Health care…
I see a lot of Dr.’s these days, outside of my family doctor I have my psychiatrist who I see for medication prescription changes for my major depression, I don’t see him often because I’m not doing therapy with him, he just manages my meds. I have the rheumatologist who diagnosed me with Fibro +, the plus part is on top of having symptoms that would diagnose me with Fibro which he thought I had, he also said I had additional symptoms not typically seen in Fibro that may indicate additional illness. Specifically I had joint pain and inflammation not usually associated with Fibro. I’ve been through a few other specialists as well. I also have my gastrointerologist who I’ve seen a few times now, and who will be doing a colonoscopy on me in June. I see a dentist once a year. I see a sexual health worker on average once a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending what’s happening in my relationships sex and kink wise. Basically before I engage in any intimate relationship I do the ‘exchange STI paperwork thing’, this is well after the STI talk. I don’t do fluid bonding till after 6 months into a relationship where there’s an agreement of ‘exclusivity/monogomy’ and another round of testing and paperwork sharing. In general, on the scope of what most adults do in regards to safer sex, most people put me in the ‘over-cautious’ category. Sometimes they think I’m paranoidly anal about my safer sex practices. For instance, I don’t casually kiss people, I used to make out and swap spit with less discretion in my teens and into my twenties, but I’ve become more and more cautious over the years. Other people consider the risks of ‘french’ kissing, and various forms of ‘oral sex’ to be within their personal safer sex guidelines even without barriers. I think everyone is entitled to make the decisions that work for them.
At any rate, I take my health seriously, sexual health and otherwise. If I ever have any health concerns, I usually a) google and research on the internet like mad, and b) make an appointment with my doctor or specialist depending on the issue, so that I can discuss my concern with them, and compare what I’ve found out online to what it is they suggest/say.
Perhaps you do this too. Oddly enough, or maybe it isn’t odd, and I’m the odd one. I have been encountering so many people with sexual health questions lately, who don’t get answers to their questions by seeing sexual health specialists. I can see how for some people, this would be a more ’sensitive’ area that they would be less comfortable discussing with a Doctor or nurse than a non-sexual health issue. However many of the people I see not doing this, are generally people I would think would be comfortable talking with a health care worker about sexual health issues. I’ve been witnessing people make all kinds of assumptions and guesses about things, and blatantly wrong ones at that, when there actually is real answers to their questions providable by real experts in that health field.
Sexual health workers, they’re your friends, they have great information, and if you make an appt. and go in to talk to them, they’ll usually happily not only answer a gazillion questions, but gift you with some free condoms and lube too. My local clinic was thrilled to see me when I came to talk to them about some concerns I had around my adult dungeon parties, they gave me a big bag of flavored condoms and lube, and some pamphlets and posters for the dungeon to boot.
Health care, it’s a good thing.