Gay London clubs bars sex: map, calendar/diary, reviews, news from DISCODAMAGED

Hep-C Update

An article in Brit medical journal the Lancet tells us that "In Europe, an estimated 9 million people are infected [with Hep-C], but only half have been diagnosed". It continues that only France and Germany have screening programmes and a European wide approach is needed. Read the article here.

Hep-C (HCV) is serious. A friend of mine died from it two months ago. He was not injecting before he got HCV.

Star150 pills - DD Review

You might have noticed that we have a new advertiser. It's star150 selling "natural male enhancement" pills what would commonly be known as herbal Viagra. We gave one pill each to three readers and they tested them at Berlin's notorious lab.oratory. Here's what they said:

Reader 1: "I took one before we left and I had a raging hard on in the taxi on twenty minutes later. It worked perfectly."

Reader 2: "It worked fine for me, I had a great time."

Reader 3 was more expansive and told us: "My night turned out to be very special...
I gave a sex show to all the club... somewhere between the bar and the way to the other rooms... I filled that area with about half the club. Some joined, some watched and wanked... I myself was at the centre of it, fucking several guys at once... terrible incident happened then... trousers down, my wallet was taken! Stupid to take it in my trousers... luckily I met a very nice guy.. Dennis, a German / Hungarian sexy 27 yrs old (very hung) man, that has been taking care of me since then... today I'll call the office of the club to get my wallet back, if it's still there...
...so the pill did work!"

It looks like Viagra, it acts like Viagra, but it's not Viagra. Star150 normally sell four pills for £16 but they have a special 2-4-1 offer click here.

Videos: Global Drug Survey say "Just say know"

Off out? Wondering about what you're taking, how to take it, whether to take it?  GlobalDrugSurvey are doing some great videos - what's in my coke, harm reduction etc. Basically, two guys that look like they're form the Open University chatting illegal drugs.  

Video one: how hard it is to get doing a dose of G... Bascially, it'll end in tears.

Video two: What's in my cocaine?! 

Bottomdar?

Well we heard of gaydar but bottomdar? Canadian scientists Konstantin O. Tskhay and Nicholas O. Rule tell us that Canadians can tell thether you're a top or bottom by just looking at your face.

They also say "In intercourse between men, one of the partners typically assumes the role of an insertive partner (top) while the other assumes a receptive role (bottom)." Maybe their research is flawed... More such drivel in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

Huge rise in serious drug use and unsafe sex on gay scene. Or rather, off the gay scene...

NAT (National AIDS Trust) today publishes a letter written to the London Councils, calling for effective action to address a recent and rapid rise in the use of crystal meth, mephedrone and GHB/GBL on the London gay scene. 

This call for action results from a roundtable on HIV and Injecting Drug Use organised by NAT in January 2013, where the scale of the current problem became very clear.

Drawing on evidence from Antidote (the one LGBT drug support service in the capital) and from the Club Drug Clinic and the clinic at 56 Dean Street, NAT's letter draws attention to the massive increase in the use of these drugs by gay men in the context of high risk sex. 

There are high rates of injecting (Antidote cites 80%, the Club Drug Clinic 55%, amongst relevant service users) and of sharing needles, with serious risks of HIV and hepatitis C infection.  Most drug services are not able to respond appropriately to gay men's drug use and the three tailored services which are available cannot meet demand.

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT, said, “HIV prevention services for gay men in London have failed to effectively address this issue.  They have been too slow to respond to the fast changing trends in drug use on the gay scene. 

“We are calling on the London Councils as they take on their new responsibility for commissioning both sexual health and drug services in London to meet this challenge and commission integrated sexual health and drugs services tailored specifically for gay men.  This is essential if we are going to reduce the high rates of HIV and STI transmission.”

DD SAYS:We all need to recognise the huge shift off-scene where folks are free to do what they want but isolated from advice and moderating influences. Grindr just announced that they've 6m  users  who spend an hour and a half daily on average using the app, a study has found. The study by the location-based app also found that users log in eight times a day on average. They've launched several good health initiatives but more digital outreach needs to be done.

