ANONYMOUS TESTING IN DUBAI?

 

Good Day po,

Salamat ng marami sa blogs nyo.I just stumbled in your website seeking for advice. Bago lang po ako dito sa Dubai on a visit visa at naghahanap ng trabaho to stay and make a living. Pero natatakot po ako na ma blood test prior to issuance of residence visa. Mandatory po kasi ang HIV test dito na conducted ng government ng Dubai. Ayoko pong mapahiya, madetained, madeport at mabanned for life kung may nakita silang problema sa dugo o baga ko. I considered myself as high risk dahil ako po ay natreat na ng STI before but never been tested for HIV. Ang favor ko lang po baka merong alam po kayo na pwedeng magdeliver ng rapid HIV testing kit sa bansa na ito. At kung wala, baka po may magtip na available yung kit dito at mabigyan ako ng pangalan ng pharmacy so i can buy this product. Sa gayon, pwede po ako magtesting sa bahay. At kung sakali na ako ay magpositive, I will voluntarily leave the country without a bad record. Kahit malaman ko yung bad news, my next step is to seek treatment in our country.

Help me kung pano po ako maka acquire nung testing kit. That maybe will have a peace of mind. Meron akong naresearched malapit dito na discreet HIV testing. (Zach's) pero bukod sa mahal ang fee, marami ang nagsasabi na irereport din sa pulis ang malalamang positibo sa test as required by UAE law.

Sana matulungan nyo po aq sa queries ko,

Salamat po in advance,

Tony

Hello Tony,

sorry for the late reply and i hope this blog through one of its readers will be able to help you find the answers that you seek.

unfortunately i dont have a clue if a home test kit is available anywhere in the UAE or if they will allow delivery in their country, if there is, it must be illegal and hard to find knowing how strict UAE is in monitoring and deporting HIV cases.

from past inquiries, a few of my dubai readers decided to take their HIV test when hey were vacationing/travelling in HK, Europe, US or somewhere else where anonymous testing is available.

goodluck and heres hoping some of the other readers can answer your question helpfully.

salamat.

ako si BONG

ito ang aking diary

 

 

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NEEDLE PRICK & UNIVERSAL PRECAUTION

Bong,

Hi this is kat.. i am a nurse. i got pricked with Hepa B reactive patient through a needle prick injury.. I got tested with baseline diagnostics like HBsAg, Anti-HBs, HCV and HIV Screening tests.. Good thing that I have active titers from Hepatitis B when I was vaccinated in college.. I had negative results from all the labs stated above and had immunity against hepa B.. In this regard, I am being tested again for confirmation, does RITM offer all the above mentioned labs? and wat are the other services they offer? VDRL, etc.. thanks! hope to hear from you.. I hope ur doing fine..

Kat

 

hello kat,

maraming salamat sa iyong pagsulat, we only offer the following 3 tests at the malate hub FOR FREE: 1. HBsAg (HepaB) 2. SY (Syphillis) 3. HIV Antibody Screening. they have other laboratory tests for other STIs but it's not free, please call them on the numbers noted below for more details:

 

LOVEYOURSELF HUB (RITM Satellite Clinic Manila)

1850 Leon Guinto St. Malate, Manila.

Tel. 5479334 or 09178351038

Mondays, Thursdays Fridays & Saturdays 11 AM to 7 PM.

(Cut-off at 5:30 PM)

Sunday 9 AM to 4 PM.

(Cut-off at 2 PM)

Tuesdays & Wednesdays Clinic is CLOSED

indeed these needle prick injuries can happen to health workers and we always encourage the practice of universal precaution at all times, at this time and age, safety is always an utmost priority.

i sincerely wish that your retest results would be non-reactive.

 

ako si BONG

ito ang aking diary

 

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GENITAL WARTS

through the years, there has been a lot of inquiries about Genital Warts among PLHIVs (even non PLHIVs) to the point na meron na akong top 3 clinics where i refer them everytime me nagtatanung sa akin. mukhang usong uso ang ganito sa mga immunocompromised na mga tao...

SABI NG WIKIPEDIA:

Genital warts (or condylomata acuminata, venereal warts, anal warts and anogenital warts) are symptoms of a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by some types of human papillomavirus (HPV). It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, usually during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. Warts are the most easily recognized symptom of genital HPV infection. Although some types of HPV are known to cause cervical cancer and anal cancers, these are not the same types of HPV that cause genital warts.[1] Although 90% of those who contract HPV will not develop genital warts, those infected can still transmit the virus. Although estimates of incidence vary between studies, HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives.[2]

HPV types 6 and 11 are most frequently the cause of genital warts. The Gardasil vaccine includes coverage for these types. While types 6 and 11 are considered low risk for progression to cancers, it is also possible to be infected with different varieties of HPV, such as a low-risk HPV that causes warts and a high-risk HPV, either at the same or different times.

end~

di ko na lang ipopost ang mga pictures kasi medyo gross...

dahil na rin sa kung anu anung mga horror stories na narinig ko before on sobrang mahal daw mag pa treat (cautery) meron pa daw minsan sumisingil ng P30k, some naman said 5k and above. what i did na lang is to research further and visit the best recommended clinic base sa mga PLHIV friends na napagtanungan ko.

dipende naman daw pala talaga kung anu ang extent ng kaso, ang sina suggest na lang ng mga duktor eh magpatingin kaagad sa first sign pa lang ng warts para maagapan. kasi kung masyado na daw malala, mas mahal syempre, kasi kung super konti palang minor lang daw at topical anaesthesia lang ang ginagamit.

back to the clinic. i found that the best recommended and affordable clinic that caters for Genital Warts is BARIA CLINIC (or Surgical Specialist) sa Cainta. consulation is about Php300 and Cautery procedure starts at Php 1500 only for early stage. here's how to reach them.

