Advice in regards to hiv

LegacyUser

I met a girl a while back,who i met up with again a week ago and ended up sleeping with her.
After we done the deed - she then precded to start smoking heroin
I got the shock of my life as i had no idea that she was into this Crap

It goes WITHOUT saying - if i had any idea that she used this Sh1te i would not have touched her with a barge pole .
I did not know this prior to meeting up with her and she said that she never injected the stuff.


I used protection , so I think im alright from the likes of std's and hiv - But :
Is there anything i can do to get checked out regards to hiv??
I went to my doctor this morning and he basically said i would have to wait 6 months for the test .

But is there anything that can be done in the meantime?

I really do think I'l be fine ,but its just playing on my mind .

Thanks

Wibbs

If she never injected the stuff and you wore condoms the chances are the same as any other person I would imagine.

dudara

You won't get a full all clear for 6 months, but your doctor should have conducted some initial tests and gone through all the chances with you.

If you want to get a second opinion, there are some private doctors listed in the STI sticky at the top of this forum.

Bottle_of_Smoke

If you used a condom it's virtually impossible for you to catch it from a woman, even if she was positive, when in all liklihood she's negative

I doubt many users who've previously injected would bother smoking as you need a much larger amount for the same hit when you smoke.
I know a guy who used to smoke & got the impression there's a similar stigma about those who inject as we have about those who use it at all.

I understand your concerns, i was shi*ting it for no good reason before i got a test.

AARRRGH

You're being extremely paranoid.

Think logically for a second. How likely is it you got HIV from this person?

1. There isn't much HIV in the heterosexual community.
2. You have no idea if this girl is HIV+ or not. She probably isn't.
3. You used a condom.
4. It's difficult for a man to catch HIV from heterosexual sex.

If I could bet all my future earnings (double or nothing) on you having caught HIV off this girl, I would take the bet in a heartbeat.

Btw, I used to go out with a girl who smoked herion. It's more common than you think. She and her herion friends never considered injecting.

Marksie

dudara wrote: »

You won't get a full all clear for 6 months, but your doctor should have conducted some initial tests and gone through all the chances with you.

If you want to get a second opinion, there are some private doctors listed in the STI sticky at the top of this forum.

tested after three months then possibly again at 6 months would be the norm

zuroph

plus any needlehead probably wouldnt "waste" it on a smoke.

geoffraffe

If you live close to dublin, ring the Guide clinic in St James' hospital and make an appointment for an STD check up. They'll check you for everything and help ease your mind.

LegacyUser

Thanks for all the reply's guys.

They've cleared my mind a bit .
I'l get in touch with the guide clinic at st.james's to get the std checks done .

Thanks again

seahorse

Lol, I can’t believe either this post or some of the responses to it. OP, she was SMOKING heroin! She's no more prone to a blood borne virus than someone who's never smoked heroin in their life. Cop on and educate yourself, for Gods sake!

LegacyUser

Listen ,

I've never had any experiences with such a drug.
I just thought in my mind that if she's smoking it ,perhaps she could have been injecting aswell - you never know.How do you educate yourself on something like that??

Thanks for the constuctive post anyway.

hunnybunny

Lol, I can’t believe either this post or some of the responses to it. OP, she was SMOKING heroin! She's no more prone to a blood borne virus than someone who's never smoked heroin in their life. Cop on and educate yourself, for Gods sake!

The OP had a valid reaction. I understand it completely. Smoking Heroin is no joke.

IMHO
If she does that, who knows what she will do or has done? Who knows if shes telling the truth? Junkies are not exactly well known for that. She is hardly gonna admit injecting with pride. Unless you know her very well and trust her????

Also when being tested, you are asked if you have been with someone who uses drugs.

That said, you almost certainly don t have anything, as you VERY wisely used a condom. If you are sure she is telling the truth, then I wouldn t worry at all.
But you yourself mightn't feel able relax until you know for sure.

Pop down to GUIDE in James hospital if you really feel you need to. Its a good thing to get done anyway. Everyone should get tested IMO.

madser

Try not to worry you protected yourself as well as you could have and I'm sure you only have to wait 3 months for HIV test.

MagicMarker

seahorse wrote: »

Lol, I can’t believe either this post or some of the responses to it. OP, she was SMOKING heroin! She's no more prone to a blood borne virus than someone who's never smoked heroin in their life. Cop on and educate yourself, for Gods sake!

If she's dumb enough to smoke it then she's dumb enough to inject it, would you really take her word for it? I sure as **** wouldn't.

The op had a perfectly plausible reaction regarding his health. Believe it or not, it's those kinds of reactions that stop the likes of HIV/other STD's from spreading. If only more people reacted like that instead of saying ''sure i'll be grand''. :rolleyes:

Dont be at yourself

This thread illustrates all too well that a little knowledge is often worse than no knowledge at all.

Gotta love the sex- and drug-education in this country.

PeakOutput

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

This thread illustrates all too well that a little knowledge is often worse than no knowledge at all.

Gotta love the sex- and drug-education in this country.

+1

utter rubbish

seahorse

Adviceplease wrote: »

Listen ,

I've never had any experiences with such a drug.
I just thought in my mind that if she's smoking it ,perhaps she could have been injecting aswell - you never know.How do you educate yourself on something like that??

Thanks for the constuctive post anyway.

You're welcome.

