Eric Forbes

My life is rarely if ever boring.

I’ve had a persistent case of phlegm in the back of my throat for a few weeks and chalked it up to an allergy to mold, most likely caused by the endless rainy season we’re having here in Marin County. I started taking Quercetin supplements last week at the advice of a natural food store owner in the Castro and liked the effect — less phlegm and a little more energy. But I was still waking up after 8 to 10 hours of sleep feeling exhausted. After a double shot of espresso, I’d be ready to do laps in the pool or go to work and remain productive most of the day. So I wasn’t sick per se. But something has been dragging me down a bit for a couple of weeks.

Tuesday I got a call from one of my buddies advising me to get an STD check. I already see my doctor every 3 months to monitor my HIV treatment, and just got back from a visit a few weeks ago and everything (except for the phlegm) was fine. I now realize there is more to health than getting 8 vials of blood spun around and analyzed in a hospital laboratory every three months. There are other little monsters out there, and they get to make babies whenever some of us get busy.

I’m Lucky

I live close to San Francisco and have access to a modern clinic for gay and bisexual men called Magnet. It’s right in the Castro and it’s free – donations are accepted but not required. I’ve passed by the Magnet center countless times on my way up 18th Street towards Delano Foods or Firewood Cafe and never stopped inside. I wasn’t really sure what they did. The place looked like a chill hang out space with an oversized galvanized steel veneered wall covered in playful plastic magnetic letters that visitors arranged in an ever-changing collage of color and verse.

I got to learn a lot more about this place when I went for an STD test yesterday.

Magnet is really elegant. It doesn’t make you feel bad for having sex. On the contrary, the intake form and questions asked of me during my clinic visit were inquisitive but not interrogative. I felt like I was being seen by someone who cared about my health and wanted to inform me of safer alternatives. Did I feel a little weird giving up some personal sex history? Not really. I’ve been in or near San Francisco since 1996. I’m cool with sharing my sex life. The butt swab was by far the strangest part of the procedure, but painless really. Everything went into a separate plastic tube and was sent off to a lab for analysis. I donated the following in less than 30 minutes:

• urine sample
• blood
• throat culture
• butt swab

The urine test came back negative so that’s good. I still got to take two bright orange pills (antibiotic) before I left the clinic and was given another bottle of antibiotics (Doxycycline) to take for the next 7 days. If any of my tests come back positive, I’ll be notified. In any, the antibiotics should take care of it.

All of this was free of charge. Yet considering the service I was offered, in the clean, well-lit space of the Magnet center I’d passed by but never really knew, I made a donation on the way out. It’s a great place to find out about little nasty buggers that like to wreck your good time.

Spreading the Germs Word

Now how to spread the word to more guys who might be spreading faulty dew? I’m thinking. Especially after seeing Larry Brilliant’s TED Talk about stopping the spread of pandemics like smallpox using a simple and effective duo: Early Detection and Early Response. While not as deadly as smallpox, STDs remain a concern for gay men and I think I have a clue about how to get the word out. It won’t be easy, but the solution would have to take on the problem of low self-confidence among gay men. If I could help eradicate the plague of low self-esteem, many things should fall into place automatically: better self-care, better communication of needs and desires (and diseases) and maybe even (dare I say?) – improved relationships! So I comes back to love once again. At least, it does for me.