Aa
STD? Anxiety?
Here's a quick timeline:
11/19-received unprotected oral, protected vaginal from an escort. my only unprotected event ever away from s/o
11/21-started thinking I felt a tingling in penis; mind starts racing
11/23-still felt tingling, no discharge and no burning when peeing; went to Urgent Care clinic, was physically checked for symptoms and tested for Chlam and Gon; received shot for Gon and 1000mg Azithromycin (took the remaining 250mg following 2 days
11/25-clinic called to inform me the lab lost my urine sample...unreal!
12/2-went to Dermatologist b/c still felt dull throbbing sensation and meatus seemed a little pink and inflamed, still no discharge or pain from urinating or masturbation; physical exam showed no evidence of herpes or typical Gon symptoms; he gave another shot for Gon and doxy for 10 days to be safe
12/9-meatus still seems inflamed; went and got a full STD panel, incl trich - no results yet
12/11-scheduled a lab test for m.genitalia on Friday (12/13)
One more note: everything seems fine when I wake up. it's throughout the day that my meatus seems to get irritated from rubbing against my underwear and I fell a dull throbbing sensation.
What more can I do? Are there other tests I should be getting? Having a hard time believing it's anxiety given meatus inflamation, is that possible? I suppose it's possible I've inflamed my meatus through constant observation, but I dont think ive been milking or touching it much.
11/19-received unprotected oral, protected vaginal from an escort. my only unprotected event ever away from s/o
11/21-started thinking I felt a tingling in penis; mind starts racing
11/23-still felt tingling, no discharge and no burning when peeing; went to Urgent Care clinic, was physically checked for symptoms and tested for Chlam and Gon; received shot for Gon and 1000mg Azithromycin (took the remaining 250mg following 2 days
11/25-clinic called to inform me the lab lost my urine sample...unreal!
12/2-went to Dermatologist b/c still felt dull throbbing sensation and meatus seemed a little pink and inflamed, still no discharge or pain from urinating or masturbation; physical exam showed no evidence of herpes or typical Gon symptoms; he gave another shot for Gon and doxy for 10 days to be safe
12/9-meatus still seems inflamed; went and got a full STD panel, incl trich - no results yet
12/11-scheduled a lab test for m.genitalia on Friday (12/13)
One more note: everything seems fine when I wake up. it's throughout the day that my meatus seems to get irritated from rubbing against my underwear and I fell a dull throbbing sensation.
What more can I do? Are there other tests I should be getting? Having a hard time believing it's anxiety given meatus inflamation, is that possible? I suppose it's possible I've inflamed my meatus through constant observation, but I dont think ive been milking or touching it much.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I have no other advice, except that I recommend you resume normal sexual relations with your partner.
gdiggety, I just sent you a message, same thing Dr. Ed said as Dr. HHH.
Check your MyMedHelp > Inbox.
Just trying to help...
Check your MyMedHelp > Inbox.
Just trying to help...
Hi Dr. - hope you had a great holiday! Looking for a little assurance. I am still experiencing sensitivity in head of penis so I saw a urologist who physically checked me out and also said he saw no inflammation in my urine sample (not sure how he checked it so quickly). He suggested this was anxiety/guilt driving real symptoms. I also had another STD panel done at 6 weeks and everything came back negative (HIV, Hep B, Hep C, HSV1, HSV2, Syph, Chlam, Gon).
(1) I have an appointment with a psychologist next week, but is there anything else I should be testing for?
(2) I have not resumed sex with my partner out of fear. I can deal with these symptoms if confident nothing will pass to her. If me, would you resume unprotected sex with your partner?
Thank you! Your responses are so appreciated!!!
(1) I have an appointment with a psychologist next week, but is there anything else I should be testing for?
(2) I have not resumed sex with my partner out of fear. I can deal with these symptoms if confident nothing will pass to her. If me, would you resume unprotected sex with your partner?
Thank you! Your responses are so appreciated!!!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
1) No further testing is necessary.
2) You can safely resume sex with your partner.
3) No, I have never had a patient with symptoms like yours, with negative tests, who turned out to have any STD.
Here is a reply I gave to another forum user just yesterday. It applies well to your situation:
"Not all symptoms mean disease. Sprained ankles hurt long after the orthopedist pronounces cure, low back pain is part of the human condition, and everyone gets tension headaches or unexplained abdominal pain from time to time. Mostly we ignore such symptoms and go on with our lives. But the genitals probably have a special place in our psyches, at least for some people. But when all reasonable attempts have been made to assure nothing serious or easily treatable is present, it is time to suck it up and move on. I'm confident no harm of any kind will ever come to you or your partner. Once you come to accept and understand this, you may find your symptoms fade away -- just as they usually do with the back pains, headaches, and sore joints most humans live with or ignore."
That will end this thread. Happy holidays--
2) You can safely resume sex with your partner.
3) No, I have never had a patient with symptoms like yours, with negative tests, who turned out to have any STD.
