A couple of cautions on planned parenthood -- I know they do a great deal of good, but I recently was tested there and found it almost impossible to persuade them that to test for herpes and hiv once I told them I always go covered. I really had to insist! And the exam for warts seemed awfully quick and cursory. Plus it took almost 3 weeks to get results after they promised it would be less than a week. Maybe this particularly clinic was just overcrowded, but that's what happened.
0n a more minor note, I had to wait 90 minutes even though I had an appointment, and I must confess I felt awkward as the only male among 40 women.
I went there because my primary dr. is also my wife's and I didn't want to deal with that...but I will find a new private dr. next time.
First of all, I've been a member of TER for about 5 months and have been very impressed with the quality of posts and information from everyone, which is why I'm asking your advice now. This is probably an odd topic for a first post, but here goes. I have a physical coming up in a week and since I've been participating in the hobby for about eight months (6 visits), I should probably be checked for STD's. I've exhibited no symptoms, but probably should be checked just for my spouse's and provider's safety. My primary care doctor is a young (mid 30's) female (cute I might add), married, two kids, very family oriented and knowing of my hobby could damage our relationship. She used to be my spouse's physician but isn't anymore, and she's certainly nothing special as a doctor so that she couldn't be replaced, but it's a pain to do so, plus I have a medical condition requiring some degree of rapport with a primary care doctor. If I were to get tested at a county health dept., do the test results get sent to the doctor? If I were to test positive, I will tell my spouse to get checked and will accept the consequences. Anyone's input is welcome, but especially men with spouses and/or SO's who have faced this STD testing situation. How do you handle this?
Thank,
Crown Royal
I get tested at a community clinic and at Planned Parenthood. Neither sends results to my primary care physician unless I request my physician to request results from another facility.
-- Modified on 7/19/2004 4:34:50 PM
a MINIMUM of every 6 months, regardless of whether or not you exhibit symptoms.
Your doctor, if she is good, should not even raise an eyebrow when you request a full STD screening. (Keep in mind that depending on your insurance, you might have to specifically ask for a few as when I asked for the gamut, Herpes was not included).
If that is too risky, or too uncomfortable for you, find a Planned Parenthood, and be sure to give them a sizable donation.
I had experienced this with physicians before I hobbied. I was single in a long-distance romance where fidelity between our dates wasn't expected, but everything was bareback, so I was asking for tests on a regular basis. It was a woman family prac, and it became apparent over time that she looked down on my sex life. It poisoned the whole Dr./patient relationship, and almost turned dangerous due to her carelessness at the end.
You should never lie to a physician, but never trust that her professionalism will overcome her puritanism, or whatever bad judgments she has about male sexuality. The ones who don't have these hang-ups are working in the STD clinics. In other words, they're specialists, for a good, if unusual reason.
/Zin
There's more than one compelling argument for this. One is that you want a doctor and staff that know as much as possible about STDs, not a family doctor who sees you as "the freak". I have my regular doctor who I have a fully candid doc/patient realtionship with except for discussions about my sex life. He maintains my straight life medical file that third parties might have access to. My STD clinic doctor knows all about my real sex life and keeps his files to himself. I NEVER give ANY doctor my real social security number OR my real date of birth, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER... and I don't have health insurance. Health insurance has become a massive waste of money and the quality of care isn't there when you need it. Call me crazy but it looks like a massive scam on the public trust for me. Not only that, ANY compromising little factoids about your life become part of an open book with health insurance. I value my privacy and my freedom, thank you very much.
As far as the STD clinic goes, when they know you intend to pay them when services are rendered and you pay your lab fees on a timely basis they take a lot more care with you. You get the good tests if you want them. Sometimes these can be infuriatingly expensive, like a PCR test for HIV costs $500, thats for a double run, one high sensitivity and one for low sensitivity, but pal, if I had been exposed to HIV I would want to know ASAP, and $500 translates into a lot of peace of mind, such as if you want to go on a civilian date two or three months later its a whole lot easier to live with yourself when a girl puts her trust in your word when you tell her "I'm safe"...
