How long for symptoms

I am in an short lived (3 mos) relationship.  I recently began to have penile symptoms of Gonnorhea (Gonorrhea) and or Chlamydia.  My boyfriend claims to not have any symptoms.  Is it possible for there to be no symptoms for several months and then all of the sudden they appear.  The only thing I can think is that maybe I got it from oral sex many months ago.  Had it in my throat, then gave it to him to him, then eventually it I finally got it in my penis.  We made a commitment to be exclusive, and as far as I knew I was disease free.  I just find it weird that for the last several months there was nothing and now all of the sudden boom, I ahve symptoms.  I am also concerned because he has this attitude that he is as healthy as a horse, like that is supposed to keep him protected, and that this is my problem and that until there is a positive test result his behavior is not going to change.  I want to refrain from sex without a condom until this is resolved and he does not, and frankly his attitude is becoming sort of a deal breaker for me.  Any advice?  He has finally agreed to get tested as well, if my test returns positive.  He says he has not been with anyone, but I am having a hard time believing him.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

By "penile symptoms of gonorrhea and/or chlamydia" you presumably mean abnormal discharge from the penis, perhaps accompanied by painful urination or an irritated (sometimes itchy) feeling in the urethra (urine passage).  Until you see a health care provider and have a specific diagnosis, I can't respond very helpfully to your question.  

You acquired it from your current partner; it is very unlikely this represents something you caught several months ago. If you have NGU, it might have resulted from normal bacteria, especially from his mouth or perhaps his rectum, in which case there may be no implication about his sexual fidelity.  (You don't exactly say what your sexual practices are.  I'm assuming you have unprotected oral and anal sex.)  If you have gonorrhea or chlamydia, it increases the odds your partner has had other partners since your relationship began, but wouldn't prove it.  He could have rectal infection with either organism, or oral gonorrhea, with transmission to you not occurring until 3 months into the relationship.  The better bet is that he has had other partners--but you are in a much stronger position than I am to judge how truthful he is.

Perhaps most important, I hope you know each other's HIV status, and that you're both negative or both positive; otherwise, you shouldn't be having unprotected anal sex.  In gay men, getting an STD such as gonorrhea or chlamydia is a strong indicator of serious risk for getting HIV.   Be sure you are adequately protecting yourself from the big one.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[HHH,MD]

I implied but meant to say directly:  See a health care provider ASAP to get proper diagnosis and treatment.  Your partner should be examined and tested as well.  If he refuses, it might be reasonable to assume he has something to hide--but for his own health, it would be wacko to refuse.  Also get tested for syphilis and for HIV, if there is any doubt about your current HIV status or his.

HHH, MD

[HHH,MD]

And don't have sex with your partner, with or without a condom, until you have been diagnosed and both have been treated.

HHH, MD

[Imdumb]

Dr - you mention then getting tested.  One question about that.  What is the instance of false positives in men when the test is done at an STD clinic using the urethral swab method?

[Imdumb]

The above comment was refering to gon. And chlmydia assuming the test was done more than two weeks after exposure.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

False positive results are rare with all gonorrhea/chlamydia tests, whether collected by swab or urine (and depend more on the specific test, of which there are several options, than on whether collected by swab).  More important, false positive results are unheard-of in people like Saruk who have symptoms such as urethral discharge.

HHH, MD

[Imdumb]

What about false negatives?  How common are they in men?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

False negatives virtually never occur in men with symptomatic urethritis.

HHH, MD

[wagimintopbanget]

A related discussion, Is it accurate? was started.