CAINTA JUNCTION

ALMOST AT THE JUNCTION MALAPIT SA ROBINSONS

 

MWF - 9am to 1130am

TThS - 2pm to 5pm

CALL MARYANN: 02.655.4701

 

ayan thats all that i found out. reminder that the earlier you seek medical attention, maaring mas mura ang cautery procedure. and since HPV ang cause ng genital warts, get vaccinated, whether positive ka na or negative ka pa sa HPV advisable pa rin na mag HPV vaccine para daw di pabalik balik ang warts or mas bumagal bumalik kasi ganun daw talaga yun. pinakamurang HPV vaccine na narinig ko for groups would be Php 2225 or as high as 5k per shot and we're supposed to get 3 shots in a span of 6 months.

yan muna.

stay safe always

 

ako si BONG

ito ang aking diary

 

 

 

 

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SURVIVED DAY 1!

OA naman, parang big big deal. parang nagkasakit... hindi naman. i just survived Day 1 of m ARV medications. am now on day 2. So far so good, its not as bad as i expected.

(SHIP - my new clinic in shaw blvd)

TRANSFERED HUBS

i am now with SAGIP Unit (STI/AIDS Guidance Intervention & Prevention Unit) under UP-PGH. lumipat ako from RITM-ARG at mabilis lang naman ang proseso, napaka accommodating pa rin ng mga taga RITM Alabang and i soooo love them still. pero there are some important considerations why i have to transfer. kaya ayun, wednesday morning i was at RITM Alabang then kinahapunan, dala ko na ang endorsement at medical abstract ko sa clinic sa shaw.

bakit kamo? kasi nga am about to start ARV na. eversince naman eh naisip ko na that when the time comes na kelangan ko ng mag gamot and my CD4 count gets to lower than 350, i would like to have a private doctor, someone who can give my case more attention. syempre lahat naman tayo gusto yung naaalagaan tayo. hassle din kasi minsan ung dami nakapila for consulatation then all you get is a few minutes with the attending doctor. minsan lang feeling ko baka may di mapansin sa case ko at baka may mamiss-out.

and so i found a great doctor, (si Dra. Kate) dahil super duper highly recommended sya ng ilang friends ko. at dahil under sya sa UP-PGH kaya i needed to transfer hubs. ang good news pa eh she holds clinic sa shaw blvd lang, lapit lang sa akin, all labs and dispensing of medications can be done there so super convenient para rin sa akin. syempre dahil sa philhealth libre pa rin lahat ng gamot and labs, mabuti na lang at continuous ang contributions ko. having a private doctor means me consultation fee (not free) and for me its totally fine, so long as ensured ako na naaalagaan ang case ko. Php 550 per consultation, i'd say not bad kasi halos ganun din naman nagagastos ko everytime bumibiyahe ako sa Alabang.

i am going to miss alabang.

DAY 1

after waiting for a few weeks para sa results ng sputum at xray ko, i was finally cleared and ready to start ARVs. all my labs wer great except that medyo mataas daw cholesterol ko - DIET DIET DIET sabi ni dra.!!! kaloka i soooo love her, sya yung duktor na super kwela at masaya kausap, walang ni isa mang hint ng judgement sa pagkatao mo kaya nga because of that i feel soooooo safe to tell her everything even my occassional recreational drug use. tapos super sipag pang sumagot sa mga emal at text, feel ko na she really wants to help out and take care of you.

so i brought my BF during my ARV counseling para maging treatment partner ko. naexplain naman ni doc ang mga gamot ko and possible side effects. sabi nya of all yung EFAV lang talaga ang medyo nakakagroggy kaya sa gabi sya tinatake before sleeping.

(efavirenz -adverse effects)

 

and so yesterday was day 1, TENOFOVIR - LAMIVUDINE - EFAVIRENZ, considered 2nd-line ARV na yata yun because dra thinks its best for my case. i stayed at home the whole day to see what happens.

morning medications did not have any noticeable effect whatsoever. yung efav sa gabi ang medyo nahilo at nagroggy nga ako. parang slight naka ecstasy ka lang pero since nakahiga na rin ako agad 30mins after taking it di ko na siguro naramdaman yung ibang effects. i just noticed mga 3x ako nagising middle of the night at parang medyo restless, pagkagising ko kaninang umaga hilo pa rin ako for about 1hr tapos unti unti rin nawala. itinodo ko na rin yung aircon kagabi kasi sabi nila it can feel hot sometimes. dahil dun di ko naman nafeel kung uminit nga ako.

so ayun success ang day 1 ko ko, i hope tuloy tuloy lang and that after 1 month my labs will show good numbers pa rin. wish me luck.

 

VACCINES

have to save money pala for more vaccines to protect myself from other possible diseases. magastos din but have to do it. IPON IPON IPON!

 

so ayan, alam nyo na na buhay pa rin ako, alive and kicking all over. happy lang. tamad lang talaga ako magblog lately. sensya naman.

o kamusta naman kayo?

 

ako si BONG

ito ang aking diary

 

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IT's CHATIME!

Today is the start of the rest of my life!

ako si BONG

ito ang aking diary

 

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