My STD guy is more informed about prostrate health, a lot of male urinary tract medicine, prostate cancer early diagnosis, things I need to know at my age...
My straight doc is better if I need an antibiotic for a respiratory infection or a prescription for a pain pill or that kind of thing.
The lesson here is that if you need to live a double life of any sort then the more you keep your two lives seperated the better for all concerned. NEVER use a common pharmacy for both doctors. I'n my experience pharmacists are nice social people but they can inadvertantly spill the beans too...
Try this, I think they have a draw station in big A http://www.aim-med.org/?ref=AINews
First you can be symptom free and still have a STD. Second HIPAA privacy regulations legally prevent any health care provider (including county health) from disclosing your health status to anyone. Therefore if you are concern about damaging your relationship with your primary care physician get tested a local public heath department or STD clinic. Personally at my annual physical exam I get my primary care physician (who is also a female and my SO physician) to order a battery of test for STDs. She seem to be cool about it and ask no questions.
I get tested every six months, sometimes three. It's especially important if you have a significant other. If you feel more comfortable going to Planned Parenthood, then do so. It would cost less and the donation to the institution would be greatly appreciated by many. If you go to a doctor's office, tell them ahead of time that you want to be tested every six months, even though you use condoms, then they shouldn't keep questioning you. If they do say, "I'm having sex and it's no one's business who with. I don't want to spread anything. Give me credit for asking to be tested and keeping it confidential and non-puritanical, just scientific. Thank you."
Hugs,
Ciara
I just got my first test results back after 6 months in the hobby.
Full spectrum.
All clean.
Just a good habit to get into.
I had a long discussion with my family physician, who is cool, he agreed to run the tests from his office.
No insurance, paid up front.
Well worth it for piece of mind.
Just my opinion...
B
DO get tested.
DO it anonymously or using an assumed name. Be upfront with the Doc, but firm but DO NOT act like an A##hole. No real name. Docs are REQUIRED to provide certain information on STD test results. If they reuqire an address, give the Doctor's address.
Go to a doctor you have never seen before, who DOES NOT have your insurance information. Pay cash.
Do a little research on the Net (start with a search of this board) - there has been some great STD testing information her (and also a lot of B.S.). You need to have an idea of what you want to be tested for and how.
Find out when the results will be in, ask up front for a copy to be made for you. When it's ready, go pick it up and read it or see the Doc for interpretation - remember to pay for his/her service.
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD DO NOT GO TO YOUR GP, WHO ALSO HAS SEEN YOUR WIFE. Unless you already have all the life insurance that you will need for the rest of your life, don't allow the results to be associated with you or your med insurance.
Be safe. Be smart.
Silk
Look up in the yellow book and find any doctor who specializes in internal medicine or dermatology. Call them up and ask if they provide blood tests for STDs. If so, go there and pay cash. Since most insurance policies don't cover blood tests, there's really no need for them to know that you're covered.
Do get tested for herpes I & II. Since most adults already type I, don't freak out if your test returns positive. It really is nothing to be worried about. Type II is a minor annoyance at worst and only 20% of the people infected with it ever show any symptom. Do get testd for HIV if you've been acting stupid and reckless.
Once the test is complete, your doctor will give you a call and ask you to come to the office to pick up the result. The result will not be sent to your home unless you request it. It will take 2 days to 1 week to get your results, depending on the type of test(s) you request. Hope this helps.
A couple of cautions on planned parenthood -- I know they do a great deal of good, but I recently was tested there and found it almost impossible to persuade them that to test for herpes and hiv once I told them I always go covered. I really had to insist! And the exam for warts seemed awfully quick and cursory. Plus it took almost 3 weeks to get results after they promised it would be less than a week. Maybe this particularly clinic was just overcrowded, but that's what happened.
0n a more minor note, I had to wait 90 minutes even though I had an appointment, and I must confess I felt awkward as the only male among 40 women.
I went there because my primary dr. is also my wife's and I didn't want to deal with that...but I will find a new private dr. next time.
Thanks everyone for your input. You brought up some points that I hadn't considered, probably due to my inexperience in the hobby. I knew I could count on this group.
Crownroyal