Gay men in London and crystal meth

HIV Weekly reports: In January, the medical journal The Lancet published a news feature focusing on increasing use of methamphetamine (crystal meth) by gay men in London. The article expressed concern about men injecting the drug, often in the context of sex parties, and suggested that this was associated with unprotected sex, needle sharing and the possible transmission of HIV and hepatitis C. CLick the headline to read more.

Successful HIV treatment as Effective as Condoms

Now UK experts say that successful treatment is "as effective as consistent condom use" in reducing HIV transmission - but not the myriad of other things you can catch barebacking. Read more here.

HIV and life expectancy - good news

"There’s been a lot of good news about life expectancy for people with HIV and on treatment in the last few years. The latest UK research shows that prognosis is now near normal for those with a CD4 cell count above 350 – the current threshold for starting HIV treatment." HIV Weekly tell us, click the headline for tmore details

HIV self test kits

Ever been to one of those HIV quick test clinics? They are appearing all over the place. They say the test only takes five minutes, which is true, but they forget to mention that after filling in forms and queuing 1) for the test and 2) for the results it really takes about two hours. Yawn.

Since a few months ago, HIV self test kits can be bought over the counter in the USA so we decided to check if they are available on the internet. They are. And they look like the ones they use at the clinics and they seem to work. Click the headline for what we found out.

US: Take your pills on schedule

Aidsmap reports a study of socially deprived US African Americans. They have HIV, most were on treatment and about half of them are gay. The study reports that "only 51% met the criteria for non-infectiousness set by the Swiss Statement of January 2008." This was thought to be due to irregular use of the medicines. Read more here.

Queer.de posts "sex without condoms" article. Just say know? What do you think?

Our Berlin sister site has republished a controversial article about having unsafe sex that has appeared in Queer.de. We weren't sure about publishing it as it's bad to encourage unsafe sex. We publish the article for discussion. 

So, "If two men want to have sex and one is HIV- and the other HIV+ but with undetectable viral load, can they have safer sex without a condom?"  

What's your experience of GHB?

Damaged was the first site to speak out about the G deaths wreaking havoc across the scene. The gay press was pretty silent given who their pay masters are. We were set upon by club promoters for even mentioning it for fear of getting attention from the police. Things have come along way with medics in venues dealing with people who have overdosed as opposed to them dumping people in nearby streets.

Anyways, it's still around and nobody's talking about it again. To that end, we want your stories.  If you take G, did take it but have given up, counsel people about it, have seen friends die from it or just have a view on it, we want to to hear from you.  Please email us if you'd like to contribute your perspective. We hope to have something together by the end of October. Anonymity assured.

Paris Hilton a two-faced b*tch shock. Ignorant too shock.

Who'd have thought.  According to a site called Radar when Paris Hilton got in a cab the driver recorded the conversation to prove she's been in his cab. However, Hilton then then came out with an anti-gay tirade when Grindr is mentioned  - starts well but then degenerates like us apparently!

On hearing what Grindr's for she says “Eww. Eww! Gay guys are the horniest people in the world. They’re disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS ... I would be so scared if I was a gay guy. You’ll like, die of AIDS.”

Her PR says this was taken out of context and was actually a safer sex message she's like totally always trying to get out there.  She like totally loves The Gays as they're like her biggest fans.

Full story including audio here...
Read the Discodamaged Grindr guide here

Old stoners are dull bores shock

We've written dozens of these "According to a new report..." pieces whereby we marvel at somebody gettinga grant to establish the bloody obvious - but with peer reviewed papers and white coats etc. Anyways, folks who start smoking cannabis at a young age rot their brains - yes, old stonerswho started young are less smart AKA dull bores whose brains have a prediliction for conspiracy theories.

