Getting Tested
 

Definitely a taboo topic but I just went to the doctor's today for an annual checkup and decided, after a conversation with my boyfriend last night, to get an HIV test.

I haven't been tested in 6 years. And I'm TERRIFIED. The last time I was tested I spent the week waiting in misery. Couldn't eat, couldn't focus on anything, nothing. Luckily things were fine. And now I'm back at square one- just tested, told it will take one but maybe 2 weeks, and "no news is good news." I feel like anytime my phone rings from now until December I'm gonna have a heart attack.

I don't have any particular reason to believe I have it. Just now every stupid, bad, and wrong decision ever made is at the forefront of my mind. I think of people I've hooked up with that I know and knew at the time were definitely on the sluttier side. And now I'm kicking myself for things, which I know is pointless except as a wakeup call for the future (which I'm in a serious relationship now anyway).

Another fear is that I was tested for STDs too, so I'm scared I'll get a call from the doctor, immediately assume the worst, and then have a positive result for something treatable. Still not something I want at all, but much easier to handle. I just don't think I can handle looking at my phone and seeing my doctor's number.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation? What did you do to not go absolutely insane while waiting for the results?

Not a taboo topic, and important topic that's hard to talk about. :)

First of all, that's a long freakin' time to wait for a test result! When I got tested last year, we had a result in less than a half hour. (mouth swab, then wait.) During that wait, I had conversations with people on my campus who I had never met or talked before in my life. We were crammed in a hallway in the health centre, waiting for our test results, all nervous as hell. Whenever someone got their results, sometimes they would jump up and down and hoop and holler, and people would clap. It was strange and supportive, and overall positive. The only part that sucked was that last .2 of a second before the clinician says, "your results are...." are KILLER. What happened after I got my (negative) result was we talked about why I was here, how I could avoid being there again, signs and symptoms of HIV/AIDS, and cards to give out to my neighbors with testing info.

OK, so, how you calm yourself is to do some research. How long has it been between partners (this is rhetorical, of course!) for you? For your partner? Most diseases have a "time frame" when symptoms will appear, although of course you may not have any symptoms but still be positive. Have your annual OB/GYN visits gone without incident? What about your partner's exams? I guess this is in the category of calculating your exposure risk.

Then of course, you've got to have the discussion of "what happens if one of us is positive for [insert disease here]? How will you deal with treatment? What are your support systems? How will you prevent it from being transmitted to your partner? How to contact your prior partners and alert them to your status?

After your results come back (Negative, hopefully! :)), you've gotta start thinking about how to keep yourself out of the risk category. What can you do now that you didn't do before?

The waiting sucks dude, but you did a smart and brave thing. It is really easy to not get tested, but like those old psa's say, "knowledge is power".

Yeah, it's tough waiting for the "no news is good news." Then after a while, you're like "Well...no one called, sooooo..." I get tested every year with my annual exam (you know, pap smear, etc.)

It's not fun, but definitely important and worth it.

I got tested at some point in college. I didn't need to be, but I was president of the organization sponsoring the event--I was trying to encourage others to be tested by leading by example. I never got called back, but I would've liked to hear the "no" over the phone. Would've been nice. :shrug:

You did the right thing! Now, just focus on being tested WAY more often than every 6 years. :cool:

It's not a taboo topic but rather one people don't feel comfortable discussing even if many people here on GC have been tested. It's always a good idea to get tested. Better safe than sorry.

Why is it taking a week? Usually it is ~24 hours for HIV test...

The other issue this kind of thing should not freak you out because you and your partner are using condoms--hayle get the ring, too...

And sexual intercourse if cool if you want to do it with some guy you want to hook up with for whatever reasons. However, protect yourself at all times.

It seriously took that long? I go every Valentine's Day, and it's never taken more than 20 minutes or so. I believe that if your test came in "Inconclusive" or "Positive," that the 6-day test would be taken.

My recommendation is that anyone who wants to be tested go to their gay community center or Planned Parenthood, because they're usually free or a low-cost donation. Plus, if you're a big blue socially liberal person like I, you're supporting a good cause. ;)

It's taking a week because they are sending it to a lab along with the rest of my bloodwork. It's about the same amount of time as when I was tested before too.

I'm just praying I don't get the dreaded call for anything I was tested for. It doesn't help that only one of my friends that I've mentioned this to has been tested. I need someone to empathize and understand why I'm freaking out!

I'm seriously tempted to call the doctor and say forget it, I don't want the results. This wait is agonizing and it hasn't even been 24 hours. PhoenixAzul, thank you so much for all the advice. I'm just praying and hoping for good results. It would just be nice to know in a shorter amount of time. I've even considered going to a clinic today on my lunch break to get the mouth swab test since atleast that is faster!

If you think getting a positive is bad, how good is this option? Let's try a different option.

There ya go. :) Best wishes and RELAX. High blood pressure is one more thing you don't want!

I made an appointment for both myself and my boyfriend at Planned Parenthood tomorrow evening after work.

He's been so supportive and optimistic, which I wish would rub off on me! He volunteered to go with me, and when I asked if he'd get tested, he said "absolutely, no reason not to." I wish I had his confidence and optimism that everything will be OK.

I got tested this year for the first time. I've only slept with my boyfriend. But his ex (from about 6 years ago) was a HO with a capital H and O. Even though he said that he was fine, I still did it for me. (negative)

Stay calm. No matter the results, you will get through it.

I think it's great that so many people get tested for HIV...but what about those other STDs? Granted, none of them are as lethal as AIDS, but many can wreck your future fertility and we all know the HPV-cervical cancer link.

I get tested for other STDs annually when I go for a checkup. It's just part of what they do and I've never thought twice of it. The reason I was so concerned with HIV is because I hadn't been tested in so long.

