, but I don't remember doing that to it. And do understand that mouth sores are one of the early symptoms of this disease.

Anyway, any advice is deeply appreciated guys.

 

[gotdimples77]

Just to start off, I am a Librarian, not a doctor. But as far as I know there are a bunch of options for getting tested. The fastest way is to go to an AIDS clinic or your County health Department usually. They can give you results in about twenty minutes. I believe if you turn up positive for HIV they are obligated to ask you the names of your recent sexual partners so that they can contact them and ask them to be tested as well...I think. These people are usually a lot better trained at confidentiality and corgiality than your doctor was. I try to get tested as part of my yearly physical even if I havent had sex. The problem with getting it through my doctor is that I have to get a special form from the hospital explaining the confidentiality aspects, have him sign it and then go back to the hospital to get the blood drawn and tested and I get results in about a week. I think this test is a little more reliable but obviously there is a little more rigamarole to get through. It is designed to protect you but it is a pain in the ass.
I know its free when I have my doctor write a prescription because its on my insurance (the bad part about this is that, well...then its on your insurance.) I think its free or cheap when yoou have it done at the County Health department. Not sure about doing it on your own. That would be a good question for the County People.

Can't offer quality advice about the sore. usually cold sores are a version of herpes called herpes simplex. You can get this from kissing someone else with herpes simplex. it is contagious when you have the sores like all herpes,, but aside from the sores being sensitive to orange juice and pickles and being a little gross is not a life threatening condition. I am pretty sure a rather vast percentage of the population has this virus floating around in their bodies. I think they can only test for herpes when you actually have the sore. Now, it is possible I believe to have a more serious form of herpes in your mouth from sexual activity. and the second thing to keep in mind is that herpes will take advantage of a weakened immune system.

The wikipedia page for herpes is informative. The CDC site for GLBT Health is excellent: http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/index.htm
I also like Medline which is a site put together by the National Institute of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

 

[ben9651]

I`m in med school .. and you have NO idea how much diseases there is !!!! ALOT! some sexually transmitted . others not. so not every rash or sore throat you get is HIV ))

 

[cocksucker4use]

You're right. That doctor was an ass. You should find a public health clinic or gay center that offers rapid HIV testing and has a certified counselor to administer it. You can Google for testing center near you or in a city near you. Some are commercial and charge a lot. In any event, these providers do this all the time, and are not judgmental. You can tell them about any sexual stuff you have done, any questions, and they will advise and counsel you. Unless you have been way out there, like turning tricks on the street, doing IV drugs, etc., the chances are far and away in your favor as far as being negative. Worst case, somebody does test positive, it REALLY is better to know, and be able to take care of yourself. I'm lucky because I live in a big city in California and have access to free testing on the way to work or 10 minutes from my house. Fuck, I could do it every week. There used to be anonymous testing, but at least around here, it is now confidential, but they report positive results to the health department. This is to get access to funding. HINT: They may ask you to fill out a form with your info, like address, social, whatever. They don't ask for ID. Is it your fault if you're a little dyslexic and transpose some numbers?

 

[marqau]

I'm in Sydney Australia so my experience may not apply to you but might be useful to someone else.

Two of the local public hospitals nearby me have sexual health clinics. RPA and Sydney Hospital. I suppose others do too. You can make an appointment or (I think) just turn up.

The first time they take your details but then give you a card with a number so on future visits you don't have to give your identity to anyone again, just your file number. (I suppose they store your personal details separately from the file). The test is free. They do a blood test and take swabs from your cock and arse. You can do the swabs yourself. I'm not sure if I gave a urine specimen too. They ask a lot of questions about your sexual behaviour but they are friendly and non-judgemental. They will advise you if your behaviour is risky. You need to make an appointment a few days later to get your results. They won't tell you over the phone good or bad. The worst part is that wait.

I had a positive test for clamydia once and they wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and I had to have a follow-up test at the end. It was all pretty easy and discrete.

I'm not a doctor but I do have a friend who is HIV positive. He too had a cold sore on his mouth that wouldn't go away but before that he had some pretty sever symptoms including high fevers at night and painful hot rashes on his thighs. I think that happens not long after infection but then goes away. I don't know if everyone gets that. He got HIV by a guy that did not know he was infected cuming in his arse. I don't know what your risky behaviour was but I have been told is the most likely way of being infected by sex. Anything else is much less likely. The chance of being infected by HIV is higher if you already have some other STI.

Cold sores can just be caused by stress (like the stress of worrying about having HIV) but you should definitely get tested.

The other thing I want to say is that sexually transmitted infections are nearly always passed on by people who don't know they are infected. The obvious reasons being that if you know you are infected your would not want to deliberately pass it on, and secondly because you would be having treatment for it. Even for HIV, a person being treated for it thought to be less likely to pass it on even if they do have sex because the treatment may completely remove the virus from the persons cum. Your doctor would know that, so anything he said that embarrassed you or discouraged you from being tested borders on malpractice. I would be looking for a better doctor. Also, for this reason, your medical system should be making it as easy as possible for people who think they may have an STI to be tested. Easy as possible means accessible, private and free. Anything else is a serious public health failure.

 

[JRandell69]

Well thanks guys. I thought there would be more people on here that's been to have it done and knows the process. I guess there's a lot on here that are like me and have never been tested.

