Welcome to another issue of Better2 Know’s patient stories.
At Better2 we know that sharing personal experiences can contribute to destroying the stigma that many people feel in being tested for Stis. We have collected stories of people who have been tested to inspire and encourage others to take this important step for their sexual health.
Certain names and details in these stories have been changed.
Your sexual health is important. Let yourself be tested with the full Sti screen from Better2 Knows.
When Evin Rose scored, he didn’t expect to get the shock of the year. Like many young adults, Evin navigated in the dating scene in Bristol at the end of 2010 when a tinder date became an emotional fire.
“Looking back, it sounds silly,” said Evin Besser2 Know about a video call. “But I was really afraid. More fear than maybe I should have been. A fear just took me. I couldn’t think of anything else for days.”
In 2018, Evin shared an apartment in Bedminster with three friends and worked in marketing for a collection agency in the city center. He had moved to the university in the city and had a degree in history at the University of Bristol, but found himself listless and sent Bristol’s nightlife. Most of his data came from his weekly meetings in a local board game business in which he would play Magic: The assembly.
“I liked to be single, I think. It was exciting. You never know who you will meet what will happen. I have done a lot out there. Sometimes I might have let things go too early.”
Evin, now 32, is briefly with a huge mane bleached blonde hair with characteristics that looks so round that he looks much younger than him. He speaks quietly, but quickly as if he were trying to get something out without being overheard.
“I remember that she thought she had nice hair. I could see from her pictures that she liked to make cosplay for conventions. Comic stuff. She only seemed to be my type.”
Although she lived in Cardiff and I lived in Bristol, we both struggled to travel. I liked her and I’m pretty sure she liked me too. We came nearby very quickly.
Evin met Rose about the dating app Tinder and used the “super -like” function of the app to seal the deal for a chat. After a few days of the SMS, they met for a first date in Cardiff.
“Although she lived in Cardiff and I lived in Bristol, we both tried to travel. I liked her and I am pretty sure that she also liked me. We got around very quickly.”
From there, things went ahead pretty quickly. After a few days, they decided to become intimate. But the heights of this new relationship made Evin think twice about what happened.
“We had had sex a few times. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but a few days later it started to play in my head. I noticed that I didn’t know that person very well. We never talked about protection whether we had something. I started to be afraid that I had caught something.”
Evin didn’t wait – he acted quickly. “A few days after I was worried, I ordered a test online. Nothing kept me back. Rose went on vacation this week, so it felt like a good time to check, just in case.”
In contrast to many people, he did not appear against obstacles to be tested. He just went online and ordered a test kit. “The test I ordered was quite discreetly packaged, and the rehearsals were easy to see. I was worried about how exactly a hometown could be, but I have looked at it and I know that they are quite reliable.”
The results came after a few days. He was negative.
“I felt mostly relieved, but I also felt a little guilty of not using protection than I should have done. After achieving the result, I spoke to Rose about it. Since we were not exclusive, I wanted us to use condoms from there to use from there. I just thought it would be safer.
We asked Evin why he thought.
“I’m not quite sure. Maybe it was a lack of communication. I think the fact that I was tested before I talked to her gave her a bad impression.”
However, Evin does not regret experience. It taught him to be more careful. “I just think shooting, I should have been safer. I’ve never really thought about it. Now I get regularly every few months just to be safe.”
He said his perspective on STIS had changed better. He was pretty uncomplicated when we asked him what he would tell someone who thought about being tested. “After what I have learned, it is not a big deal to get a STI. It leaves it untreated what causes damage. If you know that you have it, you can do something about it.”
When we asked him if he was still on Tinder, he giggles.
“I thought I would do real life a little.”
Do not leave your sexual health to chance. Book a Sti test in a clinic for sexual health in your area.
