wood

Okay idiot. listen to the post above mine, hes nicer about the truth than I am.

Its almost certainly mental. Viagra and stuff like that can still help. In general if a man has no issues getting it up on their own, even at night its a mental block. It could be completely subconscious, but your mind goes somewhere else and causes the issue. Some doctors will do a simple test where a guy wears a paper ring around their cock at night, if its ripped in the morning, its not physical ED, because almost all men get erections at night.

Agreed. Something tells me you didnt like the responses you got on here so you wrote back with an ambiguous BS response, without getting tested.

I find it hysterical the way that so many guys talk up all black men like they are all sexual gods with gigantic cocks. I know hundreds of black men, and just like men of any race/creed/nationality, they are all different just like everyone else. You guys working off pornstar mandingo fantasies will be sadly mistaken in the real world.

hydrocortisone cream.

Not exactly true. the virus will always be there no matter what. Its a strain of HPV it doesn't go away. Genital warts can actually clear themselves, however I have never heard of it taking 3 months, 2-3 years is more normal with no treatment, and an otherwise healthy person. During the initial infection they may grow, then stop. the clearing portion take a lot of time for them to fall off and go away completely, which is why treatment is always a good option.

I was at a friends this past friday having a couple after work cocktails. We were discussing life, and guys, etc, when testing and PrEP came up. I hadn't seen the guy in a while, so I explained PrEP to him ,and why I was on it. I also explained how when on PrEP you need every 3 month HIV tests, but I did this anyway so it was easy for me to do it. He then explained to me that "Oh yeah its been a while since my last test" I pry a bit further and find out that he had not been tested in SIX years!! This is a guy who is mostly a bottom, and admitted to me that he had slept with 3 guys in the past week after breaking up with his BF of six months. Now I didnt judge him, but told him he needed to get tested ASAP, and we were going the next day. He was nervous as hell, and had 4 cocktails at 9 am before going and had four cocktails at 9 am just to get the courage to go, but long story short he is neg (as of 3 months ago) This brings up a great point however. This is a guy who said he was neg, and DDF on all of his profiles, and wanted the same, yet he had no way of knowing. He said is is mostly safe, but as we all know it only takes once. This guy truly had no idea what his status was, and could have been infecting others. I dont judge him for it, but it should serve as a word of caution for anyone who trusts peoples profiles.

You are looking for validation here, when you need validation in a test. Just go get tested! NO ONE can tell you your status over the internet. Not to rag on you, but you need to just man up and do it. You come on here saying you are HIV- but its been two years since your last test???? That makes no sense. You dont know, and you need to know. go get tested and don't wait so long in the future. it may be scary finding out, but its the responsible thing to do for everyone. If you dont want to wait at all, and if you are in the US, you can get an Oraquick test at most major drugstores right now and know in 20 mins.

I agree to an extent, however, we do know things within reason. We know that certain diets around the world (Mediterranean) lead to the longest overall life, we know that smoking is bad, exercise is generally good, but hard on joints. We know that exposure to certain chemicals, and compounds is bad and can cause cancer, etc, etc. The guy you mentioned is an outlier, And they ALWAYS make great stories. Heres another one. My great aunt is 94 iirc and still smokes a carton of marlboro reds a week. Still drinks, doesnt eat all that great, and lives on her own. Her IDENTICAL twin died a few years ago in a home, from respiratory failure, she never smoked. Heres another one, Albert Steven survived the highest radiation dose known to man with almost no side effect. He was a victim of an experiment after WWII because he was thought to be terminally ill. However, he wasnt, and still lived to be 75. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Stevens People ALL react to things differently, but overall we know certain things will kill, and we know that when the immune system effectively ceases to exist because of HIV/AIDS, the person dies from very basic infections.

Okay, but sometimes feeling like crap means your body is actually doing what its supposed to be doing, fixing itself. A common occurrence in people with severely compromised immune systems with AIDS is for all of their allergies that they once had to go away. Why? because there is no immune system to fight back. BTW Nelson Vogel (he is NOT a doctor) is also resistant to most treatments and just had a bout of cancer, which is common with people who abuse steroids. He takes adderall and steroids... I can assure you that ANYONE would feel amazing most of the time if they were constantly on Adderall and steroids because guess what, they make ANYONE feel strong and vibrant!! I am in no way denying you feel better and that symptoms have gone away, but again that doesn't make you healthier!!! How you feel is NOT the same thing as being healthy. Is what you are doing better for your short term quality of life? sure! but that doesnt mean its going to last. My Aunt had cancer and endured 16 rounds of chemo when 10-12 is usually the max people endure. She felt awful for over a year, and said if the cancer ever returned she wouldn't go on the chemo again. Was she healthier with the chemo? yes, did she feel better with it? not at all. But it saved her life. I had a friend last year who died of AIDS at 28, because he never got treatment. Even if the treatment sucked for him he would almost certainly be alive today if he had choose to get treatment for HIV. And yes For you information I have read alternative viewpoints, but being blunt, most suck, and fail to address the key aspect that HIV destroys the immune system, and overtime kills the ability for a person to fight off infection and disease. Most of them (like you) focus on feelings, not science. Lastly many of the were based in a time when the drug regimes truly sucked, where as today many people have little to no side effects. Dusesberg's theory? I mean its a quack job with no scientific merit. Science is based in peer review, if your peers review it, and there is no merit to it, its done. Why? because it means that one person cant make up whatever they want, without hard evidence based on scientific merit. That is why no one believes him.

