Need some courage

[+ Rickee]

easy peasy....."I use having sex with males as birth control"

Dang it. I just laughed so hard that I got a snort of beer up my nose! Thanks Gbear.

[whipped guy]

easy peasy....."I use having sex with males as birth control"

Dang it. I just laughed so hard that I got a snort of beer up my nose! Thanks Gbear.

Big LOL here also, only I snorted skim milk...

 

Actually, in addition to being a form of birth control, for me BDSM sex with males is my form of safe sex. Comparing skim milk to beer, it's more adventurous than fat free vanilla sex, and when done respondibly it can be wild as all hell while being beyond safe as well!

[+ Just Sayin]

@WmClarke I remember those feelings of dread about having to disclose; I am happy it went well for you; I think it is important for you to be able to be candid with your physician; you will get the best medical advice if she or he has this information about you; if, however, you feel that your sexuality is a problem for the physician, you must find a doctor who is accepting of you.

[LADoug1]

Thanks again, everyone!

 

Went well--except my blood pressure was high. Gee, I wonder why?!! She wants me to go back on high bp meds, but I don't want the water retention or ED that comes with it.

 

Going back in a month to check the blood pressure again and start meds if needed.

 

Other than that, we're all good.

 

I can already feel my blood pressure dropping.....

Interesting that it was a female doctor. Must have made it a bit more scary for you. Or am I being sexist?!

[+ Keith30309]

On the topic of a central database containing one's medical history, I asked a free-testing facility clinician yesterday about how quarterly STI screenings might affect one's insurability - that is, if you have a recurring series of lab tests and a potential insurer is aware of it, does it affect your insurability.

 

He disclaimed that he was not an insurance expert, but he thought quarterly screens might prompt some questions but that annual screenings would not. Of course, he quickly added that if you're sexually active it's ridiculous to not have the quarterlies. <Insert slut-shamed emoji for my disclosure of number of partners>. The upshot for me is I'll continue to spend the cash for the full panel rather than get into a jihad with my insurer.

[+ Rickee]

Interesting that it was a female doctor. Must have made it a bit more scary for you. Or am I being sexist?!

Frankly, for me at least, I think it would be easier for me to tell it to a female doctor. Maybe I'd sense that a woman might be less judgemental about it???

[Brian Kevin]

<Insert slut-shamed emoji for my disclosure of number of partners>

 

Someone might mistake some of our numbers for telephone numbers *goes back to church Sunday* >.>

[+ WmClarke]

My doctor and I have always joked in the past during the prostate exam. She had said things like,"At least I'm a woman with small hands" (if she only knew!--well now she does...) and "Assume the position"--which she said again this time. She cracks me up.

 

For me, it was easier to tell a woman than a man. Statistically, I think men are more likely to be homophobic than women, but other than that I can't think of a reason why it would be harder for me to tell a man.

[+ WmClarke]

Interesting that it was a female doctor. Must have made it a bit more scary for you. Or am I being sexist?!

Not sexist at all!

[+ WmClarke]

On the topic of a central database containing one's medical history, I asked a free-testing facility clinician yesterday about how quarterly STI screenings might affect one's insurability - that is, if you have a recurring series of lab tests and a potential insurer is aware of it, does it affect your insurability.

 

He disclaimed that he was not an insurance expert, but he thought quarterly screens might prompt some questions but that annual screenings would not. Of course, he quickly added that if you're sexually active it's ridiculous to not have the quarterlies. <Insert slut-shamed emoji for my disclosure of number of partners>. The upshot for me is I'll continue to spend the cash for the full panel rather than get into a jihad with my insurer.

Fascinating!

 

My clinic does it all on paper and does not report it to anyone. So I'm wondering (1) who reports to this database, and (2) who is REQUIRED to report to this database?

[Brian Kevin]

When I had blue cross blue shield through Verizon my payments doubled when I had 2 in-debth blood works done within a 3 month period. It was great!

If anyone needs help finding a free clinic near them, please shoot me a private post, I'll supply you with free hiv and STI testing to avoid all the "official" paper work, plus at the clinics your name can be anything you want it to be! Planned parenthood is usually available the same week you call. There's tons of resources out there.!

[+ purplekow]

Certain communicable diseases are reportable either by the doctor or the laboratory doing the test.

[+ sniper]

I worked in insurance data, though not health for over 20 years. There absolutely is NOT a single national database that has all health information in the US. That's part of why our health care system is such a clusterfuck and why you need to fill out a new form every time you go to a doctor in the same system for the same issue. Multiple proprietary databases virtually none of which talk to each other. Now it's true that certain communicable diseases can land you on/in a database, but that's on a state-by-state basis and most don't do that any more. The risk of your information actually getting out has more to do with whether your doctor's receptionist is the town gossip than of Big Brother monitoring your secrets.