Re: Always the odd one out
 

Ideal08, if I could give you a hug right now, I would, so a cyber one will just have to do. {{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}

The times are changing
 

I have been celibate for a long time, so I haven't felt the need to take a HIV test. But I think that may also change when I get my next physical.

Way to go!!!
 

Good for you Moke, and Steeltrap!!!!

I haven't been tested for HIV either but I will at my next exam. I'm like Ideal, if my test came out positive my health would decline so quickly because my mind would take over my entire body.

Im with Prudential and each time I would ask them to increase the amount of coverage on my policy, they had me take a physical with their doctor and take and HIV test.....

The Test
 

There is no reason for me to take it because I am not sexually active. However, if I were serious about someone I would request that we take it together before ANY sexual contact.

However, since there isnt any significant other nor has there been any other sexual contact, I didnt see a need. I think that since you guys brought it up, I may get tested at my next exam too.

Even though its a tough pill to swallow, it would make it a lot easier for you (in general) to know. Think about how many people that are infected and dont know. I think its a good idea. Be Safe!

Q

mos def'
 

been there...been tested...

every one should do it!

Re: Always the odd one out
 

I used to feel the same exact way. I always thought that people don't get sick until they find out that they have some type of disease or illness (Cancer included). I just never wanted to know. I even feared getting married because in most states it is a requirement that you have to take a blood test in order to get a marriage license. It wasn't until after I had to have a blood transfusion that I first got tested. Even though donated blood is "suppose" to be safe I just had to know something for sure. Not only that, but it seem as if the week after I had the transfusion is when reports came out on the news about people getting some type of virus through blood transfusions (I think that it was the West Nile Virus, but I could be wrong). Call me paranoid, but the thought of foreign blood in my body didn't sit too well with me :eek:. It wasn't until after the HIV test that I was okay with the situation. No HIV or West Nile Virus. I really do think that I'm a closet hypochondriac. Anyway, even though I'm cool with being tested now I still get a little anxious about the whole thing.

Ideal,
I was the same way, until I had to get tested as a requirement when I was pregnant. That was a long two weeks. It was negative, and I've been tested twice since then. All were negative. I'll go with you, if you need some support!! :)

re: insurance Some companies view HIV as a preexisting condition. Medicines to treat HIV are VERY expensive, so they pass the cost onto the consumer, in this case the policy holder. :(

I'm with Allstate... I don't know too much about the policy because my parents are paying for it. I just remember having that done around the time I got my physical and assumed that was what it was for.

I don't want to imply that they do this on a regular because I couldn't tell you, I just remember doing it.

Yeah, I've done it...A-okay. I would/have ask(ed) my SO to take the test as well.

As for the condom thing...maybe it's just me, but I think I will use condoms until the day I get married. My reasoning for this is the same as one of the previous posters, there are other STDs you can get besides HIV/AIDS...and if I don't have 'papers' on you, I will never truly be totally sure that you aren't dipping out on me. I know that marriage is not a cure for cheating, but ideally I will be more comfortable in knowing that my husband is with me and me only.

ETA: With all that said...very, very rarely stuff happens ;), but I'm talking about on a consistent basis.

I would have absolutely no problem with taking an HIV test. I would actually be proud of my guy for taking a proactive stance because most men don't worry about it.

I have not had an HIV test in two years because I have not had any sexual partners since then. Boyfriend and I have been together for almost three years but we are not sexually active. He knows that before we take that step, we are both going to get fully checked out. Not just for HIV, we will also be screened for HPV, Herpes, and everything else. HPV and Herpes can be spread even while using condoms because there are some areas that condoms do not cover. The numbers for Herpes are rising dramatically because it doesn't really get that much attention, as STDs go. I think the numbers are somewhere around 1 in 5 or 1 in 4. That's scary to me because there is no cure.

TTT
 

I was last tested for HIV on 1.10.04 and it was still NEGATIVE. :)


Oh and I TTTed it because of a startling statistic -- 1/2 of all young Americans will have an STD by the age of 25. When I went for my HIV test in January, I also got tested for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphillis -- negative there as well.

I have a story...Thanks CT4 for bringing this to the top.

This may be a little graphic, but I think it fits in context to what we are speaking about.

A good friend of mine is going through something RIGHT now because of some foul dude. She was never promiscuous, and this guy that she slept with was like the first since she'd broke up with her boyfriend of 5 years. Anyway, she slept with dude, they "used" a condom, but immediately after sex she didn't feel right. He went to the bathroom, and didn't act like anything was wrong. She went to the bathroom and wiped, she was experiencing discomfort but figured it was just because she'd been celibate for so long. Anyway, when she got home she used the restroom again and when she looked in the toilet there were peices of the condom in the toilet. Evidently the condom broke and he didn't bother to say anything. She called him and told him and he was like, "Don't worry, I'm straight". Now two years later, she went to the doc a few weeks ago and got an abnormal pap, and come to find out she was infected with HPV, which is incurable. She is so distraught because she feels like it's so unfair...and it is, but this goes to show you it only takes once and there are more things out there besides HIV! (and of course the bastid is nowhere to be found :mad: )

Dumb question, but....
 

....does being tested hurt?

I ask this b/c I had a booster shot and a blood test done on me on the same day back in 1984 and I haven't been the same since. IMHO blood tests are like POW torture sessions and gives me bad flashbacks.

However, I am considering getting an HIV test b/c I am seriously considering getting married, and I would like to be a blessing to my future Mrs. Rain Man. However I have "been with" 5 women, condomless. Before you attack me, please understand, when I was taught about safe sex back in 6th grade, I scoffed at it, thinking that I wouldn't need a condom, b/c I would never get some. And every time I did, I assumed it would be my last time. Well, suffice it to say, my last time was 3 years ago, and I don't know if I caught something (I hope not), but anyway...

Does it hurt? :confused: