How often do you get tested for STIs/HIV?

[Soilwork]

So just recently while getting my yearly check up, my doctor just signed off on the usual tests and told me to wait for the nurse to come draw blood. I didn't think about it much, it's so routine at this point that I didn't ask him what he was testing for.

Anyway... the nurse comes in, starts drawing blood and we're having the usual small talk you have with someone jabbing needles into your arms and while looking at the chart, she says "Oh... so the HIV test I'll call you in about an hour with the result."

My first reaction was "Oh, I don't need an HIV test."

See... my husband and I have been together for nearly 25 years. We seldom have 3-ways with other guys and when we do it's VERY rare that there's fucking and I still use condoms regularly because I actually think condoms are hot (yes, I know, people think I'm a freak for that... let them say what they want).

Anyway... I realized it had been quite a long time since my last HIV test because I just didn't even think it was a risk for me. The running joke I have with my doctor is "you have to have sex to catch that and I just watch other people do it for a living."


-----I Am Not A Doctor But This Is My Unsolicited Advice-------

I've always told my friends and anyone who asks that if you're sexually active and don't have just one partner, I think it's best to get tested for any and all STDs every 6 months. Some STDs show no symptoms at all but can cause serious issues if they're not treated.


That said... it's always responsible to get tested for any and all STDs regularly if you're at all sexually active.

I'm still HIV-, haven't had an STI or STD since I was in my early 20s (I'm now 47). But the best way to know that you're healthy is to test regularly. So I still get tested yearly even though I hardly ever have sex.


So... when was your last HIV test and how often do you get tested for other STDs?

 

[gsdx]

Not having had any intimate contact with another man in over 2 decades, my answer would be 'never'.

 

[rareboy]

I would hope that the sexually active outside of a completely monogamous relationship are getting tested ever 3 to 6 months at least...depending on the numbers.

Since I have had the same partner for almost 35 years and despite any temptation...have never strayed...I think we're good now.

 

[refujiunderground]

Damn breh. I know you married and all but if you gonna take the test, might as well get it regularly. No offense but you might as well do the whole 6 month thing.


I need to get tested again and yeah, I'm nervous as fuck. Then anxiety of waiting for the results.

 

[rareboy]

double post

 

[alphacentauri]

Once a year, or whenever I have a new relationship with a woman or man.

But I have not had sex with anyone in over a year so there's no point in getting tested for HIV and other STDs.

 

[MakeDigitalLove]

Not for a while and we don't play with others. We did once or twice but that was before the last time I took one.

 

[Soilwork]

I need to get tested again and yeah, I'm nervous as fuck. Then anxiety of waiting for the results.

I totally understand that. Although remember that HIV is now a very treatable condition and while it will certainly change a lot of things for you, it's not a death sentence. the sooner you know, the sooner you can get treated and the better off your long-term health will be.

It's part of being an adult, and while I totally agree with you that it's a scary prospect... not knowing is much worse, isn't it?

And now... you're only waiting for a few minutes. Not for days like in the early 90s.

 

[Soilwork]

Once a year, or whenever I have a new relationship with a woman or man.

But I have not had sex with anyone in over a year so there's no point in getting tested for HIV and other STDs.

Yeah, like I've jokingly explained to people... you have to have sex to get STDs, usually.

I feel your pain.

But good on you for protecting your partners in relationships. Not all guys to that.

 

[refujiunderground]

I totally understand that. Although remember that HIV is now a very treatable condition and while it will certainly change a lot of things for you, it's not a death sentence. the sooner you know, the sooner you can get treated and the better off your long-term health will be.

It's part of being an adult, and while I totally agree with you that it's a scary prospect... not knowing is much worse, isn't it?

And now... you're only waiting for a few minutes. Not for days like in the early 90s.

Its not just hiv I'm worried about. Other stds. Syphilis, herpes, clymidia, and stds in general. What bothers me sometimes is how I notice how some gay guys think the only std to be scared of is hiv. That attitude surprises me. Like other stds aren't a big deal. It makes me wonder if folks get tested just for hiv or other diseases as well as hiv. I know they have the solo hiv test that takes minutes. The other std tests takes days.