People don’t smoke heroin and inject it interchangeably; the reason for that is intravenous drug use intensifies the high tenfold and eliminates wastage massively also. When a person smokes heroin a large amount of it simply escapes into the air - not so with injection. It is unheard of among intravenous drug users to sometimes smoke the drug instead, same way as it's unheard of for a raging alcoholic who drinks fifteen pints five nights a week to occasionally exchange that for a single shandy. The one thing you can be sure of when you see a person smoking heroin is that they have not yet reached the stage of intravenous use.

You’d be well advised to steer clear of her if that’s the road she’s going down, needless to say. Someone pointed out that smoking heroin is no joke; don’t know why anyone would feel the need to make so obvious a point, and I certainly don’t need it made to me with the amount of destruction I’ve seen heroin do in the area I’m from. It’s just a bit irritating to see how naive some people are, and a bit worrying also, because if you can find danger where there is none you could just as easily miss it when it’s staring you in the face.

You have as much chance of exposing yourself to a blood-borne virus by sleeping with a heroin smoker as with a cannabis smoker, and as for how you'd educate yourself; there's a plethora of information out there, you've typed this while hooked up to the internet, think about it!

Zillah

seahorse wrote: »

It’s just a bit irritating to see how naive some people are, and a bit worrying also, because if you can find danger where there is none you could just as easily miss it when it’s staring you in the face.

Apparently we have different understandings of the word naive. Believe it or not but we didn't all grow up in areas destroyed by heroin abuse and therefore might not be familiar with the various methods for taking it and their repercussions.

faceman

The op clearly came for advice and reassurance, i dont see the need to ridicule his knowledge on something. A risk is still a risk even it is small.

The standard HIV test is best taken at the 6 month stage although afaik they do get you to follow up with a test at 12 months and 24 months but the chances of it showing up at that stage if the 6 month was negative it virtually zero.

If you are really concerned then there is another test that they can do that at earlier stages is commonly used on unborn babies. Im not sure how open doctors are to doing it to normal patients and afaik its expensive.

seahorse

Zillah wrote: »

Apparently we have different understandings of the word naive. Believe it or not but we didn't all grow up in areas destroyed by heroin abuse and therefore might not be familiar with the various methods for taking it and their repercussions.

To be naive is simply to show a lack of experience or judgement, the word does not have a difficult or complicated meaning; and being either naive or knowledgeable on these issues is certainly not confined to particular social classes.

Believe it or not many of the people I know did not grow up in socially disadvantaged areas and are also people who would laugh at the suggestion that sleeping with someone who has smoked drugs necessarily exposes a person to a blood-borne virus. I'm sorry, but that's the height of ignorance. You can call it whatever you like, but I am assuming if he is ignorant to this he is ignorant to other issues surrounding drugs and HIV which he ought to make himself aware of.

I'm not for a moment saying he shouldn’t have a HIV test. I'm all for people getting themselves tested, I've done so myself; but get tested because that's what you should do; not because you've shared a mug or a toilet seat or a sexual encounter with a partner with whom you've used protection who has inhaled a drug into their lungs, or any of the other naive and ill-informed reasons out there.

OP, if you've any more queries or concerns about maybe having been exposed to HIV or anything else by this girl you should contact this group. They will be able to calm your fears on that score and answer any other questions you may have.

http://www.addictionireland.ie/contact/default.asp

michael.oleary

seahorse wrote: »

Believe it or not many of the people I know did not grow up in socially disadvantaged areas and are also people who would laugh at the suggestion that sleeping with someone who has smoked drugs necessarily exposes a person to a blood-borne virus. I'm sorry, but that's the height of ignorance.

I believe the poster of the thread was worried that the person he slept with MAY have injected the drug before therefore contracting HIV intravenously, therefore possibly contracting it through sexual transmission (even condoms have a failure rate).

As for the height of ignorance remark - I find that you're doing a good job of being painted with the "height of ignorance" remark yourself with manner in which you are dispensing the the information, a little manners wouldn't go astray.

That said I'll go back to topic, and suggested to the poster get themselves checked out, it's the only way you'll be certain, however unlikely it is that you have the virus.

Marksie

My view is simple. The OP was worried and the simplest and best advice for somene who is worried is to get a screen done.
The whys and wherefores of whether they are smokers, injectors or simply juggle with the stuff is unimportant.
So is the fact that somone who may be using drugs may not be in the best position to make judgment calls when having sex.

So unless she divulged her whole sexual history then the safest course for peace of mind is to get tested and thats regardless of condoms (whihc he was sensible enough to use... lets not forget).


OK as for time to antibodies appearing, the so called window period.

"The HIV antibody test
The test for HIV is called an HIV antibody test. Antibodies are the body’s response to an infection. It can take up to 3 months for antibodies to appear in your blood after you become infected with HIV. "

taken from this site
http://www.dublinaidsalliance.com/how_to_get_tested.htm

I inculde this as backup data in thread.
they can if they think its required test at six months

eddie.fandango

Once again, a thread started by someone in need to help and advice descends into the dregs of a flame war. Fantastic.

LegacyUser

Thanks again for all the advice.

I did'nt mean to start all this conflict lol

All i mearly wanted to know is : Is there some sort of early HIV test than can be done rather than waiting 6 months to find out .

I know the chances of me having got it are extrememly small -I just wanted info.

Cheers to anyone who posted something actually worth posting .
You've kind of put my mind to ease .

Thanks