Nothing that would make me call him a fool, in fact, just the opposite. I went to the doctor today, Dr. J. Engel, and it was the nicest trip to the doctor I have ever had. The waiting room was nice and classy with mod little glowing coffee tables, nicely painted purple walls, and cool paintings. All of this made me happy that I decided to pick a doctor a little out of the way just because he was listed as gay-friendly.
There wasn't that much waiting around the reception area, or even in his office. It was all relatively quick. It was still a visit to the doctor's though, there was still some waiting, just not much. He asked me about my diet, about my drinking habits, which I was embarrased to confess to, but which he non-obnoxiously asked if I was concerned about. And I said no. And he did not scowl. He was already recieving cool points, then he asked me if I was sexually active with girls or guys. I like boys, I demured. Then he asked about the frequency and type of sex I was having in a way that did not make me nervous or embarrased at all. He asked if I was having anal sex. I said no. And then he told me that when I do, if I do, make sure to use a condom. He gave a little lecture about how lots of young homos aren't using condoms because they never saw the ravagaes of AIDS, and that "sucking" (his funny term) was not going to get me HIV, that it might get me other things, but that if I engaged in anal sex to be sure to use a condom.
This may sound like a basic conversation people have with their doctor, but none of my doctors have ever asked about my sexual health which seems just plain stupid. Only once, when I wanted to get tested for basic STD's did a doctor ask me about my sexual health, and he did not seem so interested when I told him it was with boys. So the upfrontness of this doctor was really nice, made me really happy.
Some people occasionally joke around about what the hell is a gay friendly doctor or dentist, but this is what they are. Non-judgemental people who ask you these questions that factor pretty highly into your overall health.
When I dropped my underwear and got my testicles examined, he made a comment about my foreskin, saying I was lucky, and asked how I managed to still have one being born in the US. That made him even more nice in my book. And lately, the past couple times, I have played around with people they have asked me the same question, why I had my foreskin, and I guess I never realized how few men do have theirs, and I am curious to know why I am uncut. But, I don't think I am going to ask my mom about it the next time I talk to her. It might be weird, you know?
I also talked to him about my acne, which he said was severe, and wrote me a referral to go see an "excellent" dermatologist that I will have to only pay two dollars to go see! Go Strand health insurance! The word severe sort of made me sad just because sometimes I like to think that it is not horrible, but oh my god, it so is. This week it has been driving me crazy. I am literally uncomfortable when I have to interact with people, insecure of my acne, of my dry skin. I am so excited to go see the dermatologist. Not that I am excited that at 22, I still need to go deal with the same problems I was going to see the dermatologist when I was 15. Will it ever end? Am I going to be a senior and still be treated for acne? I then got some blood drawn to get tested for STD's. I weigh 150 and am 6 feet tall. Nice clean numbers.
But yeah, basically, Dr. Engel rocks and it was probably the most pleasant trip to the doctor I have ever had.
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