Honestly I dont remember how long it was before I had condomless sex after starting PrEP. For me I still dont take anyone. Thats not my scene and I MUCH prefer to get to know a guy first so nothing has really changed. Where I have no issue now is having condomless sex with a HIV+ undetectable guy. So I think that answers you third question too. Im very vers and love sex, but being a "cum dump" isnt really my scene. No judgement, just not for me. I still don't think I would knowingly do a HIV+ guy not on meds. While PrEP obviously is a great help in those circumstances, its just not for me.

This makes sense to an extent. Where it stops mamking sense, is when the infection rate of inidividuals continues to climb, and then government programs have to step in anyway to help with the LIFETIME cost of HIV meds. What I would really like to see is aggressive pricing on the the part of Gilead for truvada instead of assistance programs. the other thing they could do is allow generic truvada access into placing beyond the developing world.

I will be blunt about this, and I hope you dont take it too personally. But, this post of yours was a bit rambling and disjointed. PrEP is out there to help prevent HIV infections. Its not perfect, but its by far the best new thing we have out there to curb the rate of infection. What the CDC says about how PrEP should be used, and reality are two different things. Do I think everyone is going to continue to use condoms with it? no, do I think everyone is going to drastically change their habits, always bare back, and give their ass to anyone? also no. PrEP is not out there to take away responsibility from peoples actions, its there to decrease the ate of infection. There are still many other things that can be caught. People should be responsible but its not always the case. Condom usgae rates among gay men have been 40-50% since the late 80's, even when HIV was still deadly, so obviously that message is a failure. So with that said should we not care for anyone who has bad habits or makes mistakes? If that was the case we would be losing millions of people a year to all sorts of ailments and accidents, many the result of the conscious actions. Lastly, the reason your post seem disjointed is because it honestly comes across as a bit angry. We all make our own decisions, and some have more consequences than others, but its seems like you are annoyed that PrEP is now available, and that had it been out there when you were infected, you might not have HIV today. Again, please dont take this too personally, I dont mean it as an attack, but its how it sounds to me.

That would be PEP, which is different. PEP is for after exposure, PrEP is before exposure. Still from what I have heard recently there is no real need to be on PEP for six months now, as newer viral load tests can fins an infection much sooner than older antibody tests. With that said you are an ideal candidate for staying on PrEP once your PEP period is over as long as your are HIV-.

This explains the situation a bit more. http://www.laweekly.com/2014-05-08/news/the-gay-black-love-conundrum/

This is REALLY significant, and I am incredibly excited to see that the CDC is taking PrEP seriously!!!

put your finger up there and check! lol. In all honesty he may have one wart that the doc didnt get, it will either eventually go away on its own or you can go to a doc and have them remove it. either way not a big issue.

Bingo. Even for guys that say they are undetectable I try to avoid the sketchy ones. I have also asked what treatment a guy is on before to see if they really have any clue what undetectable is.

Just go get treated, not need to worry about judgement, and your immune system is perfectly fine to deal with such an event. Just go get it treated and be on your way.

you think thats bad? I had a close family member have cancer and they went on neupogen.... From another site. "Cost Per Injection, One 6 mg Neulasta injection will cost between $3,000 to $7000, depending on the supplier. " i cant count how many my relative had..

still not a bad idea to go on PrEP. I didnt do much anal until I was 21 and older, as I got older though I started to dislike oral, and only do anal.

I can agree with that to an extent, where I have a big problem with it is when people actively lie about their status when doing high risk activity, and or they are not on treatment. I dont think HIV should be criminalized, but I have a big problem with people who are highly infectious, and purposely trying to deceive and infect others.

You are just having a psychosomatic reaction the knowledge that you are HIV+. You Probably "feel" like you are sick when in reality you are pretty much in the same health you were before. PS: I am very healthy and have had an annoying cough for the past month. I just went to my doc, and he said it will go away, and hes right. The body is amazing at fixing itself. A 700 cd4 count is VERY normal for many people, your immune system is just fine right now, and going on treatment will keep it that way. As far as your cough you mentioned before you smoked, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that many of your respiratory and sinus issues are due to smoking. All my friends who smoke are constantly coming down with minor respiratory and sinus issues.

