Need your pro. help

[okwell]

So I'm pretty sure I have Gonorrhea...I got tested this week and get my results on monday. Just have a few questions for you.

1.) I belive I got this from my girlfriend.....but she has no signs or symtoms at all why is that?
2.) How long will Gonorrhea clear up by taking the right antibotics?
3.) I've read that some gonorrhea has become immunne to antibotics is this true.
4.) If my result come back positive that means my girlfriend also has this STI how long do we have to wait to have intercourse because I have heard that we could pass the germ back and forth to each other is this true?
5.) What kind of antibotics are needed for gonorrhea?
6.) Last question: is it true if you do have gonorrhea it can clear up by itself in time?

Thank you again Doctor I never thought I would be posting such questions about this paticular situation. I apprecite your medical knowledge and totally respect your insite thanks.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Usually the diagnosis of gonorrhea in men is confirmed on the spot, by examining urethral discharge under the microscope.  It is atypical to have to await results a few days later.  If you didn't see a health care provider -- for example, if you used an impersonal (e.g. online) testing service, I urge you to not wait for those results but to visit your local health department STD clinic today for proper evaluation and treatment.  If you really have gonorrhea, it would be a mistake -- perhaps a serious one -- to wait another 3 days before treatment.  It is especially important that your partner be examined, tested and perhaps treated without waiting an unnecessary 3 days, which would increase the chance she could get a serious complication.

If you have yellowish (pus colored) discharge from the penis, gonorrhea is a good bet.  If no discharge or if the discharge is white or mucus with white streaks, gonorrhea is less likely.  In any case, there is a lot of overlap in symptoms of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and nongonococcal urethritis (NGU).  However, the rest of this assume your self-diagnosis is correct.

1) Most women with gonorrhea have no symptoms, unless they get complications.  

2) Symptoms usually start to improve in a day or two and are entirely gone in a week.

3) Some gonorrhea strains are resistant to some antibiotics.  This problem is increasing in recent years.  However, the standard recommended treatments remain highly effective.

4) The standard recommendation is that you and your gf should avoid sex for a week after you both have been treated.

5) See a provider and follow his or her recommendations about treatment.  The usual antibiotics are a single dose of ceftriaxone (by injection) or certain other drugs by mouth, plus treatment for chlamydia, which is also present in about a quarter of men with gonorrhea.

6) Most infections in humans clear up on their own, given enough time.  This is true for gonorrhea.  It typically takes several weeks to several months.  In the meantime, serious complications can occur.  Do not be tempted to go without treatment.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[okwell]

Thank you doctor your insite is very helpfull to my problem. When I went to the doctor the only symtom I had was experincing was burning when using the rest room. a few days later I noticed some discharge. I ruled it out as pre. *** later I noticed more of a yellowish discharge. I told my girlfriend get tested asap . I took urine test and now am waiting until monday to find out results, from my doctor. But almost positive it is in fact gonorrhea. Is waiting this weekend for diagnose on monday is it a major deal or should I seek medical attention RIGHT AWAY?? The reason why I ask this is my Insurance is expired and it is a pretty penny to get to the doctors right now. But he did in fact say if it was gonorrhea or chamydie he would notify me and give me the proper treatment. I also have been trying to detox my body with cranberry juice and water just to help flush my system and taking vitams to stay healthy in this time of infection. thank you again doctor Handsfield.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

All you can be sure about at this point is that you have urethritis; it could be gonorrhea, chlamydia, or NGU due to something other than chlamydia.  I don't know how your doctor can be so sure it isn't nonchlamydial NGU, which is more common than both the others put together.  However, with the yellowish discharge, I agree gonorrhea is likely.

Proper medical practice in this situation is to treat right away, without waiting for the test results.  If your doctor documented that you indeed have urethritis, that is what should have been done.  (And if you told him you had increasing discharge, you should have been reexamined, not just had a urine test.)

Three days is a long time to wait on gonorrhea treatment.  It could become quite painful and complications could become a significant risk, like epididymitis (testicle infection) or even sufficient inflammation to lead to later urethral stricture.  I strongly recommend you either insist on seeing your doc today for treatment, or visit your local health department -- where the care will be highly expert, highly confidential, and cheap, maybe free.  Take your gf with you and you both will get proper treatment on the spot.

Cranberry juice, vitamins, et will not have the slightest effect in controlling your symtoms or preventing complications.  That's all magic, not science. The only such thing that might make a slight difference would be to drink lots of fluids, to keep your urine volume and urinary frequency high, which will tend to reduce the discomfort on voiding.  But that's all.

Don't mess around with this.  Just go do it.

[okwell]

I went to the doctors and they said chlamydia and gonorrhea and it came back negitive. But I told the doctor about my discharge and buring again so he's treating me with antibotic (antibiotic) called doxycyline 100mg. So do you think it's something else or did the test just come back wrong? What are the other possiblties do you think it could be?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Read my reply above.  I told you there were 3 possibilities.  Two of them have been ruled out by the negative tests.  Therefore, assuming you have urethritis (which I cannot confirm), you have nonchlamydial NGU.  It is sexually acquired, caused by several different germs; the cause is unknown in many cases.  Doxycycline is the correct treatment.  Both your girlfriend and the person you caught it from need to be treated.