HIV testing - A standard part of your yearly physical

[GAC3710]

As a person who has had both AIDS and HIV I can honestly say that I do not think it is right to charge someone with manslaughter (or attempted MS) for having sex with someone if one of the 2 is in fact HIV+. Should someone actually do it there are ways around that sort of law. For example, many people are led to believe by government ads that condoms will prevent you from transmitting or catching HIV. This is not the case with all STDs but it is so with HIV. Health departments all over the country will tell you certain types of condoms will prevent HIV infection and others will actually increase your chances due to the type of lube on the condom or things such as sex oils or vasaline(sp?) creating microscopic holes in the "rubbers". The law is not black and white (at least not in my state) but rather "gray" for the most part and open to interpretation. It is however a sex crime and a 3rd degree felony if you have sex with someone knowing you are HIV+ and you do not inform the person (I don't see how this could have a leg to stand on because it could easily turn into a he said she said thing in court). As for any other STDs if you have sex with someone and you have any other STD other than HIV it is a misdemeanor (I can give you the statutes and sub sections if you like). Laws for the most part are not black and white. Thats whats great about our system. Mandatory testing is just another step towards a totalitarian state if you ask me and I pitty the day when our civil liberties are at the mercy of the CDC. I went from having full blown AIDS to being the subject of a study conducted by the leading Univ in my state for HIV/AIDS research due to my recovery. I by no means make 6 figures and my parents are millionaires a few times over so I guess my background is that of a middleclass/upper middleclass family, I'm not gay and I've never used IV drugs. I had a healthy heaping of the pussy pie and it just so happens it caught up with me.

The drugs out there are awesome. I know many nurses that have been exposed to HIV from taking blood from patients and all have taken the meds within 8 hours of being exposed and none have a + status. I went from being on Sustiva and Truvada to starting Atripla (the newest drug available) a few days ago. My life has changed but I am certainly not going to die in the near future or in within the decade as long as I stay on top of everything. My doctors (all 21 of them) have said that if no more advances were made in the field I would still live to be 50+ years old as long as I stayed on top of my game. It is a smart virus and it can really do you in if you allow it but the way I look at it there really isnt much of a choice. I was dealt a shitty hand and I have to win the round with what I have. It is my view that the argument that HIV is a death sentence only comes from people who do not truly understand the virus itself nor the medications already available. Many HIVers look at it as having a nasty case of diabetes, you have to make some changes but as long as you do that and stick to the plan you will be ok.

If there is anything else any of you would like to know please feel free to ask me and I will do my best to answer your questions about laws, infections, medications and yadda yadda yadda.

I wanted to add one more thing: The CDC says about 1,000,000 Americans are infected with 250,000 not knowing it. I believe this number is far lower than what the real number is due to the government not wanting to start a panic resulting in a serious push by politicians to demand a cure. I believe it is a population control and that a cure does exist, military servicemen/women are an example of this. Pharmaceutical comps do not make money off of cures but rather "patching" people up so we have to buy their drugs. But mark my words, should mandatory testing become a reality this country will be in for a serious slap in the face.