One morning, when I woke up, I felt something weird ‘down there’. My bikini area felt irritated. I went to the washroom and checked. Yes, I was right, it was something weird, sort of an infection. I got a bit worried, not just because it was annoying, but also because I had never had this sort of an infection ever before.
Later in the afternoon, I told my sister about this problem and she suggested that we visit a gynaecologist. I am actually quite shy when it comes to visiting a gynaecologist. The idea of anyone, apart from my boyfriend, looking at my private parts kind of creeped me out. I was reluctant at first, but then, as the infection increased, I knew I’d have to see my gynae.
So the next day, I went to the doctor. She asked me few questions about how sexually active I had been lately and few questions about my basic hygiene. I told her that I do have a boyfriend and that we’ve had sex, but never without protection. To my surprise, she was extremely considerate about whatever I told her and didn’t judge me at all. She then examined me properly and started writing a prescription. I looked at the prescription and started reading out. “Okay, so blood sugar test, thyroid profile test, VDRL test and HIV test? WHAT? VDRL? HIV?…..” I was completely shocked. Why would she recommend an HIV test for something like this? I wanted to ask her, but when I looked up, she had already left the room.
My sister and I discussed this and it freaked me out further. I called my boyfriend then and there and he told me to calm down. But how could I? I am someone who thinks a lot and believe me, the number of negative thoughts knocking around my head was increasing rapidly.
My boyfriend came to see me in the evening and took me to the hospital for all the tests. I was extremely nervous but also glad that he was there for me. I entered the blood test laboratory at the hospital. The person who was supposed to do my tests asked me, “Madam, pregnant ho kya?” I replied curtly, “No. Why do you ask? Also, it’s none of your business.” Yes, he totally judged me and to be honest, even though I acted like a badass in front of him, I was kinda scared. Anyway, he took my blood samples and told me that the test results would come the next evening.
My boyfriend dropped me home and oh god, it was the toughest night ever. Even though the lab technician guy told me that the results would come next evening, I kept checking the hospital’s website. It was an extremely unsettling feeling. I was restless all the time and I kept calling my boyfriend. He was super supportive but the fear of being HIV positive was getting on to me. I read everything that was there on the internet and while I was reading all this, I dozed off.
I refreshed the website as soon as I got up and checked the reports. It was all negative and everything was fine. Man, I was so relieved! It was one of the best feelings! I called my boyfriend and then my sister, and told them that everything was fine. They were as relieved as I was.
After this incident and after reading all that that was there on internet, I realized that I had been overthinking this whole time. Of course, if the test results had been positive, things would have been different. But I also realized that anyone who is sexually active should get these tests done every once in a while just to be safe!
Images: Shutterstock
Have a story you’d like to share? Just drop us an email here with your story – don’t forget to put #MyStory in the subject line. We’ll get back to you about whether we can feature it.