Here is a reply I gave to another forum user just yesterday. It applies well to your situation:
"Not all symptoms mean disease. Sprained ankles hurt long after the orthopedist pronounces cure, low back pain is part of the human condition, and everyone gets tension headaches or unexplained abdominal pain from time to time. Mostly we ignore such symptoms and go on with our lives. But the genitals probably have a special place in our psyches, at least for some people. But when all reasonable attempts have been made to assure nothing serious or easily treatable is present, it is time to suck it up and move on. I'm confident no harm of any kind will ever come to you or your partner. Once you come to accept and understand this, you may find your symptoms fade away -- just as they usually do with the back pains, headaches, and sore joints most humans live with or ignore."
That will end this thread. Happy holidays--
Hi Dr. - definitely no shock to you but I just received my test results and they all came back negative (HIV, Hep B, Hep C, HSV1, HSV2, Syph, Chlam, Gon, Trich, M Genitalium). Unfortunately, I am still experiencing sensitivity in head of penis - I've had to switch from boxers to briefs to reduce rubbing sensitivity, and my meatus still seems more pink than normal. I will admit my constant reading of posts on this forum and throughout the internet is probably fueling my anxiety.
(1) I've had no physical evidence of herpes (and have been checked 3 times by doctors - noted above), but it seems I tested too early...at 3 weeks Would you recommend I get tested again? When?
(2) Given my first question, do you think it is safe for me to resume unprotected sex with my partner? So nervous...
(3) There's a ton of a scary stuff on the Internet re: my symptoms. Have you had patients that have presented with these types of symptoms and negative test results, that eventually see the symptoms fade as they accept they are ok? Obviously, I would like to let some time pass before going back to a doctor.
Thank you so much for the help you provide us!!!
(1) I've had no physical evidence of herpes (and have been checked 3 times by doctors - noted above), but it seems I tested too early...at 3 weeks Would you recommend I get tested again? When?
(2) Given my first question, do you think it is safe for me to resume unprotected sex with my partner? So nervous...
(3) There's a ton of a scary stuff on the Internet re: my symptoms. Have you had patients that have presented with these types of symptoms and negative test results, that eventually see the symptoms fade as they accept they are ok? Obviously, I would like to let some time pass before going back to a doctor.
Thank you so much for the help you provide us!!!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Obviously your STD clinic doc and I are on the same page. Our identical evaluations and advice should give you confidence that we are both right. There is no realistic chance of false negative test result; you can rely on the negative results when you get them.
Thank you so much for your response. You offer a wonderful service here. My 12/2 visit with Dr was at an STD Clinic. In fact, I went back last night (12/11) to see him before reading your response. He performed another physical exam and saw no evidence of anything. He said to let him know how my test results came out but he was betting they will all be negative and this is being caused by anxiety. I'm still struggling to believe and hope test results will give me peace of mind. I will let you know and won't even contemplate the chance of a false negative.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
You had a low risk exposure. Condoms work to protect against urethritis from vaginal sex, and unprotected oral sex is low risk. And your symptoms are not typical for any STD. It's too bad your urine specimen was lost before testing was done, but I'm quite sure the results would have been negative and I doubt you have (or had) any STD. The reason your symptoms have persisted despite all those antibiotics is that no infection is responsible. There is a slight chance you have viral urethritis, of which there are two main causes: herpes (usually due to HSV-1, as expected from oral sex) or adenovirus (not a traditional STD, just a cold virus that can be transmitted by oral exposure). However, I doubt this explanation; in either of these, the symptoms would have cleared up by now.
Most likely the only problem here is genitally focused anxiety, which has magnified minor symptoms or normal body sensations that you otherwise would have ignored or not even noticed. I am confident your other STD tests (including trichomonas and Mycoplasma genitalium) will be negative. Trich is not acquired by oral sex, and M. genitalium probably not.
What doctor or clinic is directing your care at this point? Are you being seen in an STD or GUM clinic? If so, I suggest you continue to follow their advice. However, if your remaining tests are negative, as expected, then even if your symptoms persist, my advice would be to not have any additional treatment; to just sit tight, expecting your symptoms to eventually clear up; and to resume or continue sex with your regular partner. Whatever is going on, there is no evidence of any infection that would harm a partner.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You had a low risk exposure. Condoms work to protect against urethritis from vaginal sex, and unprotected oral sex is low risk. And your symptoms are not typical for any STD. It's too bad your urine specimen was lost before testing was done, but I'm quite sure the results would have been negative and I doubt you have (or had) any STD. The reason your symptoms have persisted despite all those antibiotics is that no infection is responsible. There is a slight chance you have viral urethritis, of which there are two main causes: herpes (usually due to HSV-1, as expected from oral sex) or adenovirus (not a traditional STD, just a cold virus that can be transmitted by oral exposure). However, I doubt this explanation; in either of these, the symptoms would have cleared up by now.
Most likely the only problem here is genitally focused anxiety, which has magnified minor symptoms or normal body sensations that you otherwise would have ignored or not even noticed. I am confident your other STD tests (including trichomonas and Mycoplasma genitalium) will be negative. Trich is not acquired by oral sex, and M. genitalium probably not.
What doctor or clinic is directing your care at this point? Are you being seen in an STD or GUM clinic? If so, I suggest you continue to follow their advice. However, if your remaining tests are negative, as expected, then even if your symptoms persist, my advice would be to not have any additional treatment; to just sit tight, expecting your symptoms to eventually clear up; and to resume or continue sex with your regular partner. Whatever is going on, there is no evidence of any infection that would harm a partner.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
