K... I'm curious... I just went and had my done...all clean of course (and thank God!!!)... how often do you go and get tested??
i had one before and i need to have another another one.. you'd think i'd learn. im dumb like most people. aids is some scary shit.
I donate blood pretty regularly (except, not until august because I got a tattoo) and they do test for hiv/aids. Alas, not for any other std's
I popped a false positive one time that scared the hell out of me. I had been gang raped, and was getting tested following the rape. After that, I was tested every 3 months, then after a couple of years doing that, it went to every 6 months, and now I'm down to just annually.
Well, I've only ever been with my husband, so I don't get tested. I DID however have a rountine HIV test while I was pregnant. It wasn't a mandatory prenatal test, only a precaution, but I had no problem taking it because I knew it would be clean. At first I was a bit nervous only because my husband had been with a few other women prior to me, but everything was fine.
I've only had one, I'm going to get one in this next month..but ya know, HIV can be dormant for 10 years..meaning people may not even know they have it when they get tested. I've also heard that in order to "catch" the virus, there are different times it can only be detected. I don't know much about it, but it scares the shit out of me. We all need to be much more careful in my opinion.
I have never been tested, but really do need to go. I talked to a nurse at my school's clinic, (I was getting blood taken to be tested for pregnancy, so decided to ask about getting tested for AIDS) apparently it's a huge hassle.. you can only call to make an appt, and you must give a fake name and meet with the person who gives you the results in private... why is it so secretive? and so difficult to get it done? that got me discouraged to get it done.. but this thread reminds me that I do need to get it done soon... just to be safe.
Being tested is probably a really good idea. Especially nowdays. Since the big internet boom over the last several years prompted many, many, many little secret affairs. It is easy access. You meet online, you chat and flirt then you meet offline for a little you know what. It is just too easy. Like you really know someone online. hehehe. You only know what you see typed on the page and maybe a pic. How are you suppose to know if they have HIV?
not to be rude but.. this is utterly totally inescapably WRONG. unless you have a suppressed immune system (just had organ transplants, suffer from some sort of suppressive disease, etc), you will test positive within 3 months. 95% of people test positive within 3-5 weeks, the rest by the third month. that "10 years" is COMPLETELY wrong and is just put out there to scare the pants off of people.
quote: that "10 years" is COMPLETELY wrong and is just put out there to scare the pants off of people. I'm sooo glad to hear that, I wouldn't want something coming up 10 years later after I thought I was in the clear.
certainly if you have anymore doubts, you can call the center for disease control, and they'll repeat to you what i just said here
out of curiosity, what is the rate of HIV in the US? Don't feel like you have to look it up if you don't know it though.
i believe estimates run from 1 million to 2 million - so less than 1% - and there is definitely a concentration in urban centers (needle drug use is still a major way of transfer).
I have a couple of friends in AZ with HIV & Hep C. When I was 17 I had to have open-heart surgery and was given a blood transfusion. I've had a few HIV tests done and am doing fine.
it's a sad fact of life, but in the gay community infection rates are on the rise. With the new drugs out and everything being done to keep the disease under control, many gay men are getting back into "barebacking" aka unprotected sex. There are, as strange as it seems, those folks looking for what is called "charged loads". These are cum shots from someone with full blown AIDS. The folks want to bareback someone for a charged load. How stupid can they be?! What is a common misconception is that all the HIV/AIDS viruses are identical. This is not the case. That's why even if 2 HIV positive people have sex, they should still use a condom. It's similar to having Hepatitus C and getting Hepatitus B from your partner. It's all Hepatitus, but there are subtle differences just the same...
I've been tested once. I don't worry, coz I always always ALWAYS have protected sex. No sex without a condom.
