Is there a place in DFW to get free STD testing? (Dallas: income, living)

[jtltke137]

I was looking to get tested for a range of STDs - not just a HIV test. I have had plenty of HIV tests before.

The only place I could think of was Planned Parenthood - and they charge $139 to test 5 different STDs. An AIDS test is one of the 5.

Is there any government entity that does this for free or at a lower cost?

[Exult.Q36]

Originally Posted by jtltke137

I was looking to get tested for a range of STDs - not just a HIV test. I have had plenty of HIV tests before.

The only place I could think of was Planned Parenthood - and they charge $139 to test 5 different STDs. An AIDS test is one of the 5.

Is there any government entity that does this for free or at a lower cost?

Go here....prices are very reasonable


Tarrant County Public Health

[jtltke137]

I should have been more specific - that looks good for a resident of Tarant County, but I live in Dallas/Dallas County.

I wonder exactly what they charge:

From the Tarant County website

Affordable

Individual charges may vary. Clinic fees are assigned according to a sliding scale, based on client income.

[loves2read]

OP--there is DALLAS county dept of health as well
http://www.dallascounty.org/departme...tdclinics.html

[dfwcre8tive]

Here in Dallas:

HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES | Resource Center Dallas

[stan4]

Health Department.

[caringstd66]

I guess having hiv is not the end of world. I'm living w/ hiv for 5 years. you can find the local std testing centers here [url=http://www.stddatings.com/std_testing_center]STD dating site for positive singles with herpes, hiv, hpv, aids[/url] hope it helps.

[jtltke137]

I thought I would give an update on this.

I tried contacting the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department [ http://www.dallascounty.org/departme...Human Services ] to see if I could get tested at their office on Stemmons Fwy. For some reason you can’t schedule anything in advance. You need to call them at 214-819-1819 at 7:45 a.m. for a same-day appointment. If you don’t call them at 7:45 they will never answer the damn phone. I did manage to get a hold of someone eventually and they said that I could go to one of their mobile health clinics which change location depending on the day. [ http://www.dallascounty.org/departme...ts/MMCJuly.pdf ]

One good thing about going to the mobile clinic is that it is free compared to the clinic on Stemmons, which costs $20.

I went out to where they were located that day over on 9779 Forest Lane. The mobile unit is a big RV in the parking lot of a shopping center at Forest & Audelia. The first thing I had to do is fill out forms where I had to give my Social Security number. They didn’t ask for ID, so you can write down anything. In retrospect, I should have never given my real SS# because now it is floating out there forever. I understand that maybe they need your SS# because federal money is being used and they want to make sure that paperwork isn’t being faked, but I still don’t want that information out there.

I have to give a blood sample and a urine sample. I didn’t have to undress or have any swabs done which I have heard can be real painful.

They test for 4 things: AIDS, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Chlamydia. The results for the AIDS and Syphillis tests come back within 30 minutes, but the results for the Gonorrhea and Chlamydia take 11 days. You are given a phone number and access code to call and find out the results.

When I came back a half hour later, I was told I was negative for AIDS & Syphilis. I saw a nurse who asked me some questions and then wanted me to take some pills for Chlamydia and a shot for Gonorrhea. She mentioned that the Gonorrhea shot had some mild side effects. I asked why I needed these when my test results wouldn’t be available for 11 days. She said something like I could be infected right now, blah, blah, blah.

I got this testing done because I had never been tested before [except for AIDS] and just wanted to be certain. I wasn’t having any symptoms and had never had any symptoms for anything [although Chlamydia can sometimes show no symptoms]. I’m guessing that I am not their normal clientele. Their mission is probably to prevent outbreaks in “at-risk” communities.

I really didn’t want to take the shot and pills, but the nurse insisted and said that no harm would be done if I wasn’t infected. At this point I just wanted to get out of there and took the shot and pills.

That was a mistake.

For the next 72 hours, I was – how can I put this – “pissing out my ass”. It took a full week before I had a normal bowel movement. That shot was nasty.

I called back to the phone number 11 days later with my access code where I found out that I was negative for Gonorrhea & Chlamydia.

So, if you are thinking about going there:

1. Don’t give out your SS#.
2. If you don't think you are infected at all, tell them up front you don’t want the Gonorrhea shot and Chlamydia pills until you get your test results back.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by jtltke137

i thought i would give an update on this.

I tried contacting the dallas county health and human services department [ http://www.dallascounty.org/departme...human services ] to see if i could get tested at their office on stemmons fwy. For some reason you can’t schedule anything in advance. You need to call them at 214-819-1819 at 7:45 a.m. For a same-day appointment. If you don’t call them at 7:45 they will never answer the damn phone. I did manage to get a hold of someone eventually and they said that i could go to one of their mobile health clinics which change location depending on the day. [ http://www.dallascounty.org/department/hhs/documents/mmcjuly.pdf (broken link) ]

one good thing about going to the mobile clinic is that it is free compared to the clinic on stemmons, which costs $20.

I went out to where they were located that day over on 9779 forest lane. The mobile unit is a big rv in the parking lot of a shopping center at forest & audelia. The first thing i had to do is fill out forms where i had to give my social security number. They didn’t ask for id, so you can write down anything. In retrospect, i should have never given my real ss# because now it is floating out there forever. I understand that maybe they need your ss# because federal money is being used and they want to make sure that paperwork isn’t being faked, but i still don’t want that information out there.

I have to give a blood sample and a urine sample. I didn’t have to undress or have any swabs done which i have heard can be real painful.

They test for 4 things: Aids, gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia. The results for the aids and syphillis tests come back within 30 minutes, but the results for the gonorrhea and chlamydia take 11 days. You are given a phone number and access code to call and find out the results.

When i came back a half hour later, i was told i was negative for aids & syphilis. I saw a nurse who asked me some questions and then wanted me to take some pills for chlamydia and a shot for gonorrhea. She mentioned that the gonorrhea shot had some mild side effects. I asked why i needed these when my test results wouldn’t be available for 11 days. She said something like i could be infected right now, blah, blah, blah.

I got this testing done because i had never been tested before [except for aids] and just wanted to be certain. I wasn’t having any symptoms and had never had any symptoms for anything [although chlamydia can sometimes show no symptoms]. I’m guessing that i am not their normal clientele. Their mission is probably to prevent outbreaks in “at-risk” communities.

I really didn’t want to take the shot and pills, but the nurse insisted and said that no harm would be done if i wasn’t infected. At this point i just wanted to get out of there and took the shot and pills.

That was a mistake.

For the next 72 hours, i was – how can i put this – “pissing out my ass”. It took a full week before i had a normal bowel movement. That shot was nasty.

I called back to the phone number 11 days later with my access code where i found out that i was negative for gonorrhea & chlamydia.

so, if you are thinking about going there:

1. don’t give out your ss#.
2. if you don't think you are infected at all, tell them up front you don’t want the gonorrhea shot and chlamydia pills until you get your test results back.

tmi

[Big G]

Originally Posted by skids929

tmi

Actually, it was a perfect amount of information. It's pretty unusual for posters to come back with useful information - we never get "the rest of the story". We now have a post with detailed information answering the question at hand. It will probably help a dozen or more people down the line who won't even have to post the question - just read the answer. to the OP.