How come there are 0 posts where people have tested positive for HIV?

[Perfectmax]

I am just curious why I cannot find one post where somebody has tested positive for HIV.  Certainly someone must have come back positive?  I'm not trying to get kicked off this forum (this is my life support) but I just want to know.  Do you think that this is a controled forum just to lower anxiety?  I had protected sex with a sex worker, however, I had an open cut that definitely come in direct contact with vaginal secreations.  I was told my risk was extremely low and not to even bother getting tested (only for anxiety purposes).  

What is the deal?  Truly someone must have some down this this.

[anotherdummy]

JOHNNYSAID " Let's face it, most people who are on here want to be told that they are low risk and don't have HIV, which for some reason the doctor is fond of telling straight men even when they have unprotected sex with prostitutes. "


This is typical of your previous posts, you consistently want to portray HIV as an "everyone" disease because you are gay.  It is a typical "deflection" attempt.

So what you are saying is the Dr. is giving straight heterosexual men a false sense of security?  He is a medical professional, he has no personal agenda here.  The facts are the facts.  Numbers consistently show the disease is highest among gay males and iv drug users.  Personally, I will take the words of the doctor/expert as truth long, before I would a gay male poster on a forum who wants to make HIV everyone's problem.

Get over it.

[ryn21]

You're referring to MACKIA.  The thing is there were discrepancies between his posts in other parts of the website.  He said one thing in the STD forum, then said another in the Derm, GP, and symptoms site.  His posts weren't consistent.  Although you shouldnt call someone a liar, his story seemed somewhat flawed.

[o_g]

I have to say that I do agree with you to an extent. I have seen some of your posts before in which you have stated that testing at 12 weeks does put you in all clear. However, I have also seen your posts where your doctor was recommending testing all the way to 6 months. As of now, would you like to share your thoughts about testing timelines and what kind of comfort can be drawn from different set of timelines.

[JohnnyV]

Wait, wait, wait.

I HAVE read posts from people who were HIV positive. It's been two years that I've been on this list, so don't ask me the specific dates. They were all females; some revealed how they got it, while others did not. Those that revealed it said they got it from men.

There were a couple times, or at least one member named Mack or something, who said he tested positive and then immediately everybody jumped on him and called him a liar, including the doctor.

Most people, especially men, are not going to reveal that they are positive on this website because they are scared of getting grilled or interrogated or called a liar. Let's face it, most people who are on here want to be told that they are low risk and don't have HIV, which for some reason the doctor is fond of telling straight men even when they have unprotected sex with prostitutes. If I did have HIV (I don't), there's no way I'd post it on here, because I'd know that I'd be kicking a hornet's nest and sooner or later someone would call me a liar.

Basic rule of thumb: if you create a climate in which people can't tell you something because you're so sensitive about it, bingo, you will tend not to hear that thing.

J

[o_g]

That means more or less it is misrepresentation of facts by CDC. In other words, a LIE which fuels people's fears. And the irony is that someone might die of a heart attack from a lie due to fear from the information coming out of an agency responsible to maintain the health of the country's people.

[Teak]

If you would have read my response it said, MOST, people that comes here didn't have a risk. No where did it say ALL people.

[sparkeler]

I think highest risk is sharing needles, to be honest with you.  But I assume you are talking penetration wise.  Therefore, I would say is having unprotected sex w/gay or bi sexual men of unknown status.  I think anal is the riskiest type of behavior for guys and girls.  I would say if you are going to be promiscuous, avoid unprotected anal intercourse, since it causes small abrasions in the rectal tissues, through which HIV in an infected partner's semen may be injected directly into the recipient's blood. Keep in mind though, it's not the *easiest* virus to transmit.  And most people that become infected through sex are infected b/c they have repeat encounters with someone who has hiv.

[worfmg]

Plenty of interesting comments by all who have shared their views here. I am not sure if needles are the only primary cause of the spread but certainly makes sense as a major contributor.

I have, over the months, searched the net for various things related to symtoms of HIV. Only recently I have realized, based on my search, that HIV has 5 stages ranging from the infection till the development to AIDS. I have an ulcer in the beack of the tongue and went nuts thinking this was an ARS symptom. Only realized recently that with my exposure of only 3 months ago, such a symptom is unlikely to indicate HIV as it is not till the third stage which would take considerable time (years) to reach if the condition goes unattended.

I am not sure that the conclusion I have reached will be agreed to by most of you. The bottom line is that most of us worry, and spend sleepless nights not really understanding the disease and its progression. I am not sure if the Doc. would agree to my conclusions, but really, stop worrying a lot and be safer next time.

[o_g]

I know I can really get a lot of flak for putting forward this question. But, is it possible that 6-8 weeks test are considered conclusive on this site keeping in mind that majority of the posts come under low risk category?
I remember the poor girl who was a victim of rape was recommended to test all the way till 3 months. So, I guess the testing duration is variable and changes from risk to risk and it can not be taken as a fixed constant. There seems to be just too many factors involved and every case has to be evaluated keeping in mind different variable factors and thus, even testing period has to vary from 1 person to another.
Does anyone feel that my understanding holds any merit or does it sounds like more of a nonsense BS coming out from a paranoid's persons crazy imaginations.

[ryn21]

The truth is, what the media and the CDC tells you about HIV is somewhat conservative.  If the CDC and the media was less conservative, you would have a lot of people getting into more risky behavior (ie unprotected sex on one night stands and what not) thus spreading other STDs and infections.  Being overly cautious is never a bad thing, rather a just preventative measure.

[Perfectmax]

Yeah, the day after my exposure I called the CDC and asked about risk.  Afterwards, I was about to stick a gun to my head (JOKING) but I was freaked out!  Hopefully, for my sake, they are really on the conservative side.

