Email 359: OFW, Sex Encounter and HIV

hi,

good day po,,nabasa ko po ang mga email sa blog ng" living with hiv" at naglakas loob po akong sumulat sa inyo at hihingi po sana ako ng tulong, advise sa inyo dahil litong lito na po ako,di ko na po alam ang aking gagawin.

Nag karoon po ako ng sex encounter nung akoy mag bakasyun sa pinas noong nov 2012,sa ngayon ay nakabalik na ako sa aking

pinag ttrabahuhan..pang anim na buwan na po ngayon nang akoy nakipagtalik sa isang sex worker gumamit po ako ng condom pero tinangal ata nung babae ng hindi ko nararamdaman dahil ako po ay naka inom noon, at ngayon po ay meron akong mga sintomas na nararamdaman tulad po ng sakit sa tiyan na almost 3 months na " on and off" po,rashes sa tiyan na naalis din kaagad pero may bakas pa,nag patingin po ako sa mga doctor dito e binigyan ako ng mga testing sa dugo tulad ng CBC,blood chemistry,urine test,,ang mga results ay okay naman po,,pero patuloy po ang pag sakit ng tiyan ko,minsan nawawala pero minsan ay nandyan na hindi ako pinapatulog the whole night.pumunta po ako sa specialist/consultant sa (G.I.)gastrointestine at ipina CT scan po ang abdomen ko at pelves pero okay naman po ang results.

Makikita po kaya pag HIV positive ka sa results ng CT scan,o kaya related sa HIV?marami ang nakakapansin sa mga co worker ko dito na nangagayat daw ako,malaki raw ang pinayat at binagsak ng katawan ko sa ngayon po ay nasa abroad ako nasa middle east,di ko masabi sa mga doctor dito ang experience ko sa pinas at baka madetect nila kung ako ay may HIV at ako ay ma deport.ano po ba ang ibang testing bukod sa HIV test na related sa mga sintomas ng HIV?Sa ngayon po,mi singaw po ako sa gums ko at medyo masakit na lalong nag papa worry sa akin ,,  LITONG LITO NA PO AKO,,tulungan niyo po ako kung ano ang aking gagawin,,ako po ay takot na takot sa ngayon lalo na kung maging + ako sa HIV.

maraming salamat po.

Mar

TRANSLATION

Hi,

Good day. I read in the email in your blog, “Living with HIV” and I took the courage tow rite you to ask some help and advice from you because I am so confused and I don’t know what to do.

I had a sex encounter when I ook a vacation in the Philippines last Novemenr 2012. I am back in the country where I am working. It has been six months since the sex encounter with a sex worker. I used a condom but I was thinking that the woman removed it without me knowing because I was drunk then. Right now I am feeling some symptoms like intermittent stomach pain for almost 3 months now, abdominal rashes that go away but leave marks. I went to a doctor and was given a battery of tests like CBC, blood chemistry, urine test and everything turned out normal. However, the stomach pain persisted that sometimes wont let me have a good night’s sleep. I even went to a GI specialist/consultant and a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis were done. Everything was normal again.

My question is, can the doctor determine if one is HIV positive from the CT Scan? A lot of my co workers are noticing that I am losing weight now. I am in the middle east right now and I can’t tell the doctors here about my experience in the Philippines because if they detect that I have HIV I will be deported. What other tests can be done to detect HIV aside from the HIV test? Right now I have mouth sores which makes me worry more. I am so confused. Please help me on what I need to do. I am so scared now and don’t know what to do if ever I am HIV positive

Thank you so much

Mar

POZZIEPINOY'S RESPONSE

Hi Mar.

Thank you for your email. Thank you for finding your blog.

I have encountered the same email with the same problems like yours, so I can definitely understand your situation. A lot of things will come to your mind right now about HIV, it's symptoms, your sudden weight loss, your gum problems and abdominal pain. Of course you are worrying about your situation in the middle east right now as we all know, they forbid foreign nationals working in their countries who have HIV and they accost them and deport them back to their own countries as soon as authorities find out. Because of this fear, I do understand how confused you are as to what you are going to do as you can't even get an HIV test there.

Unfortunately, the only way to know your HIV status is by taking the HIV test. HIV can't be detected by any other tests except by this only. The symptoms of HIV are non specific which means that the symptoms vary from one person to another. Other's don't even have symptoms at all but they are positive.

You have two options here. Either, one you come back to the Philippines for a short vacation to get tested or second, go to another country wherein you can take the test. It is only this way that you will know the real score.

I know it is hard but you have to weigh in these two options. If you think that the HIV test will give you peace of mind then don't even think about it and just do it. It is your responsibility now to yourself and to the people who love you.

I hope I was able to answer your concerns. Please email me again if you have other questions.

Stay healthy,

Pozziepinoy