Oh, my test included many other STDs as well. The Dr. wasn't even going to test me for HPV and some others and I was like "No, I want the full deal!" She kept "forgetting" some of them on the paper and I had to remind her like 3 times! I don't get it... Also, the receptionist wasn't familiar with the term "STIs" either.

I sort of understand what you are going thought.
As a blood & platelet donor, I get tested every time I donate.

Well, a few years ago, I received a form letter telling me that I had been deferred and telling me to look below for reason.

Well, given that it is human nature to focus on and look at things at top of any list that is just what I did. And my heart just about stopped.

On top of list, out of alphabetical order, was HIV.

If took me quite a few moments to realize that it was NOT checked off.

Next time I donated, I asked to speak with TPTB. Suggested that they come up with a better form. And they agreed with me.

In your case you did the right thing and you just need to wait it out.

However, do not do what I did. Read the whole test report.

Tinia, that story is horrible. I would die if I saw HIV on the top on the list. Good thing you recommended a change.

So we are supposed to go tonight after work for the rapid testing. He said he will ask for his results first. I couldn't sleep last night, I've barely ate, my boss wants to send me home because I look so awful (I'm sick to begin with and my eyes are swollen from crying so much). My friends keep telling me to take a step back and remove myself from the situation and think of the unliklihood of having it. All I can think of is those people who say "I never thought it would happen to me" and this stupid Lifetime movie I watched 2 weeks ago about a girl sleeping with an infected boy ONCE and she gets HIV.

I've never slept with anyone who's a drug user with needles and supposedly blood to blood contact is the easiest way to get it. I'm just so scared. I seriously want to call and cancel and pretend this never happened.

If you do that, then you will never know. Just relax and wait. I know that is easier said than done. Still, just think if you cancel the results, how crazy that would make you because you still don't really know?

You will feel so much better when you get tested. I remember when I had to answer all of those questions they ask (number of sexual partners w/o protection, IV drug use, etc.) and after I was halfway done with the questionnaire, the counselor asked, "so, exactly why are you getting tested?" Even if you're in a low risk group--and my counselor told me straight up that I was--you will feel a lot better.

True. When was younger I never considered HIV and only thought of how terrible an unplanned pregnancy would be. Now that I'm in a relationship and living on my own, atleast from a financial standpoint and an "OMG what do I tell my parents" standpoint, it wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to me.

I go for my test in less than 90 minutes.

Good luck WVU alpha phi

Maybe this will be a wake-up call to your friends that they should get tested. It's something everyone should do.

Exactly! Everyone who is sexually active should be tested for everything - and your suggestion of going to a gay community center or Planned Parenthood is great. It's low-cost or no-cost and they are always completely non-judgmental.

Luckily, I can laugh about this now...
 

I thought I had told this before, but a search said I didn't, so...

I had my yearly right after I left my ex-husband, and my gynie suggested that I have the full panel of STD tests done, "just in case". She gave me the prescription, and sent me to a lab.

I walked in, and the waiting room was full. There was a bank-teller-like window that I had to push my prescription under to the nurse. She looked at it, and in a loud voice said, "I can see that you want the STD panel, but what's this HIV test?" I blushed and mouthed, "AIDS." She said, "I can't hear you, sweetie, what's that HIV?" I said in a whisper, "AIDS!" By this time, people were looking. Again, she asked, "Just the HIV, what's that mean?" By this time, I was beside myself and said, "AIDS!" When she asked one more time, I grabbed the prescription and wrote, "AIDS" on it, and shoved it back. The nurse then said, in a loud voice, "Ooooh! AIDS! Why didn't you say so?" I wanted to kill her.

Thank heavens, she took me next - but as she drew my blood, she told me about every local celebrity who came to her for AIDS tests! Needless to say, I reported her the very second I got to a phone.

Hope your results were the same as mine, WVU alpha phi.

lol i went when i was pregnant in 2000 to get tested...i had been left high and dry by my loser boyfriend and figured i should go to the open STD clinic at the health department. i thought nobody would be there that i knew...boy was i wrong...the room was packed and i knew no less than seven people there lol! and that was the only thing they did on that day so you just KNEW what they were there for...i sat in a corner behind a LIFE magazine and when my name was called moved as fast as my fat behind would take me!

everything turned out ok. i get an HIV test everytime blood work is done, but ive never worried...i know that is naive and dumb to some people, but i figure if i have it, there is nothing i can do about it to change things, so stress is the last thing on my mind. i have always been extra picky about partners and continue to do so. good luck with your test results EVERYBODY lol!!!

Just a rather general comment:
One can play, have fun, enjoy themselves. However, at the same time, one needs to think of themselves, their reputation, their welfare, their own health and safety.

And within this thread, that would seem to be play safe and alway use protection. And be aware that even the very best has less that a 100% protection rating.

So if you have not been tested, it is a rather smart idea to do so.

And Honeychild, you definitely did the right thing in reporting that health-care "professional".

Before my boyfriend and I had sex we both got tested, he was reluctant but I am glad that we both did it, because now we have nothing to worry about! Except for the baby disease....

I wonder what happened to her... did she come back?

Still here, just hadn't posted in this thread. Results are good to go on everything I was tested for. I gave the doctor the two week time frame she suggested in order for everything to be back, and then called to double check. Of course, when I called I spoke to a receiptionist who told me she wasn't allowed to give me my results even though they were in. I was terrified and immediately thought "OMG the doctor is going to tell me because something is positive and she can give me more info." A nurse called me about an hour later to say everything was fine.

Thanks everyone for the concerns, suggestions, and well wishes to get me through that stressful time! And I couldn't be happier to be in a monogamous relationship so this is no longer a concern! (for the time being atleast :))