Anyone get tested at the HEALTH DEPARTMENT? Nightmare!

[Perfectmax]

I am just curious as to if any of you have gotten tested at the health department?  I have gone to Urgent care doctors twice in the last two months to get tested and also have gone to two different primary docs.  Reason being is that I just moved to town, didn't have a primary and needed testing fast.  Then I went to two different primary's because I didn't like the first one.  

Anyone, long story short, I went to the health department so that my insurance wouldn't drop me or raise rates.  Its free.  

Anyway, I went in and hope i didn't get infected with any thing just going in.  Their testing takes 3 weeks to get results and to top it off the nurses and doctors scared the $hit out of me with all of these HIV stories and telling me that the CDC tells them that AIDS wont be cured.  Wow... i was so freaked out that I almost left in the middle of my appt.  

Why does the results take so long and why do these poeople have to drive my anxieties even higher?  WTF!?

[xworriedx]

Didnt you already test negative at 6 weeks? if so ...move on with your life man.

[monkeyflower]

You weren't at any risk for HIV and you didn't need further testing in the first place. Rather than keep testing, seek counseling.

And in the interim, if you want to know why those folks scared you with their stories, read Marty Klein's America's War on Sex. I think you might recognize your own experiences with family, friends, teachers and government. Excellent book about our society's sex phobia, the reason behind the scare tactics and deliberate misinformation (lies).

[monkeyflower]

I should clarify that it's NOT about HIV per se, but about the lasting effects of our sex-negative society (which I believe includes HIV/STD anxiety).

[Teak]

You are getting what you paid for. Three weeks is not a long time to wait. I would prefer to take a test and get my answer within three minutes.

[Perfectmax]

No.. I tested negative at 26.5 days.  This is my 6 week test (actually 7.2 week).  

Yeah... they scared the hell out of me.  Unbelievable...  

And... I was there for 2 hours too.  I should have just paid out of pocket for an HIV test.  They also tell you that they test for everything and they don't.  No HPV, no Herpes.  I would think that herpes would definitely be included.

[o_g]

They told you that they test for everything. Man, I really do not understand why they can not give specific answers. Even where I got my PCR tests done, I send them an e-mail couple of months later asking which strains PCR exactly cover as my exposure was with Eastern European girl. The councellor without having much knowledge lamely replied that it covers all the strains. Then, again, I specifically called him up asking me to inform specific strains as I know for sure it didn't test for HIV-2 and he is mentioning "it covers all the strains". I told him I have to share my testing history with an ID specialist here. His reply was that he will try to get the information from the kit developer and then mail me the information. Its been a month and I still don't have the information. With that I have drawn conclusion either he is trying to avoid me or just covering up for his incompetencies as a doctor/councellor. Anyways, there goes "my right to information". I do not even know what exactly I have been tested for.

With this what I mean to say is that even labs and doctors go into some kind of conservative shell where they feel really uncomfortable to impart information about STD's/HIV when the activity is sexual in nature. Everything related with STD's just turn out to be so subjective when a worried well is looking for objective and clear cut answers.

Seriously, world over, we indeed have a sex negative society. I completely agree with monkey. I think half the fear of STD's in people is because of improper handling and imarting information in general due to unwillingness of knowledgable people to talk about it in a proper matured manner rather than avoiding question of shoving them underneath the carpet.

[Perfectmax]

Are you kidding me!!!???  I could not handle that.  What did you do?  

Isn't a false positive very unlikely?  Oh my Gosh...  How legit is the health department?

[Perfectmax]

I am so sorry to hear your story.  You are a strong person.

[Xhost]

Perfect,

Your particular health department is either staffed by sadistic hacks or they figure that scaring the hell out of a thousand is better than seeing one out of that thousand come back later and test positive for HIV.

Either way, it does not speak highly of them, either as people or professionals. I wonder if they realize that their actions will cause many people to never get tested for HIV again. And then I wonder if they really care. Outrageous.

It is unfortunate that you had the experience that you did, and it is very unfortunate that you have to wait 3 weeks (!) to hear your result (which will be negative, by the way).

For anyone else reading this, it may pay to "shop" around a bit for free clinics that offer rapid testing. Many, many do (the health department in my area does, and it is free). Visit this link: http://www.hivtest.org, put in your zipcode, and then look for the organizations and/or clinics local to you that do offer the rapid testing. Three weeks, in this day and age, is far, far too long to wait for your test results.

Actually, Perfect, if you don't wish to wait for three weeks to get your own results, I bet you don't have to. No law that says you have to wait that long - try to find a place near you that offers the rapid testing, go get the test, and when the health department calls you (when they get around to it), tell them you already know.

Good luck to you.