I think I am all right though, so I guess I'll just wait until I start having symptoms.

I did think of another clever idea and that is to simply donate blood to the Red Cross. I'm sure they have to test it. So I "may" do that in the future. It might be better than going into some clinic with those people thinking, "Ah he's here for an HIV test. He's been whoring around."

If anyone else on the board feels the same way. Donating blood could be a way of knowing your status without feeling awkward by going to a clinic.

PS. was a little surprised KaraBulut didn't way in on the thread. He or she seems to have somewhat of a medical background judging from the posts they make on here.

 

[SexyGuy]

JRandell69, I HIGHLY implore you to go to a clinic. At the clinic they are supposed to be unbiased and not judgemental. They are there for you and making sure you are healthy. Don't let one rude-as-fuck doctor scare you away from the clinic.

I get tested every 6-12 months, even though I am in a monogamous, serious relationship. Recently, I had a sore throat and decided to see the doctor. We talked and I asked him if I could have an STI test or three. Well, I came back positive for gonorrhea, even though I never cheated on my boyfriend. He was tested as well, and his results came back negative. Regardless, we both took the antibiotics and are now "clean." (The doctor and Dept of Health are still confounded by how the bloody hell I got the damn thing...).

My point: get tested. You not only help yourself by knowing your status, but you also help the community by not spreading the illness via protection, and treatment.

 

[JRandell69]

JRandell69, I HIGHLY implore you to go to a clinic. At the clinic they are supposed to be unbiased and not judgemental. They are there for you and making sure you are healthy. Don't let one rude-as-fuck doctor scare you away from the clinic.

I get tested every 6-12 months, even though I am in a monogamous, serious relationship. Recently, I had a sore throat and decided to see the doctor. We talked and I asked him if I could have an STI test or three. Well, I came back positive for gonorrhea, even though I never cheated on my boyfriend. He was tested as well, and his results came back negative. Regardless, we both took the antibiotics and are now "clean." (The doctor and Dept of Health are still confounded by how the bloody hell I got the damn thing...).

My point: get tested. You not only help yourself by knowing your status, but you also help the community by not spreading the illness via protection, and treatment.

Well I appreciate that SexyGuy. Maybe I need to go to a big city and have it done. I live in a small southern town where everyone knows everyone and the doctors around here don't give a fuck if you're sick or not. Especially if they know you're gay.

Now that may not be at all true, that comment maybe unfair, but that's just the impression that I often get.

 

[RaKroma]

I think I am all right though, so I guess I'll just wait until I start having symptoms.

I did think of another clever idea and that is to simply donate blood to the Red Cross. I'm sure they have to test it. So I "may" do that in the future. It might be better than going into some clinic with those people thinking, "Ah he's here for an HIV test. He's been whoring around."
If anyone else on the board feels the same way. Donating blood could be a way of knowing your status without feeling awkward by going to a clinic.

Hypothetically speaking, even if you're infected, you might not have much symptoms for years and out of ignorance you will be telling your partners that you're "clean." That's how many STDs are spread, not only HIV, because people don't test regularly or never have early signs so they assume that they're healthy and clean.

I had my first HIV test and other STD tests this June. I didn't go to my family doctor because I wasn't comfortable doing it there, but I went to a department of health clinic and then to a non-profit STD org. Privacy of the tests vary by state and local laws, but here, I had to give them my name and DOB and basic info. I also answered a questionnaire of what symptoms I had and if I ever had unprotected sex. The nurse explained that the reason they ask for this is that just in case that I would be positive, a health department rep would be contacting me to assign an HIV specialist who would then work to get me free medical care and medications. The nurses couldn't care less about your private life because they have seen and heard it all. They give out the questionnaires for public health research and data collection.

Was it embarrassing to go for STD testing?--Yes it was very embarrassing and scary especially because I self diagnosed in my mind with all sorts of stuff when it was all a huge false alarm. Was I the only person there?--No, there were dozens of people in the room: men and women of all backgrounds and ages going through the same thing. (They like me were there because they have sex and are concerned for their health.) You're 30 and should realize that if you're not embarrassed to hook up with strangers, then you shouldn't be embarrassed to go and get tested not only for your own sake but for the next partner who will assume that you're safe.
Don't forget that HIV is not the only thing to be concerned about and you shouldn't forget other tests for common STDs.
You can always get home kits but I'm not sure on their quality and accuracy, maybe someone else can answer. I'd rather let a professional do the rapid test and have ease of mind that it was done correctly.

I'll let someone else reply why going to donate blood as a way of finding out your HIV status is not the brightest idea.

 

[lambdaboy]

Look on the internet for gay clinics in big cities near where you live. Being a USA citizen and now also a British Citizen I will never go back to what I think is one of the worst places to be gay. Yes there are worse in 3rd world countries btu it is unbelievable how a few people have taken there belief in a so called god and screwed The U.S. up.

 

[mbamike]

I get tested every six months at the VA clinic where I receive my medical care. The doctor did ask me why I wanted an HIV test. I told him because I have multiple sex partners. He said he had to justify the test request in the system, everything is computerized. He then recommended I get the hepatitis vaccination too.

On the other hand, my fuck buddy goes to a free clinic. IMO, it is important to get tested, especially if you are sexually active. Know your status.