Chlymidia?

[Rick12341]

I am 45 year old white male.  I had a massage and got a covered ** about 6 weeks ago.   I have been having pain in my testicle for about 3 weeks.  I have a cyst on my epididymis.  I was diagnosed with the 14 years ago and it does flare occasionally usually 2-3 days not weeks.  

When I got back from my trip I took 6 days of cipro, just a precaution.  I was feeling OK then about 3 weeks ago I started with testicle pain.  

Saw my urolo 2 weeks ago.  My urinalaysis was neg for blood & white blood cells.  For bacteria it said none/few???  He did a physical & prostate exam, and everything seemed OK.  

I recently read cipro doesnt kill chlymidia.  I took some levaquin i had lying around for 7 days, and then took 2 grams of zithromax yesterday.    

I have had no dripping/discharge, no burning urination, can ejacuate without pain, no fever/chills/sweats.  The testicle pain is "moderate to mild" most of the time but i did have one night of severe pain.  I also have periods of time where I have no pain.

My Questions are:

1.  If I got something, what bacteria would cause something like what I am describing?
2.  Would the meds I took have killed it?
3.  If the condom broke could the girl have had chlymidia in her throat and passed it to me?
4.  If you get chlymidia the symptoms can be asymptomatic, but if you have symptoms would they be persistent or come and go?
5.  Can anxiety/worry symptoms include pain like that?
6.  The pain could be from the cyst, maybe it grew or got aggravated, I will find out tomorrow when I see my PCP to get the sonogram results - which would be a coincidence to my bad judgement event 6 weeks ago.  Where I have the pain is in the area of the cyst.

Any other thoughts?  Other than making better decisions which I am committed to do, getting off isn’t worth this stress!

Thanks!

[Rick12341]

Thanks Doc!  Feel free to use me as an example :)  I think about this and realize I am probably being a worry wart, after typing that out it even makes less sense that I could have something.   Obsessing on the issue combined with the internet certainly are an anxiety cocktail :)   I need to let this go and will work on it.  The psychological side of this is more prevalent and common that the actual disease side isnt it?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome back to the forum.

Initial reply, based entirely on the title ("Chlamydia") and the opening lines which I interpret as meaning you received oral sex with a condom:  Oral sex is considered safe sex, even without a condom -- the overall STD risk is much lower than with vaginal or anal sex, and virtually zero risk for some STDs.  One of those is chlamydia, which is rarely carried in the oral cavity and therefore rarely transmitted by oral sex.  And with a condom that doesn't break wide open, there is absolutely zero risk for any and all STDs.

Now having read the rest of your quetion:  Your mild symptoms were not alarming -- based on that fact and the nature of the exposure, I would have advised there was no need to see a physician or be tested for STDs, and certainly no need for antibiotic treatment.  STDs do not cause testicular pain that comes and goes, especially without other symptoms such as abnormal urethral discharge.  To your specific questions:

1) No STD, either bacterial or viral, causes such symptoms.

2) You need to stop treating yourself with antibiotics lying around.  However, those treatments would have cured any and all bacterial STDs that you could possibly have.

3) This is a somewhat irrational "what if" question.  It's pointless to speculate about something that obviously didn't happen!  But the answer io that there still would have been no risk for chlamydia.

4) Another speculative "what if" question.  You couldn't have caught chlamydia, so it's pointless and I have no comment about it.

5) Yes.  Your symptoms are typical for genitally focused anxiety.  I could use your story to teach medical students about it.  (And maybe I will!)

6) This isn't an STD issue, so I have no comment on it.

Obviously you are suffering anguish, guilt, and shame over a sexual decision you regret, and that's the only significant health problem here.  From an STD standpoint, you did not make any kind of "bad decision".  It's human to seek sexual release, including commercial sex from time to time; and you did it with absolute safety, since you had only oral sex and used a condom.

I hope these comments have helped ease your mind.

HHH, MD