Monogamy

I've just been diagnosed with Chlamydia.  I've been with someone for the past 7 months and thought it was a monogomous relationship.  She was infected over a year and a half ago and was treated.  I  have a few questions:

1)  Can a person have recurrent epidsodes after proper treatment?

2) Is is possible for two monogomous people to get Chlamydia w/out being with an infected partner?    

3) Can you be with someone for 7 consecutive months then finally start having symptoms?  I did get symptoms (burning urinations & discharge) or is this something that can come on at anytime?  (would I have known in the 1st few months)

4) Does Chlamydia lay repressed like Herpes?  Can someone have it and not transmit it then all of a sudden start trasmitting it again?

5) If I tested negative once during this 7 month period but positive now, is it possible for it to have laid dormant or passed on at a later time?

Needing to know

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It would be useful to know exactly how your chlamydial infection was diagnosed.  If it was a lab test, just what test was done? Was it done on urine or a urethral swab?   Some of the answers below might be a little different, depending on the answers.

1) Treatment failure sometimes happens but is uncommon.  It is slightly more frequent with some treatments (e.g. single-dose azithromycin) than others (e.g. doxycycline, assuming doxy is taken correctly for the full 7-day course).

2) No, chlamydial infection cannot come out of the blue. Somebody has to acquire it sexually and bring it into a relationship.

3) Mostly men get symptoms within a week or two, so most likely you were not infected for several months before your discharge and burning started.  But it is possible and there is no way to know for sure.

4) Not quite like herpes, but yes:  if a person is treated and the infection is only suppressed but not cured, it can pop up again later.  And if someone has a fairly low grade infection, it might not be transmitted to a partner for a long time, maybe many months.

5) I don't understand this question; it seems the same as no. 4.  It is unlikely your test 7 months ago was falsely negative, but that depends on exactly what test was done at that time.

Bottom line:  I cannot tell with certainty whether your partner has had it all along or when she infected you; and I cannot tell whether she might have had another partner within the last few months.  That seems a pretty good bet, but not necessarily.  You and she clearly need to have a forthright but sensitive conversation.  Before that, discuss the diagnosis with your health care provider to know for sure that s/he considers your test result to be reliable.

Good luck--  HHH, MD