how often they test for HIV ? ~ LB-69

Ladyboy Hunter Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 434 Points: 827

hi guys
i have a question. maybe it was asked several times before me, but i want to be a little sure.
i had unsafe anal contact with ladyboy from Obsession bar.
do they test for AIDS ? how often ?
some ladyboys say that they check their health every 3 months (like i heard from Aris in Club 131), some ladyboys said me that these tests cant be of help, since it is easy to falsify.
please, answer without insults since my mood is not high now. i am living with hope for successful future test results, though the risk must be low, according to statistics - 0,06 %.

with regards,
alex

Some have regular tests, some now and again, some never cos they are too scared to know the answer Confused

And yes it is easy to produce a false certificate with a negative result. Shock

Ladyboy Guru Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 3518 Points: 2972

If you want to be 100% , take the test. I wouldn´t trust any lb in los on this issue. I have seen negative testresult documents, but like pentire and you said, then can be false. Remember, thailand is the land of copies and fakes...

Ladyboy Hunter Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 434 Points: 827

thanks
i was travelling with one expat from Russia in a bus from Pattaya to Bangkok.
he mentioned his friend - doctor who claimed that about 35 % of working in Nana Plaza or Patpong are HIV-positive.
if they have positive results, owners send them back to village.
strange, eh.

Ladyboy Guru Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 1818 Points: 6584

In theory, the testing (for girls that work in bars) is great but in reality its not really worth the paper its written on. I'd be more concerned at how the encounter took place. ie if the girl insisted on a condom that then broke, she is probably (but not definate), less likely to have had previous exposures. If the girl did not insist on a condom or said something like "oh just for you, dont need - you special" then I'd say you have a bigger problem as the odds are she has done that countless times before.

However in all of this, you basically have no way of knowing:-

a) how many times she has done it
b) when was her last test (and was it a real test or just pay 300b and get a certificate)
c) Has her Thai boyfriend been fucking around as much as she has

Not much of a consolation once you take this into account, but I'd say the 35% ratio the guy on the bus said was pure rubbish. There have been no widespread tests at Nana as its illegal to do so - its actually illegal for a bar to insist on a HIV test as well. Not many people know that and luckily (for the bar owners) nor do the girls who work there. dont forget individuals have human rights and one of those is the right to decline to take a blood test or indeed any medical test if they so desire. This is already in the Thai constitution and that coupled with the fact that prostitution is not even recognised as taking place hardly allows for good STD prevention policies to be put in place.

Specifically to your own condition - you have two choices:-

1. Go and see an infectious diseases specialist wherever you are and tell them truthfully when the act took place, who it was with and what type of anal sex it was (receiving or giving) and if condoms were used or not. There are tests that can pickup within days the amount of virus within the blood stream however they are not routine tests and they are very expensive. They are called viral load tests. In Thailand as an examle, your looking at a cost of about 6000baht for that one test and its complicated to analyse hence its costs are so high.

2. Depending upon those circumstances described above - the specialist doctor (and do not rely on a regular general doctor or clinic - you need to see a specialist), they may suggest you take a course of post exposure medicine. This may last for 2 months or so and its basically the same medicine used to treat HIV infection. This has a claimed high success rate in avoided letting HIV even take hold and it gets wiped out completely before it gets into the places where the medicines cant get to it.

3. You can forget all about it and go for a regular HIV test about 3 months after the exposure and see what the result it.

Personally I would opt for number 1 and remember, you cant trust anyone but yourself with your own health and dont forget HIV is not the killer its made out to be anymore with treatment - ask them to also check for Hepititus infections which are much harder to treat and actually far more widespread in Thailand than HIV is as well as being far easier to catch.

Cheers
Mardhi

Ladyboy Hunter Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 320 Points: 163

Mardhi,

You are a true expert. Thanks for all the useful information.

