HIV + support groups in Cape Town

What a weird post and username.

Anyway....HIV testing can be a very stressfull time. I always have a sleepless night after my test waiting for the result. It is very scary.

But if the OP is looking for some kind of support or someone to talk to about his fears in the Cape Town area, he can go to the Pink Triangle Project. It is a gay org, but they have a clinic with a doctor that can do the testing and they can provide counceling services also. Not sure if they will mind a straight person .... sure they wont mind.
 
How strange. I think I'd be more concerned with a pregnancy test than an HIV test if a condom broke on me.

Tip: Don't **** people who seem high risk for HIV or seek help for your OCD.
 
xrapidx said:
Think it was 3 months? Was a while go - went on ARVs because I was exposed to an HIV infected person.
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Standard timeframe for prophylaxis if I recall correctly is 28 days. That is just to nail the virus free-floating and any more of the virus that is released upon cell death of T-cells. I can't think what taking it for as long as 3 months would do that taking it for 28 days wouldn't do. Maybe someone discovered something new about it caused an extension to 3 months. I haven't had to take a prophylactic course like that for years.

3 months must have been brutal. 28 days was bad enough for me. I spent the last 2 and a half weeks of those 28 days throwing up pretty much daily. Well done for sticking with it for so long. Quite frankly I don't know how people take those things their entire life.
 
porchrat said:
Standard timeframe for prophylaxis if I recall correctly is 28 days. That is just to nail the virus free-floating and any more of the virus that is released upon cell death of T-cells. I can't think what taking it for as long as 3 months would do that taking it for 28 days wouldn't do. Maybe someone discovered something new about it caused an extension to 3 months. I haven't had to take a prophylactic course like that for years.

3 months must have been brutal. 28 days was bad enough for me. I spent the last 2 and a half weeks of those 28 days throwing up pretty much daily. Well done for sticking with it for so long. Quite frankly I don't know how people take those things their entire life.
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It might have been 28 days, sure as hell felt longer, I couldn't stand the sight of food... really can't remember - I know it happened in July and I was tested again in early October....

At the time my mom chatted to a friend of hers (who has since died) - he actually stopped taking it for this reason...
 
had my HIV test done last week... it's scary, especially if you were a playboy in your previous life.... like me... but I am sorted now! Only did it to obtain life cover... I'm free!!!!
 
xrapidx said:
It might have been 28 days, sure as hell felt longer, I couldn't stand the sight of food... really can't remember - I know it happened in July and I was tested again in early October....

At the time my mom chatted to a friend of hers (who has since died) - he actually stopped taking it for this reason...
Click to expand...

Normally you get tested at the point of the incident, at the end of treatment, 1-2 months out and then 6 months out. I even went personally and got tested a year out just to be sure. I am totally paranoid about this stuff.

I know what you mean about the food. I didn't want food and one of the pills (I think AZT) was diamond shaped. I to this day can't look at diamond shaped pills without feeling ill. :sick:
 
porchrat said:
Normally you get tested at the point of the incident, at the end of treatment, 1-2 months out and then 6 months out. I even went personally and got tested a year out just to be sure. I am totally paranoid about this stuff.

I know what you mean about the food. I didn't want food and one of the pills (I think AZT) was diamond shaped. I to this day can't look at diamond shaped pills without feeling ill. :sick:
Click to expand...

Yip - I was initially tested and they gave me a 3-days supply, I then had to go back for the results and a prescription for the rest. I remember the 3-days supply pretty clearly, I nice little box with two pill bottles inset in foam.

I also remember the doctor telling me not to drink for the duration of the ARVs :( Didn't help the situation much.
 
xrapidx said:
Yip - I was initially tested and they gave me a 3-days supply, I then had to go back for the results and a prescription for the rest. I remember the 3-days supply pretty clearly, I nice little box with two pill bottles inset in foam.

I also remember the doctor telling me not to drink for the duration of the ARVs :( Didn't help the situation much.
Click to expand...

I went through the state system so they gave me pills in a stat dose after I refused counseling (in writing). After that I went to the dispensary and got a week's supply at a time with a repeat script.

I wouldn't have sex until I knew for certain that I was clear. I couldn't live with myself if a condom tore and I ended up giving someone HIV regardless of how small the chances are.

