I’m a retired, 60-year-old, gay, male. I moved down to Florida 5 years ago. I’ve been HIV positive since 1987 and my partner died of AIDS around that time. In my retirement, I started to use crystal meth, but I now am clean. I received substance abuse treatment in a rehabilitation center.
In the past, before I was using crystal meth, I was always careful with my sex practices. I always had a single partner. I was very careful not to transmit the disease, even though I was undetectable. For many years, I didn’t know that undetectable meant untransmittable. I would still use condoms and was very careful and selective of who I had sex with.
During my crystal meth use of over 5 years, that was a different story. The drug changed my thinking, and I was no longer making good choices. One of those choices was having unprotected sex with multiple partners. During that time, I contracted chlamydia and gonorrhea several times. I had no idea how I got it or who to contact because there were multiple partners involved.
About 6 months ago, I went to treatment, and since that time, I make sure I have safe sex. I talk to my partner about both of our statuses, and we make decisions from there. I always make sure that the person is on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Using protection is very important because people may not be telling you the truth about whether they’re on PrEP. It’s important to be smart about sex and be as safe as you can. This includes using protection and getting tested on a regular basis. I get tested every 3 months. I believe that anything can happen, and I want to be healthy and live a long life.
