I will not die from what my husband brought home to me but it will be very very hard to find a new man at the age of 50. After 20 years of marriage.

Now that I have Herpes. And I have to pay for the Valtrex to keep from having an outbreak. Finding a new partner will be hard.

The women that he had the affair with has had it for over 15 years and she knew that he was coming home to me. I want to SUE this women or put her in jail.

Condoms do not help from getting this STD, as it is skin to skin contact. You do not have to be having an out break to pass it on.

The blood test to check for it will take up to 3 - 4 months before it will show possitive. I did take the test but it was to soon. My doctor did not even know there was this wait time.... So now I have infectied one person and I did not even know that I had it.

Please tell the People out there and educate them on this painful STD that has no cure.

Thank you for your time, Oprah fan for years. Michelle H.

Very brave and straightforward your post is. I commend you. Good information to pass on.......

Salem3xx3

Dear Oprah

As I was watching your show today about Mike Tyson & Michael Jackson, I had seen a preview on a show coming up on Tuesday the 20th.

To make a long story short

Let me start here. Back in October of 2006 I was diagnosed with HIV. The day after I came home from being in the hospital for 10 days you had a show on about women with HIV I can not remember too much of the show because of how sick I was and out of it from meds that I was on, I do remember that how weird this was just being diagnosed .

I see that you having another show about the man that gave a bunch of women HIV. I seen their story on I think 20/20 a few weeks ago. I feel for these women and can understand them, when you come out of a relationship & you're looking for love and you don't think about oh I'm going to get HIV. I to come out of a relationship and moved out with my son into an apartment when I seen this good looking guy who was much younger then me and living right next door. We became friend, drinking together and one thing lend to another and we slept together for 6 months. I did not see the sign when he told me that he did not sleep with anyone in 4 years I thought wow I'm lucky.

After I found out I was HIV, I called him when I was in the Hospital and his reaction was "When can I see you again" I thought man this is not right.

Well, when it came down to talking with the health department he would not get checked. I finally got him to go with me to get him checked, but when it came down to getting his result he would not go. Because he new and he new what he did to me.

To this day I can not find out why the health department did not do anything to this man. I'm so happy that these women have the strength to come out and talk out their stories. For me I go to work and come home. I have no life anymore. I have sheltered myself because I know that I will never be the person I was in the past, I know I will never be able to love again and this hurts me. For this man that did this to me I just wonder how many women he has done this to and is still doing it to.

I have just started on med and no that my life is just nothing anymore. I have to take these for the rest of my life and at the same time every night. I think any person that give any kind of disease to an other person they should pay the price.

Mary

*Thank you. I have always avoided the HIV talks and shows. But the way this show was put together was intriguing. Fair warning taken - thank u so much*!

When I first saw these women on 20/20, I confronted my mother, now in her mid 50s reg. her long term relationship with her boyfriend. I do not suspect him of cheating on her, or having HIV, but I want them to practice safe sex. She told me they do not use condoms, but that he is not a cheater. He's "not that type". Of course, that gives me little to no comfort.

It is amazing to me that women of this generation, who were strong enough to strike out into the workforce, break glass ceilings, etc, will not take responsibility for their own bodies and health. It's really sad. I don't know how to get through to my mom, and I pray that we have nothing to worry about it. But I see the same complicit carelessness in her that I see in these older women on the stage. It's like telling a teenager not to drink and drive: we hope that they listen, and we pray we never receive that phone call.

P.S. The woman with the loaded gun analogy is not helping the cause of HIV education and taking responsibility for your own body.

I was recently involved with a man for two years that as is turns out he was involved with 18 other women! Yes, that is correct, 18 other females. I connected with his soon to be ex wife (she is divorcing him) and his sister got his phone records. Her and I went on a 5 day calling spree, conferencing in all these women!! None of them knew...we were... Read More all news to one another! And we shared and shared, the guy told us all the same story, we all look similar and are within a few years of age. He also has a std that none of the women knew about, he had not told one, not one. Not even his wife who had contracted the disease and he tried to blame her for it! He is outrageously seductive and stays in close contact with all the ACTIVE women. Calling them several times a day. There is a few women he called on average 15 times a day. Yeah, this dateline stuff!The only difference between this man and John Wayne Gacy is that this man's victims are still alive!!

I have not even seen this show yet but need to speak out on behalf of another population of women whose lives are being put in danger without their knowledge. These are the women, and their children, who are being exposed and in many cases infected, with HIV/AIDS by the men they trust, their husbands. A year and a half ago, I learned that my husband of 18 years, who I am now nearly divorced from, was diagnosed HIV/AIDs. I learned he had cheated with men and believe he had been infected many years before. I had unknowingly been exposed for years, including during at least one, if not both of my pregnancies. I have been fortunate, in spite of a very long exposure period as I am negative. There is much shame, anger, pain and countless other emotions that one experiences when one learns that their spouse risked their life and their health. I am well on my way to healing, my life is healthier and happier than it has ever been. My concern is for the hundreds of thousands of other women and children who are at risk every day. It should be a crime to recklessly endanger another person's life in this way.

