My Doctor Told Me That I Tested HIV Positive...And I was Like...

Discussion in 'Mental, Medical and Sexual Health' started by Nick Delmacy, Feb 6, 2019.

  1. Nick Delmacy

    Nick Delmacy is a Verified MemberNick Delmacy Da Architect
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    [​IMG]

    Last week I went to the doctor for my routine annual exams and physical. For all accounts, I’m a healthy, strapping, middle aged man. Standing over six feet tall and weighing roughly 195 lbs, I’m living my best life and should continue to do so for many more years.

    In addition to checking the health of my liver, kidneys, cholesterol and other levels in my blood work, the doctor asked if I wanted to include an HIV test.

    “Sure, Doc, go ahead,” I replied.

    It had been a couple years since my last HIV test but, although I’m a Black Gay man living in Atlanta, I’m what medical professionals call a “low risk candidate.” I don’t do hookups and I’m mad selective on who I make ‘the beast with two backs’ with. And even then, we use protection. Not a guarantee, but condoms definitely reduce the chances of infection when compared to “breeding it raw.”

    My blood work came back as expected…until I scrolled down to the HIV results:

    [​IMG]
    So…”Reactive” means negative, right?

    I jumped on the Internets and opened up dozens of tabs searching for what the fuck Labcorp was really trying to tell me. Every link, article and message board said what I feared, “Reactive” means that HIV antibodies were detected in the blood. Which means, the subject had been exposed to HIV and started building up antibodies to (unsuccessfully) fight the virus infection.

    I looked at that LabCorp shit again like:



    I immediately dug into my old text threads and sent a “sup” message to the last dude I had sex with. After some pleasantries and catching up, he informed me that he is now “poz” and on meds.

    [​IMG]

    But, he assured me, he had become positive long after we were together.

    [​IMG]

    And while he had me on the line, he wanted to know would I be open to dating someone who was positive?

    “First off, yes I would…But I’mma seriously need to get back to you, bro.”

    I went back to the Internets and typed: “Can HIV be immaculately conceived like baby Jesus?”

    Surprisingly, no results. But I did read on the CDC website that false positive results are EXTREMELY rare and that the current testing is 99.6 percent accurate.

    Then my phone rang. It was my doctor’s office requesting to see me first thing in the morning. Oh damn, they want to tell me the news in person.

    This is when I really freaked out. I called my ma dukes and texted @OckyDub, basically accepting my fate: I had become an Atlanta Black gay HIV Statistic without even getting the benefit of the inhibition-lowered regret sex.

    [​IMG]

    The next morning, my doctor sat me down in the small patient room and said, “Do you know why I called you back here?”

    I lifted my head high, puffed out my chest and just stared at him:

    [​IMG]

    “You tested HIV positive,” he said, looking down at his charts. “The lab found HIV antibodies in your blood sample. But when they tested for HIV antigens, that’s the HIV virus itself, they didn’t find anything. It came up negative. So they retested for the antibodies again, and those results came up negative as well.”

    Wait, what?

    “I think it was a false positive the first time. And as you saw further down on your lab results, their final interpretation was that you were HIV negative as well.”

    Wait. Further down on the lab results? Oh, you mean all this medical technobabble that I totally missed?

    [​IMG]

    My doctor took more blood to do the same tests again, as well as completely separate tests to further confirm my status. These were the results:

    [​IMG]
    So for anyone that lost track:

    NICK DELMACY IS HIV NEGATIVE!

    That was probably the headline I should have made for this post, but baits need to be clicked.

    Apparently the chances are getting a false positive result (while it does happen to some) is very rare:

    [​IMG]

    So what have I learned from all of this?

    I learned that I should read more good. I might have saved myself a lot of aggravation had I really read through the results in full.

    And I learned that I should seriously consider Truvada (aka PrEP) to further protect myself from scares like this in the future. Even for someone like myself who doesn’t have wild ‘black gay web series’ sex all the time, I am def a freaky dude when I do…and all it takes is one time.

    As for the poz dude who asked if I would be open to dating him:

    [​IMG]

    We lost touch for legitimate reasons that had nothing to do with his HIV status.

    Read the whole post here.
     