[o_g]

You guys do a wonderful job of calming people down and giving out decent facts. I really appericiate your way of helping out distressed people in general and spreading out positive energy.
I am trying to detatch myself from all these forums but I need to ask 1 question today.

Sparker, monkey, teak: You guys said that most of the people here are low risk individuals but wouldn't that statement be making a generalized assumption of risk factors being low. I personally have read MSM anal sex posts in this forum also and they are the highest risk. Please do not feel I am questioning your stance in any ways but I would really like to know what would you call a high risk. I feel a risk with unknown status partner is also a high risk as he/she himself might not be aware that they are infected especially in case of sex workers.

Having said that, I apologize to perfectMax for butting in thread started by him and taking something from this post for myself, I would like to ask if you guys do not think my exposure was at average-high on the scale.

Thanks for being so level headed and helpful at all the times..

[Buddy36]

Just thought id add my comment for what its worth, i had an encounter of one off unprotected anal sex with a female friend, approx 12 months ago. As with lots of people i have been freaking out, surfing the web, checking my body, yep guess what i have every sympton in the book. In my first 37 years of life i have visited the doctor 3 times, in the last year about 15!! Eventually got the courage to tell the doc, who said best to get tested for your own peace of mind, not yeh you should. Spoke to about 6 helplines (England) they have all turned around and said your not high risk, dont let it worry you, do it for your own peace of mind!! Decided to investigate further and check the government medical statistics for the UK, in 2005 for the WHOLE of the UK ONLY 122 Hetrosexuals caught HIV without and high risk parners being a factor.
If the US or UK governments started the figures above we may well have more of a problem than we have, for instance would most of the people on here be posting?!
I am still worried, by the way where would you put anal sex (penatration) on the risk table?! Thanks to everyone....

[ryn21]

Its not so much a lie, these guidlines are conservative and theoretical based on the fact that we cant 100% accurately assess risks...(although sometimes accuracy can be assessed around 99%+/-).  If they were to say 6 weeks is 100% and one out of 1,000,000,000,000 people got HIV, someone would be suing the CDC for misinformation.  Based on statistical data, 6 weeks is 99%+ reliable.  The CDC isnt up to any type of conspiracy, relax!  You should be afraid of catching STDs/HIV.  Fear, in this instance, causes one to take precautionary measures (ie. umaking one use protection).

[ryn21]

Im not sure the statistical probability of transmission through hetero anal sex.  However, im sure it too is close to the 1 in 1000 range.  The chances your friend has HIV is very low.  Even if it was Anal, with a female partner, its low risk.  Unless however she is an IV drug user or frequently sleeps with homosexual or bisexual men, the calculated overall risk is very low. 12 months is plenty of time for an accurate test.  Get tested, put it to rest.  Im sure you'll be fine.  Ask DR HHH in the HIV forum for technical data on anal transmission.

[o_g]

But, fear prevents knowledge and understanding. With the growth of this disease throughout the world, it calls for governments, pvt. organizations and national intitutes to impart correct information to fight against it. For imparting knowledge, right atmosphere needs to be created which enhances learning and not mass hysteria out of fear which I am seeing/dealing with day in and day out. This is very well a reason why so many people do not even want to shake hands with hiv positive persons.

[ryn21]

It is a shame that even today, people who have HIV are often discriminated against.  Just yesterday, MSN published some startling facts about health care discrimination for people who have HIV.  Even today, years after policys are created and strict health care protocol has been established with dealing with HIV infected persons, there is still such discrimination and stereotype.  Many people treat these infected individuals as if they were anything but human.  People who have such misconceptions about infected people, that they wont even shake hands with an individual with HIV, should be ashamed of themselves for being so ignorant (uneducated).  We need to better educate the future generations to put these misconceptions and stereotypes to rest.  Dont blame the CDC for this, though.  Blame the educators, blame the parents for misconstruing this information, blame ourselves for not learning the real facts.

[Buddy36]

The problem is more apparent in the over 30's, not sure what it was like in the US but certainly here in England it was portraid as instant death. Remember adverts showing a couple meeting, then seeing a gravestone with the persons name on. With that sort of publicity it is no wonder people are scared, you have people on here saying they were masturbated '$hit have i got HIV'!! That is surely no differant from shaking hands, (well i guess it is!) but you know what i am trying to say. The health organisations have done a great job in stemming the flow of the disease yet in the mean time have made most of the general public paranoid. If the doctor is to be believed, hes the expert then most people have a greater chance of being knocked down by a car even if they sleep around in a moderated fashion. The younger generation have not been exposed to these horry pictures are more easy going / tolerent with the subject, also they have become less careful.
Thanks....

[sparkeler]

I know the questioned wasn't directed toward me.  But I'd just like to say that I have known 3 people who were infected with hiv.  2 of them were heroin addicts and 1 a woman whose husband gave it to her b/c he was on the downlow.  She obviously was having repeated sex with her husband unprotected, unaware of his bi sexual tendancies.

[monkeyflower]

I'm with the other two posters. Just about no one here is at any risk whatsoever--including you, although I understand that you can't see that. This and all the other STD/HIV forums are pretty much exclusively for the worried well.

How many people in real life do you know who have HIV?

[Teak]

You must have a risk to be infected. Most of the posters didn't have a risk like you. They just come here thinking they had a risk and have know knowledge of the facts of hiv transmission.

[sparkeler]

I dont think anyone has actually tested positive.  Most of the people on this forum have close to zero risks, yet suffer from an obsession with this disease.  I think I might have read one post on here that I actually thought was a real risk.  Also, alot of these are fears are from one time exposures.  Usually a person becomes infected after having repeated sex with someone who has hiv.