This was a good show for teenagers to see. thank you for doing this show.

Autumn Greetings All

I did not get to finish watching todays show, so I may have missed something, but I was left with sadness and a lot of frustration after listening about the womens plight. No where in the portion of the show that I did see, did any of these ladies ever seem to take "responbility" for their own actions. HIV and Aids has only been in the news for the last 20+ years. No one can afford the ignorant attitude that it's someone else's problem as it was in the past. As the world has slowly learned it doesn't matter your race, age, sexual preference, or economic status. If you don't practice safe sex you will put yourself at risk...period. When you chose to have unprotected sex with someone, you do so with their entire sexual history and yours combined. We all need to be responsible for our actions for ourselves. Where I may have pity on the women today, they have no excuse in my mind for not being aware and putting their health in harms way with risky behaviour. I speak this from my own point of awareness and experience. Thanks for the chance to comment.

Hello everyone, today's show was very powerful and sad. I was infecdted with HIV in 1985 by my very first sexual partner. There are so many if's that I think about. If it had not been my first time? If I had come from a family that discussed sex? If I had been given or had seen HIV/AIDS educational materials at school or on a public billboard? If I was not a shy introvert? If I had access to peer support? If the Canadian media was discussing the known facts about HIV transmision at the time? If Ronald Regan, the leader of the free world, had only made a speech about AIDS? If the media hadn't misled the world into thinking that AIDS was a gay plague? If homophobia and Right wing/Conservative politicians and religious leaders hadn't blocked AIDS prevention campaigns? If condoms had been available in schools? etc...

I almost died a few times in the 1990's both before Anti-retroviral medications (ARV's) were discovered and after they were available. I was so sick. Today I am healthy and living a full life. You couldn't tell I have AIDS or what I've been through just by looking at me. What is so sad about todays show is that the message that these poor women were telling the world has been available since the beginings of AIDS. Promiscuity, homosexuality and drug use alone does not cause AIDS. Unsafe sexual practices and contaminated blood spreads the AIDS virus. I was saddened to hear the woman from the audience self richeous comments about always using a condom. Almost everyone goes through a period in their lives when they are vunerable be it when they are children, or shy young adults, or newly divorced and dating for the first time in many years or in an abusive relationship or impaired by alcohol or drugs or when a women is trying to get pregnant...My point is that AIDS can happen to anyone and that was always the case. That judgemental audience member represents to me the problem with society, it can't stand to hear the truth about AIDS.

Oprah I challenge you to have the first really honest, sexually explicit discussion about AIDS on television. Do you know that oral sex does not spread the AIDS virus? Instead of preaching abstinence and condoms we could be telling people how to enjoy healthy safe sexual practices. Thank you Oprah for continuing to educate the world. I love your show.

Oprah, 45 years is not enough for this man. I agree that hey need to get him off the street this man has infected these women with HIV this so sad I think he should have gotten more then 45 but being behind bars is a good thing. I am so proud of these women who got up and told there story on national tv. Oprah there should be more shows about people like this so sad.

Loretta

I extend my most tender empathy to these women. However, they all have one thing in common.

NONE of them insisted on 'safe sex'. They ignored what has been in the news for

25 years....that is to " use condoms" He is a piece of garbage..but they

were /are responsible for their own safety.

I feel extremly sorry for all of these women, but through the whole episode not one of them talked about practicing safe sex. Every time you turn on the T.V, read the news or any other kind of media you are bombarded with facts and information about STD's. I wonder if these women could have used better judgement. Condoms don't prevent against all, but they do prevent against many.

exactly, what were they thinking. Just because your exclusive with someone doesn't mean there not carring a std from a previous relationship..

same thing happened to me but instead it was babies. My partner refused to wear condoms. I swore that after my sister died of complications from AIDS that I would always wear a condom. My partner and I went to the store together and when we were together for the first time he threw the condoms across the room. I was upset but didn't have the sense to tell him no more. Seven months later we had a child. I found out that he had several other women and some of them became pregnant. He had told me he only had one child back in his home town a 16 year old. I knew and met some of his family that cooberated his story so I felt safe. Anyway, he has had 3 other children since our 3 year old and needless to say, I have no contact with him. I did take matters into my own hands however by posting his picture and he method of operations on telephone poles all around the neighborhoods in which he frequents. It was empowering for me and maybe I saved someone from his predatory habits.