  2. mojoreece

    Bae Material The 1000 Daps Club Supporter

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    Glad ur OK @Nick Delmacy :):babylawd:
    but please change that damn title had me like this while reading this
    [​IMG][​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    #2 mojoreece, Feb 6, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
  3. machoBLKnerd

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    interestingly, antibodies for lupus, syphillis and maybe a few other ailments often react similarly to hiv antibodies during testing. that in addition to the general marginal error of any test accounts for most false positives.

    happy that you are negative. also happy that you felt comfortable sharing the "positive" result with moms and @OckyDub

    hiv stigma is real and leads ppl not to disclose. let's be safe out here. praying for a cure in the next decade.
     
    #3 machoBLKnerd, Feb 6, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2019
  4. Winston Smith

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    The reason to not date the dude is his inability to be forward about his status, or you are incompatible. Pos status isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me, as I’ve dated/smashed dudes that are pos.

    I’m on Truvada (@takeyourmeds91 was very helpful in guiding me through the process in getting it from my VA doc). A dude who is pos, undetectable, and KNOWS HIS OWN status is safer to date than a fool that refuses to get tested. HIV diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence. Magic Johnson and Bill T Jones have lived with HIV for nearly three decades. Arthur Ashe went from HIV to full blown AIDS in a short span. Likely, the healthier you are, the better you can thrive after a diagnosis.

    Prep is not a miracle pill. It would be statistically useless to hand out to the general population for HIV prevention but it is MORE than proven through stats and peer reviewed medical studies to be GREATLY effective in reducing HIV for us the high-risk population. As a side note there is actually a generic for Truvada that costs less than $100 a year...OUTSIDE of the US (smh).

    My doc was happy to prescribe when he understood I knew more about it medically than many doctors. I still use condoms.

    TLDR: Nothing is 100% but Nick if you’re not gonna permanently “hang up your hose” you need to be on Prep...
     
  5. RolandG

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    I was wondering why Nick was MIA all last week on the boards. I guess I would be too but thank god you ok. Well, you don't believe in god so thank..........ummmmmm.........well you aight so we good.
     
  6. takeyourmeds91

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    I had an alarming situation back in college. I got a random phone call while I was in English. Something told me to step out and take the call so I did. It was a woman from the health department saying, "hey, someone you have come into contact with has tested positive for an STD and we need you to come in and get tested."

    Bwoaaayy, shook wasn't even the word.

    She came and picked me up from campus, took me to the clinic, and tested me. It all came back negative but Lord almighty, was that an experience.

    It actually happened again a year later, basically in the exact same fashion, and that's when I became much more cautious and inquisitive about the status of people I engaged with.

    ----------------------

    Glad you have a piece of mind. @Nick Delmacy

    ----------------------

    For those who are positive and may be reading this thread. Please do not feel like you are second-rate or some type of "other". Despite the sensationalism of the thread, overall, it's becoming much more acceptable and there are men who are willing to engage in a sero-discordant relationship.
     
  7. Nick Delmacy

    Nick Delmacy is a Verified MemberNick Delmacy Da Architect
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    This is basically what the doctor said, some other auto-immune related antibodies in my system may have reacted to the original test but didn't show up on the re-tests. I'm leaning more towards an error with the test itself in the lab.

    My mother never believed it for a second, especially when I told her they wanted to run more tests. Ocky was more just "give me the facts" inquisitive. Then he moved on to talking about Jussie Smollett and the website. I think they both knew I was making a mountain out of a molehill.
     
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  8. ControlledXaos

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    FWIW, Black men who will not date HIV positive Black men will have a greatly reduced dating pool. So men need to have their expectations set when they wonder why they can't find anyone.
     
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  9. machoBLKnerd

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    @takeyourmeds91 i'm seriously considering getting the hepatitis b vaccine which seems to be highly recommended for MSM. any thoughts about this?
     
  10. takeyourmeds91

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    I got it because I had to for work but Hep B aint nun to fck with. Once you have it, you don't clear it and it can cause liver failure. I definitely come from the camp of, if your insurance pays for it, get it.

    Some folks don't get vaccinated and that's a personal choice but we tend to forget that we've never had to worry about polio, measles, mumps, rubella, etc because everyone has been vaccinated
     
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  11. ControlledXaos

    Squad Veteran Most Valuable Player The 1000 Daps Club

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    Yeah my insurance pays for Truvada and hep C.

    Y'all know blkppl love free shit!
     