This has been covered here more than a few times, and as rawtop stated depending on where you are there very well may be a legal requirement to disclose. Personally I believe in disclosure and communication about sex. One of the reasons I am not into bathhouses is that my desire to have sex with a completely random person is very low. Bathhouses also present a unique issue in that they are purely based on just having sex, not communicating. Do I think you should disclose in those situations? probably, but I am also probably being idealistic. The main thing is that everyone should protect and educate themselves in the way they see fit. Its hard to feel bad for a guy who is ass up at a bathhouse taking nut from anyone and then becomes HIV+ We are also entering a somewhat unique time where HIV+ undetectable people are starting to show that they are lower risk that "neg" guys who don't get tested enough. If it was a one on one situation outside of a bathhouse I would disclose at all times. People talk, and even if you dont infect someone it could be huge hassle maybe even legally if you do not disclose your status. Lastly my main other reason for advocating disclosure is because NOT talking about HIV/AIDS is one of the reasons we are seeing a rise in infections. be it HIV- or HIV+ people, gay men in general simply dont talk about our sexual health anymore and make silly assumptions instead of having meaningful dialogue

Doesn't surprise me at all. I have dated more than a few black men, and have many friends who are black, men, and woman. I also am actively involved in some programs that target minority youth for HIV/STI issues. For your poll I voted "Take risk reduction seriously, even if it means less sex" However that really doesn't capture the real issues going on withing the black community in regards to HIV, or my opinion on what should be done Multiple studies have shown that GBM in America are actually consistently using condoms more often and having less sex overall than their white, latino, and asian counterparts, so why the high rates of infection? One of the main reasons is lack of available care. If you look at where black populations are most prevalent, its in the south. Those areas also happen to be where there is some of the worst healthcare in the nation, and lowest amounts of funding for HIV/AIDS. Additionally even among young black men and woman there is TONS of distrust towards the medical establishment. However, the biggest issue by far right now is testing. I have worked in outreach programs for minority youth, and have friends who are in the profession today. Its not easy, and what we are seeing is young people who don't get tested enough, and while there total number of sexual partners is somewhat low, and condom use relatively high compared to other populations they are spreading HIV at a much faster rate.(1) Mind you this is in a major city, not the rural south where care and testing facilities may be a hundreds of miles away. (2)(3) There is also the fact that its fairly well established at this point that people of African decent are more at risk of catching HIV than people of non-African origin.(4) This is a causal factor but not the main reason why we are seeing such a significant rise in gay black men testing positive. Another issues is that black men tend to date within their race more than some other groups. White men also tend to date within their race, but because the pool is smaller, there is a much greater chance of exposure when the population has a greater number of infected individuals.(2) I don't have an answer for this, but it has to be a multifaceted approach. Outreach programs targeted towards white gay men simply don't work on gay black men, especially ones in a largely homogeneous community. Targeted programs help, but its not simply a matter of changing the picture to get them in. For example the black church is still a fundamental part of many black communities and if they are not supportive of gay rights, it will keep black men in the closet and all of their affairs private. This also means they will be less likely to get tested. What I would like to see, and this goes for everyone in the US is large scale testing operations that don't just cater towards gay men. I think that would help greatly in reducing the stigma of even getting tested for HIV. Right now if you get tested many people assume you are gay or a drug addict. Changing that mentality would help greatly IMO. Additionally many school districts don't even have health classes anymore where basic sti and HIV information can be learned. These need to be implemented so there is basic knowledge about HIV. PrEP is also a game changing opportunity, but its also costly. I want to see more PrEP implimentation, but the cost also needs to drop. As for advice for a black gay teen, I would say stay in school, be whatever you want to be, and be smart about all decisions. I would strongly advocate for PrEP because i think its a great opportunity to see infection rates drop. If the PrEP shot that lasts three months becomes a reality I would like to see ANY at risk person on it, and I would want it available like vaccines are currently.(5) With that it would be incredibly easy to see drastic drops in new infections with little personal change. As for behavioral changes, I tend to be more realistic with those. I would tell the teen to be smart, and try and use condoms, but if he doesn't to make sure he is protecting himself in other ways like PrEP, so perhaps just practicing oral sex. I disagree with the notion of "putting sex first" mostly because there is tons of things that should be coming first at that age, namely school, and professional/personal development (1) http://www.queerty.com/study-new-report-suggests-condom-habits-differ-by-race-20120723/ (2) http://www.hivplusmag.com/research/2014/02/07/whats-really-behind-high-hiv-rates-black-gay-men?page=full (3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/postlive/the-south-is-the-epicenter-of-new-hiv-infections-in-the-united-states/2012/07/20/gJQA70Z6xW_story.html (4) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716121355.htm (5) http://www.towleroad.com/2014/03/hiv-prevention-shot-every-1-to-3-months-may-soon-replace-pills-like-truvada.html