RELIEF

i finally manned up and got HIV tested. i had been putting it off for being either busy or scared to find out the result. well, i am negative.

NEGATIVE!!! HUGE, huge relief. it's been 2.5 months since my exposure, so i am pretty confident this is a true negative. fyi, there is a window period for detection where it can be missed for as long as 6 months, but i am taking this result as a clean slate. a true clean slate this time...no more fucking around with unsafe sex. it just is not worth it, and the anxiety, fear and every emotion in between i've been dealing with since this latest exposure happened is more than enough. that all being said, i have to take this opportunity to soap box a little, both as a future doc and just as a regular guy facing the same risks and temptations we all do.


just don't fuck bareback.

(unless you completely, completely trust your partner is negative.)


we all know about HIV. i don't have to write a thousand-word essay to tell you all the bad things about it. unfortunately for whatever reason, HIV infection has actually increased in the past few years. the CDC has reported that the rate of new HIV infection is the highest in the under 30 population, probably the population most likely to be having unprotected sex, multiple partners, and probably the age group of a lot of the guys reading this blog.

everyone has their reasons for fucking without protection (i know i've had some very flimsy ones), but i doubt there's a single good one out there that is worth YOUR HEALTH. your own, insanely precious, immutable health. one thing i have definitely learned in medical school is how much we take for granted our good health and what a fucking gift it is to be healthy. why fuck it up for one, two, a few stupid loads?

i doubt anything i write could be that persuasive, but i thought i should try something as being a doctor is all about giving advice no one will listen to anyway. and i think one personally just has to get to that point to be responsible about one's sex practices---it's taken me awhile but i think i've finally gotten there.

bottom line, if you're not practicing safe sex already, just pause and think about it the next time. i know it's a completely different thing in the moment, but YOU, and your health, are just so much more valuable.