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  12. Nick Delmacy

    Nick Delmacy is a Verified MemberNick Delmacy Da Architect
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    Doctor greenlit me for Truvada but said that it's expensive...We're not sure if my insurance will cover the costs since it is a specialty drug...but he said there are tons of alternative ways to try to get around it to make it free (ish).
     
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  13. machoBLKnerd

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    yeah, i would think health care professionals would need to get it. as much as i like to eat buns, i think i should get it lol

    @ControlledXaos im assuming you meant hep b because as far as i know there's no hep c vaccine.

     
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  14. Winston Smith

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    If you have insurance, it appears to be prescribed enough that it’s not as expensive as you might think. Even though my doc is at the VA, they usually bill my civilian insurance for any condition not related to military service. I’ve yet to see to a copay bill even though a gay MD friend that’s on it said the copay May be upwards to $100/month. Might depend on insurance plan / type.

    I would think there would be all kinds of programs available in ATL considering the gay population. In Chicago, the big gay center is instrumental in getting non-insurance info out for testing and prep.

    Center on Halsted

    When even Trump throws eliminating HIV in a SOTU, even though it’s lip service, maybe the dam will break in availability...

    @ControlledXaos If stealing isn’t involved, Black people should NEVER apologize for free shit. We got four hundred years worth of free shit due us

    [​IMG]
    :franko1:
     
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  15. Nick Delmacy

    Nick Delmacy is a Verified MemberNick Delmacy Da Architect
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    I also partaketh in the art of eating the backside liketh groceries, so my doctor had me get the vaccination for Hep A and B many, many fortnights ago. My Hep C Antibody test came up negative as well.
     
  16. takeyourmeds91

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    Correct. There is no vaccine for Hep C but that's more so related to IV drug use than sex. Also Hep C is curable now. Expensive as fuck but curable.
     
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  17. takeyourmeds91

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    Learn about TRUVADA® (emtricitabine 200 mg and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets at truvada.com.

    Financial Support
    There are programs that might make TRUVADA for PrEP more affordable by offering help with co-pays, medication costs, and insurance costs.

    If you're unable to pay for TRUVADA for PrEP, the Gilead Advancing Access® program may be able to help.

    If you have commercial insurance
    The Gilead Advancing Access co-pay coupon card might help you save. If you are eligible, the co-pay coupon card covers up to $4,800 in co-pays per year with no monthly limit for TRUVADA for PrEP. For full terms and conditions, visit GileadAdvancingAccess.com.

    If you have government insurance
    If you are enrolled in government healthcare programs (such as Medicare Part D, Medicaid, TRICARE, or VA), you are not eligible for the Gilead Advancing Access program. However, you may be eligible for other sources of support through independent co-pay foundations.

    If you do not have insurance
    The Medication Assistance Program may be able to determine if you are qualified to receive TRUVADA for PrEP free of charge.

    ---------------------

    My doctor told me about the coupon and I've never paid for Prep.
     
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  18. ControlledXaos

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  19. Winston Smith

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    My former doctor said I was immune to Hep A, which I didn’t know was possible (I had asked him to do a full blood panel from HIV to HDL to A1C to Hep B to...). I had brought up Hep C since Boomers and Gen Xers (me) are supposedly the big risk groups.

    And while I have been roundly booed at CA for not “eating the groceries” (the one stereotypical gay activity I refuse), if you live in a big city like Chicago, ATL, NYC etc. AND you eat out AT RESTAURANTS (lol) you should also have a Hep test due to the likelihood of contamination from low paid food workers who might not be capable of reading those “All employees must wash hands...” signs at the McDs toilet...
     
    #19 Winston Smith, Feb 10, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2019
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  20. Nigerian Prince

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    I was in shock when I saw the title. Good news for you Nick. I am glad you are doing well.

    I was tested about 3 months ago and I tested negative for HIV & other STIs. You have to play it safe! Don't breed it raw!
     
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  21. Nick Delmacy

    Nick Delmacy is a Verified MemberNick Delmacy Da Architect
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    FYI: Picked up the Truvada from pharmacy. Ended up being free after insurance and coupons.
     
  22. over-it

    over-it Only the REAL

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  23. over-it

    over-it Only the REAL

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    Glad is was a faulty test!
     
  24. over-it

    over-it Only the REAL

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    Hmmm Definitely something to consider
     
  25. over-it

    over-it Only the REAL

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    Partaketh
     
  26. over-it

    over-it Only the REAL

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