Don't Want to Freak Anyone Out...... I TESTED POSITIVE!

LOL - did I get your attention???

Nick and I have been engaged since Oct 21, 2002 (Happy Halloween)

I've been looking for a part-time job, in order to earn a little
extra $$$ for our wedding - (California weddings are expensive!)

Well, I found the perfect job... working for the doctors answering service at a local hospital in the area.

In order to work at any hospital you have to have a Tuberculosis (TB) skin test.

Well go figure... I tested positive!

I am now an official infected by TB.

I don't have the disease

Now I get to take INH (an antibotic) for the next 6-12 months!!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

That is horrible! My hubby always tests positive due to the fact that he was inoculated against it when he came to Canada from Scotland. Do you still get to keep the job?

Yes, I still get the job.... (thank goodness!)

I just hate pills!!

Had you recieved an inoculation against TB when you were young - that could be the reason you tested positive.

Yikes!

But what if you bruise easily? I tested positive but it was a false positive because I bruise easily.

I tested positive, back in 1982. All a positive means is that you've been exposed. I never took the INH, because of the nasty side effects and I've been fine, all of these years.

I can only recall ever having the test once - in order to get into kindergarden..... That test I passed.

The dr. thinks I must have been exposed on one of my business trips.


Yes, I bruse easly.... but this is NO bruse... the skin test measured 18mm (normal is 9mm or less)

I tested positive, right before I started college. In fact, I have a small scar on my arm where the test was done. For my new job, since I work in the Cleveland Clinic, I have to be tested yearly. This time, it was negative. Who knows why I tested positive the first time (about 15 years ago).

i too had tested positive back in 91. scince then i had about 6 of them that were all negitive. where i work we dont measure the size of the redness but the size of the swelling. if any.

I work in a nursing home and we have to be tested once a year also. One of my co-workers always tests positive because of a previous exposure to TB so she has to have a chest x-ray every year.

Sorry to hear about the pills you'll have to suffer through... but Congrats on the job!!!!!!

When's the wedding? Any date set yet?

Lhezzza:

My son tested positive to the TB tine test when he was about 4 years old. He also tested positive for the next level test. The pediatrician told me it meant that he had been exposed to TB, and could develop it at any time in his life, if conditions warranted. Therefore, he had to take the meds for 9 months. The worst thing about it was that I would catch his medical charts being mislabeled. Once at the dentist's office, I saw that his chart read, "Patient has TB". I corrected them on that one fast enough. We all had to be tested to try and track down where he could have picked this up. My mother-in-law thought it was her, as she worked as a hospital nurse. We never did find the cause, however. I am still glad we went through the meds, because you never know when you might end up in the environmental circumstances that could trigger the disease. At the time, the doctor cited, for example, hot, humid conditions if in the event of something like a hurricane, there was no A/C for a period of time, or he spent time overseas in the military in war-type circumstances.

My husband tested positive too. He couldn't take the meds because he got the positive results only a week before heading off to live for 4 months in another country in which there was little if any medical care available. Since the meds can have bad side-effects, he just took his chance while he was gone. He never came down with TB though he has to get chest X-Rays every 6 months for 2 years to make sure he is okay.

He has no idea where he got exposed to the TB...he has lived in Nigeria and in rural Jamaica, and had just traveled to Korea right before the positive test. So, he could have been exposed pretty much anywhere.

Originally posted by lotsocats
...he has lived in Nigeria and in rural Jamaica, and had just traveled to Korea right before the positive test. So, he could have been exposed pretty much anywhere.

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Most wives just make 'em sleep on the sofa, Renae.....

Im sorry that you have to go through all this, Lhezzza. Stay strong okay . Awesome about the job though. Cooper and Jack will keep a watch over you.

Originally posted by Deb25
Most wives just make 'em sleep on the sofa, Renae.....

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Sometimes they are so bad that even the dog house won't do! The next best thing is to ship them off to an undeveloped country! :laughing:

[size=large]Deb![/size]

I am so sorry I missed this! I'm sorry to hear you tested positive for this and have to take those nasty pills.