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- Aug 14, 2009
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Imdanny|1293081193|2804395 said:Yssie|1293078847|2804360 said:Tacori E-ring|1293053407|2804023 said:This is an interesting thread. One of the exceptions to confidentiality between a therapist and a patient is if the patient intends to harm another person. This used to include the duty to warn (if the client refuses) sexual partners if the therapist knows their client is HIV+. Things have changed and now there is controversy b/c HIV+ is not the death sentence that it used to be. It is an ethical debate among the profession and many therapist no longer warn.
I don't think most men watch gay **** involving men (involving women are a different story) but as others have said it is none of your business. Disturbing, yes. The thought of finding ANY **** on my dad's computer makes me uncomfortable. I understand your concern but I also agree that there is NO evidence of an affair.
If you decide to confront your father be sure you evaluate your motives. Why are you questioning him? Is it YOUR fear or are you thinking about your father's well being? Are you prepared for him shutting down and being defensive? Are you prepared for your relationship being harmed by this conversation? I would really think before you act in this situation.
This is the only part of this thread that I will comment on - my god, I hope that this is not true.
HIV *is* a death sentence. Period. If you have the money and/or pre-existing healthcare with the necessary coverage, it can be managed so as not to interfere with day-to-day life for years with a variety of treatment programmes. There is no guarantee of effective treatment, however, and there is no cure. It can be transmitted whether or not one is undergoing treatment, all that changes is the likelihood, and with repeated unguarded exposure that likelihood always increases. The only guarantee is that AIDS is a deadly disease.
There is no controversy about this. And there should be no controversy about informing a spouse, given that the most effective method of transmission is intercourse.
I have a friend who became HIV positive in 1989-1990, sometime around there, that was 20 years ago. I have a hard time seeing that he has a "death sentence." He's doing fine. He's been doing pretty much fine for 20 years. He got his PhD, became a professor, and is on a Fulbright scholarship in Europe right now. I don't have an reason to believe that his prognosis is "death." Maybe it is, but I think it's too early to tell.
I have only ever spoken of this with a few people, but I will share this story here now: I had a friend who was infected overseas a few years ago. He was in excellent health. His family had money, and he had decent healthcare. They were unable to find a treatment regimen that agreed with him, the side-effects were unbearable, and he passed away from pneumonia (pneumonia! I have had pneumonia twice in the past two years and I was cured with a pill twice a day!) four years ago now, just under three years after he was diagnosed.
So yes, in this day and age, unless you are both rich and lucky it's a death sentence that will cash in sooner rather than later. I am very happy for your friend Danny, and I hope he remains in good health for years to come. I only wish there was some guarantee that all HIV+ people would be as lucky as him.