Ric

Got the test 2 month a go in Udon Thani International hospital!
It took 2 houers 2 get the result after the bloodsample...
It cost us 500 bath pr person. Very Happy

Test are only sure if its a 6 mont limet Very Happy

, if 3 month then u can only be sure 85-90% on the result u get! Shock

(i want 2 be 100% sure) Confused

Try international hospitals i think they can be more cheap than an clinic! Standarts are moste places quit high! Cool

Skål the R.D
(better safe than dead)

2 hour test for 500 Bt sounds like the ELISA test that needs the presence of antibodies to HIV to work. That's why there is a window period when infection won't show up, as some individuals can take a long time to develop sufficient antibodies. So even if these CSWs (Commercial Sex Workers) tell you that they were negative, it doesn't mean that - just negative within the limits of the test. You have to also understand false positive and false negatives when discussing results.

The PCR test is a direct measure of the viral dna, i.e. the presence of a virus in your blood, and is able to give results much earlier in the possible course of an infection.

Ladyboy Hunter Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 434 Points: 827

[quote="drhoneytongue"]2 hour test for 500 Bt sounds like the ELISA test that needs the presence of antibodies to HIV to work. That's why there is a window period when infection won't show up, as some individuals can take a long time to develop sufficient antibodies. So even if these CSWs (Commercial Sex Workers) tell you that they were negative, it doesn't mean that - just negative within the limits of the test. Im not like the other boy´es here i found my own LB... not a CSW and im 100% sure abouth that!
You have to also understand false positive and false negatives when discussing results. Knew the first person in Denmark that died from ADIS...(member of family, so i think i do) Wink

The PCR test is a direct measure of the viral dna, i.e. the presence of a virus in your blood, and is able to give results much earlier in the possible course of an infection. Yep, but cant not tell that u r negative or not!

Best Regards the R.D.

(AIDS= analy infeceted death sentens)

I wouldn't loose too much sleep over this if I were you, my man. The risk of you being infected is very slim. There are so many aspects - first of all the type of anal activity. Secondly, was your partner HIV+? Thirdly, if + what is her viral count and so on.

BUT, of course it CAN take only that ONE encounter... so wisen up next time, unless you're a bug chaser, which you are obviously not Wink

This is what they say at about.com:

Receptive anal intercourse ("bottom")
The risk for one episode of unprotected receptive anal sex has been documented to range from about 1 in 1300 to about 1 in 50.

Important Fact!
Infection can and does occur with just one unprotected sexual encounter. It's important to note that even though the risk is 1 in 1300, that one chance in 1300 can be the first time.

Insertive partner ("top") during anal intercourse
While the risk is about 10 times less than being the receptive partner, the risk is there and is real.

And of course the same holds true...it only takes one time.

I guess they talk about random chance of an average bareback encounter - given the fact that you have engaged in barebacking with a partner who is in a higher risk group this will obviously heighten your risk. But the risk is still slim.

So sleep well, get that test and let's all know how it came out :-)

Peace! (I guess suggesting that you think POSITIVEly is an inappropriate choice of words here in this regard Wink

H

Ladyboy God Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 5448 Points: 12902

I don't think this is a good topic to dwell on, but drhoneytongue is correct in stating that you are far more susceptible to hiv when receiving anal penetration, rather than only giving.

When ever this topic comes up figures always get banded about with no comfortable conclusion, and it generally leads to gloomy reading.

We all know there is a risk involved when partaking in unprotected (not just hiv but all STDs), and yes, receiving anal penetration puts you at far greater risk of hiv.

If you choose to go unprotected it's obviously not advised but it's up to you and your partner. If however you use protection and it breaks, you would be incredibly unlucky to contract hiv. In fact it's very common for people to freak out when this first happens, I've seen a lot of people do it, and torture themselves waiting to take the test and get their results. But in every case I have seen someone go through this they have always come back with a good result and felt a bit silly for over reacting.

A reminder to most people, is that Hep B is far more commonly contracted in Thailand through unprotected sex, and in the long run, once contracted, it is more fatal than hiv (for westerners). The saddest thing is that you can take shots that can go along giving you immunity from Hep B. there is usually a charge for Hep B vaccinations, but anyone travelling to LOS, planning to bed a few LBs or GGs, would be silly not to take it before hand.