I didn't drink either for those 28 days. Which sucked at the time because I was drinking a lot and not drinking felt very alien to me.
 
When my best friend became infected, I had to relook at my understanding of HIV+ and AIDS.
He is busy with "experimental" drug course that looks promising. I have been following his doctor's work since the beginning and there are some remarkable improvements on medical tech since the early days of HIV.
And there is the chance that some interesting developments will be coming through in the near future with a new publication.

I also understand that they have found a medical case predating the "accepted" original case of HIV infection.

A 15 year old boy (1960's) had all the symptoms, swollen lymph glands, the lesions etc.
The doctor's etc were all baffled at his symptoms. He had a number of STD's but the number of symptoms didnt correspond with the STD's.
When he died, his tissue and blood samples were stored after the autopsy due to the "mystery".
In 1980's the new pathologist reopened the case and they tested the blood and tissue samples multiple times and he was found to have AIDS.
 
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porchrat said:
I went through the state system so they gave me pills in a stat dose after I refused counseling (in writing). After that I went to the dispensary and got a week's supply at a time with a repeat script.

I wouldn't have sex until I knew for certain that I was clear. I couldn't live with myself if a condom tore and I ended up giving someone HIV regardless of how small the chances are.

I didn't drink either for those 28 days. Which sucked at the time because I was drinking a lot and not drinking felt very alien to me.
Click to expand...

I also refused the initial councilling - when I got my results the second time they insisted on it, before giving me my results... I sat playing snake on my cellphone completely ignoring the guy until he gave up.

I also went sex free for the full six month period :( And I had a girlfriend :(
 
xrapidx said:
I also refused the initial councilling - when I got my results the second time they insisted on it, before giving me my results... I sat playing snake on my cellphone completely ignoring the guy until he gave up.

I also went sex free for the full six month period :( And I had a girlfriend :(
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Did your gf get tested as well or were you playing away?
 
Kage said:
When my best friend became infected, I had to relook at my understanding of HIV+ and AIDS.
He is busy with "experimental" drug course that looks promising. I have been following his doctor's work since the beginning and there are some remarkable improvements on medical tech since the early days of HIV.
And there is the chance that some interesting developments will be coming through in the near future with a new publication.

I also understand that they have found a medical case predating the "accepted" original case of HIV infection.

A 15 year old boy (1960's) had all the symptoms, swollen lymph glands, the lesions etc.
The doctor's etc were all baffled at his symptoms. He had a number of STD's but the number of symptoms didnt correspond with the STD's.
When he died, his tissue and blood samples were stored after the autopsy due to the "mystery".
In 1980's the new pathologist reopened the case and they tested the blood and tissue samples multiple times and he was found to have AIDS.
Click to expand...

Amazing. Makes sense though. There is no way that the doctors of the 60s would be able to diagnose a virus.

xrapidx said:
I also refused the initial councilling - when I got my results the second time they insisted on it, before giving me my results... I sat playing snake on my cellphone completely ignoring the guy until he gave up.

I also went sex free for the full six month period :( And I had a girlfriend :(
Click to expand...

IMO abstaining is the responsible thing to do under those circumstances. I too had a GF at that time and she was pretty frustrated with the whole situation. I also demanded that she get tested just in case. I was ridiculously and irrationally paranoid about it. :o :p

As a medical biochemist I have never been pressured to have counseling. I suppose I'm lucky in that I can always pull the "I have worked with HIV in a research setting for about 6 years" card so I can dodge the counseling.

In fact one of the times I went for a test I ended up giving a lecture on it to the nurse that asked if I would like counseling. When she found out I was a medical biochemist she started asking all these questions about HIV. Looking back I still laugh about how weirdly backwards that situation was.
 
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I am curious, I am planning to go for an HIV test can you do this at a normal state hospital or is it safer to go to a private doctor ?

Also what is the process when you go to a state system ?

porchrat said:
I went through the state system so they gave me pills in a stat dose after I refused counseling (in writing). After that I went to the dispensary and got a week's supply at a time with a repeat script.

I wouldn't have sex until I knew for certain that I was clear. I couldn't live with myself if a condom tore and I ended up giving someone HIV regardless of how small the chances are.

I didn't drink either for those 28 days. Which sucked at the time because I was drinking a lot and not drinking felt very alien to me.
Click to expand...
 
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