Today is National HIV Testing today

[icnmgrjill]

Today is National HIV Testing Day. This holiday is an annual campaign to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing. About 180,000 to 280,000 people nationwide are HIV positive, but are unaware.

I was in college when HIV became the big story and, in turned out, Sonoma County had one of the highest infection rates in the nation for several years. So, when I was dating, the risk of HIV was real and quite scary. Throw in college classes in public health and some very serious discussions about the possibility of mutation in HIV (which is highly adaptive) and I came home nearly afraid to have sex. One night stands were definitely not in my future... nor were they for more of my friends. It was just too scary.

I took a lot of courage to have my first HIV test years ago but my boyfriend deserved to know if there was a risk of infection. Saying "I didn't know" is a lame and nearly criminal excuse today when testing is so much easier, quicker and FREE in many clinics around the country.

There are thousands of HIV counseling and testing sites around the country will participate in this very important day.

Visit http://www.hivtest.org to check for a testing site near you!

Jill

[Margaret-Sonoma]

Hi Jill,

I am so new to your website, I only just today dared to post my first reply. When I read your success in treating IC with electrical stimulation of the S3 nerve via your ankle, I began to wonder about nerve damage and its effects on the bladder. I have yet to call your SF doc, but today, out of frustration, came to read more forum chats and came across Kara-29's new diagnosis of Pudendal Nerve entrapment. Now it all makes sense. Without your posting, and sharing of your healing strategies, and without Kara29's posting of her PNE diagnosis, I would not have been able to put the pieces of my own pelvic problems into place. I can't thank you enough for starting this website, allowing us all to talk to each other and discover just what is the cause of our "bladder" problems. I now believe that nerve damage may be causing most symptoms of urgency, frequency, and the like. I encourage all who read this to read the information posted on the international pudendal nerve association's website. (see Kara29's recent entry for exact web address) Maybe we will truly find the cause of our discomfort. Good luck to everyone out there, and don't stop searching for the cause of your pain or discomfort. Damaged nerves could be the culprit, the initiator of all bladder and pelvic symptoms. Good luck to all.
Margaret

[icnmgrjill]

Thank you Margaret!!! You just made my day with your very kind words!

Jill

[Margaret-Sonoma]

Hi again Jill,

I would love to know if you still use the device that Dr. Stoller set you up with. Do you still need to use the s3 stimulator when you feel a twinge of "IC"? Do you know any Dr. at Kaiser who can do this for me, or where I can get nerve testing? My Kaiser Urologist began by focussing on "the bladder lining", but I believe I have referred pain from the pudendal nerve. As you can read in my various new postings, I am realizing that alot of us on your website may get Bladder/urethral pain/discomfort signals, but really have this nerve problem as the originator of the wacky signals. I am going away from my computer for a few weeks, but will come back to stay in touch, and to report my progress with this new theory of nerve damage. Thanks again for helping each one of us as we plow through all of this good sharing and caring on your website.