 

[Benvolio]

Damn breh. I know you married and all but if you gonna take the test, might as well get it regularly. No offense but you might as well do the whole 6 month thing.


I need to get tested again and yeah, I'm nervous as fuck. Then anxiety of waiting for the results.

A large percentage of those infected have flu like symptoms a week or two after the initial infection. If you did not have such an episode, you should be less nervous.
Syphillus andsome others can be completely cured by antibiotics.

 

[Soilwork]

Its not just hiv I'm worried about. Other stds. Syphilis, herpes, clymidia, and stds in general. What bothers me sometimes is how I notice how some gay guys think the only std to be scared of is hiv. That attitude surprises me. Like other stds aren't a big deal. It makes me wonder if folks get tested just for hiv or other diseases as well as hiv. I know they have the solo hiv test that takes minutes. The other std tests takes days.

true.

And those don't always show any symptoms until it's too late. You should always get checked for everything.

Gay men should also all get vaccinated against HPV and Hepatitis. I've had all of those shots and so should everyone reading this.

Just about everyone carries a herpes strain. Usually that just means cold sores around your mouth and while those are ugly and uncomfortable.. not really that serious. But even those you can get medication to control and even stop from coming out. You just have to have a good, honest rapport with your doctor. You can keep your sex life secret... but it's not a good idea to do that with the person you trust to keep you healthy.

 

[eastofeden]

Not often. The last time for both of us was maybe five years ago. For me..it was stressful for a different reason. I had survivors guilt pretty bad...and I always just wanted them to say I have it to make it STOP...but I am negative...and the last time I had a bad episode I decided to do something about it..as much as I could. It doesn't consume me anymore...but it is still there. I suspect it always will be.

I have been with my lover for 30 years. I am 58 and he is 50. We are monogamous. The last time we had a 3 way was maybe 20 years ago...

We don't use condoms...except we did in 3 ways. I never did otherwise. The bulk of my sexual exploits happened before AIDS...but I had enough after AIDS and I used to just figure I would get it since so many people I knew did. I remember when it was every day someone else I knew got diagnosed. I was just waiting for my turn. It felt like I was standing in a firing line and waiting for my bullet...which never came....

Today..it is cancer and heart disease I am more concerned with. Now..alot of my friends had or currently have cancer....and I get all those tests regularly.

 

[Soilwork]

Oh man... I know that feeling we all had when we watched our friends dropping dead around us almost daily.

I'd go to my favorite bar and it seemed that every week another friend didn't show up. Sometimes we knew he'd died... sometimes we just... never saw him again. Sucked.

And yes.. survivor's guilt. i've honestly never really worried about becoming HIV+ seriously once we understood how it was transmitted. I never had sex without a condom (they're a fetish of mine) and I only had a few boyfriends. Not like I never got laid, but I was always pretty careful and always got myself checked out.

Anyway... the most important thing we can (I hope) agree on is that getting yourself checked regularly, dealing with any infections you may have AND not judging your friends or others if they DO become infected with anything is the most positive step we can make.

 

[FPNY]

during my annual physical, no sense not getting them done...

 

[eastofeden]

Yeah Soilwork...as I worked in a gay bar for 20 years from 1978 on and I got to see the whole thing unfold up close...and I knew so many gay men of course...pretty much all my friends...and then my next group of friends...died...it seemed like it never ended.

When I first went on Facebook I had to leave. Too many new people I didn't know who were sick...and I have nothing left. I held hands and hugged and listened to one after another person when they were diagnosed...sick..dying...and it took a toll. I can't do it anymore. I used to do the primal scream to let out the stress....

 

[tarallucci]

Last year. It's been my first test ever after doing something stupid. It should have been free but the only place I found was private and they charged me 40€.

 

[72-Jay]

Very easy one to answer (for HIV or any other STD test): Never have.

 

[Soilwork]

Very easy one to answer (for HIV or any other STD test): Never have.

why is that?

(no judgement here, was just wondering why you have chosen not to).

 

[Charon]

I've never gotten myself tested. I'm 21(very young), I've had sex with only three men in my life(although one of them was my ex, so it was more than once with him), and all three of them used a condom, so I don't think I should worry about it. Also, this is Mexico, so there's a high chance that they recycle used needles, ergo there's a high chance that they will infect me with something.