"I most likely got the HIV virus sexually: although I was educated a lot about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, I had unprotected sex," a young man infected with the HIV virus, who wanted to remain anonymous, told "Vijesti".
When asked how he found out that he had HIV, he said that he had health problems and that after a lot of wandering, he took an HIV test at a doctor and found out that he was positive.
First thought: The end
"At the moment when I found out that I was HIV positive, I thought that it was the end of my life, that nothing worse could happen to me. But, when the initial shock passed, I began to understand that it is not the end of the world, that I can still continue with with my life normally, so that I can devote myself and the people I love," he says.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that he told this to his closest family, his girlfriend and his best friend.
"The reasons why I told these people that I am HIV positive are that they are the people I trust the most, who I love, who I care about and who, no matter what happens, will not change their opinion about me and will be there to support me. And what is most important, those people gave me maximum support and accepted me without the slightest fear," says our interlocutor.
Still prejudices: They think it is also transmitted by touch
He notes that he did not tell other acquaintances because he believes that in our community there is still an opinion that it is a disease that can be transmitted by touch, so no matter how well you know a person, you will look at them with different eyes after your confession.
"The biggest problem is people's lack of education," he says. He points out that his life has changed a lot after learning that he has the HIV virus.
"Just knowing that you have to change your lifestyle, dedicate yourself to maximally healthy styles, take care of yourself and others. You should pay more attention to yourself and to the people around you who are important to you, and you will realize that not everything is so dark. On the other hand, I always have a touch of fear , from other people not finding out about my HIV status, because it can definitely affect your position in society," our interlocutor believes.
Family and girlfriend support
He remembers that at the very beginning, when he found out that the patient had crises, he thought that he would be rejected, abandoned.
"Al' the support of my family and girlfriend helped me to overcome those crises as much as possible. And there are counseling centers for safe testing and prevention, which are always available to meet and help," says our interlocutor.
Violations of the patient's rights
When asked if he encounters difficulties as a person with the HIV virus in Montenegro, our interlocutor says that there are problems, first and foremost in the health system.
"People who have decided to engage in this humane profession are prejudiced against HIV-positive people, there is a lot of discrimination and violation of patients' rights. Not to generalize, as nothing in life can be generalized, there are good and bad doctors and technical staff. "But if you have chosen that calling, you should do it professionally. Although it will probably sound harsh, it is unfortunate that most of the medical personnel do not know enough about HIV infection, and out of ignorance they have so many prejudices," he says.
"However, finding out that you are HIV positive is not the end of life, that with HIV you can live normally and with quality. We people with the HIV virus should fight to break prejudices, to fight against discrimination, because if we don't if we fight, no one will do it for us. Even before finding out that I was HIV positive, I was, and still am, an optimistic person and I think that in the future there will be no problem for people who are HIV positive and that they will have the same rights as everyone else other people, not on paper but in reality," says our interlocutor.
They must not tell the doctor about the illness
Our interlocutor cites the example that if you need to go to the dentist, according to some healthy logic, you should be responsible and say that you are HIV positive.
"But, if you do that, you will immediately get into a situation where you will be refused, even if you pay for that service. Or, for example, to do any type of medical examination, for example, to do a gastroscopy, for women it is a problem to go to a gynecologist, etc. ., if people know that you are HIV positive, you will immediately face rejection.
Let alone if you need some kind of surgical intervention, you have to go abroad, because you will hardly find a doctor who will do it, although no special procedure is needed in the operative process as in the case of people who are not HIV positive: the room and the instruments must be sterile and after the operation, they must be sterilized again, in order to be able to perform the next one, which in my opinion is an obligation in any case, even if HIV does not exist as a virus. I'm telling you this from personal experience," notes our interlocutor.
It's hard to get a job and it's easy to lose it
He believes that most HIV-positive people have a problem finding employment, due to the fact that they often have to visit a doctor for the very procedure of receiving therapy. This, he says, leads to the need for frequent absences from work, and nowadays it is very difficult to get that many days off. By admitting to your employer that you are HIV positive, you fear losing your job.
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