I think anybody who has ever lost a friend to cannabis can testify to that - the spliff ash burn marks on the clothes, incredibly dull conversations, daytime TV addiction.  The only thing in which they excel is their near autistic/ encyclopaedic knowledge of 24 garages and the art of getting cereal packets through that tiny hole they use at night.

Gays and lesbians take more drugs than straights shock

"According to a new report"... gays and lesbians are seven times more likely to take drugs and binge drink than straight people. Lesbian & Gay Foundation and the University of Central Lancashire did the research and collated data from 4,000 LGB people between 2009-2011.  When asked if they'd taken drugs in the past month 35% said hell yes. That's seven times more than straight people.

Why?  We'll, as usual there's plenty written about our low self esteem and self destructive self loathing which sounds like a funding pitch to me.  We say sure that's out there but it might also have something to do with us earning more and not having kids.  Do the math: more money + more time = more going out. Can I get a grant please?

Reports: one man died in Area, another collapsed in Barcode. Bad drugs suspected

More on that Vauxhall club death: London24 says"A man in his mid-20s collapsed inside the Area Club, in Vauxhall, central London, in the early hours of Sunday morning. A man in his mid-20s collapsed inside the Area Club, in Vauxhall, central London, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Meanwhile, a third man collapsed inside Barcode..."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police urge any recreational drug users to be extremely careful if they are considering using drugs of any sort, in particular at venues in the Vauxhall area. “Lambeth officers are appealing for anyone who can assist with enquiries to come forward as soon as possible. A quick response could help us prevent contaminated drugs circulating further and may save someone’s life.” Call Det Srg Janet Barracks on 020 8721 3597 with information.

Full story here.

Ambulances called to save three clubbers in Vauxhall. One didn't make it.

Gay Star News got a statement from the Ambulance service regarding trouble in Vauxhall last night.

It says: We were called at 4am to Goding Street, SE11 to a man reported to have stopped breathing. ‘We sent two ambulance crews, a responder in a car and an officer to the scene, with the first staff arriving within four minutes. Extensive efforts were made to resuscitate the patient at the scene and on the way to St Thomas’ Hospital. The 25-year-old was declared dead at 5am. The London Ambulance was called again to Goding Street just before 4.40am and again at 5.10am to help treat two other male patients. While the second man was conscious, the third was in a serious condition and both were taken to St Thomas’ Hospital.

Does this have anything to do with Area's police visit and closing early? Well, Gay Star News say "Ambulances were called to help save three men in Goding Street close to the gay club Area in Vauxhall". However, GSN's headline says "Man dies after clubbing in gay London bar" and has a pic of the RVT - which would have long since been shut then after hosting Duckie. So, we don't know.

Three casualties all at once is worrying. Our thoughts go out to all those affected.

Well done Gay Star News who have a full report here.  

La Demence cruise parts 1-5

We've been receiving intermittent reports and a flood of pictures from the good ship La Demence and are amazed that our reporter has time to write in between shags. We've been busy too so, with a slight delay, here is what we have. Click headline for more. The ship is in transit from Sicily to Ibiza, so we don't expect much more today.

Olympic effort required
Day 1- crap weather at sea
We got to Marseille all right, toured a bit the city and met up with friends of mine. We didn't taste some French cock because we wanted to spare ourselves for the Olympic effort of the cruise.

Gay urban myth

How often have you heard or said, "I have an undetectable viral load and so the risk of getting HIV from me is very small even without using a condom." It's a seductive message, even more so because there is some truth in it, but there are serious complications. As Dr Ulrich Marcus of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin said, "There are simple truths and complex truths. People like simple truths - complex truths are often inconvenient, because they require people to realize that what they do – even if they act with best intentions – may have unintended consequences." Continue reading for the complex truth and more...

Welcome to the sex you want

A friend forwarded us this amazing HIV Harm Reduction resource from Canada. We've never quite seen a resource like this, all in one place. Check it out... http://www.thesexyouwant.ca/