chlamydia and what more?

[SFHelp123]

Let me walk you thru a timeline of events:

7/2004: I had unprotected sex
4/2005: I had no symptoms, but I wanted to be sure I was negative for STDs due to my unprotected sexual encounter in 7/2004. Blood test for HIV was non-reactive. Urine test for chlamydia and gonorrhea was negative
late 6/2005: Practiced protected sex with my girlfriend 3-4times/week.
7/2005: Gilfriend begins taking birth control
late 7/2005: Began having unprotected sex with my girlfriend 4-5times/week
7-9/2005: Gilfriend has spotting between her mensual cycle. Nothing else unusual. Said that she had experienced spotting in the past with various types of birth control.
mid 10/2005: Girlfriend experiences lots of pain during sex, says she experiences discharge. Girlfriend sees a doctor. Doctors diagnoses her with a yeast infection. Doctor has her take over the counter medicine. GF not tested for STDs. Yeast infection and pain disappears several days later. A day or so later, we have unprotected sex. The next day, I notice that my penis itches a bit. I also have pain during urination. I brush it off. Subtle itching continues to occur. I visit doctor two weeks later. I test positive for chlamydia. I'm prescriped four pills which I take that night. I notify GF the day I test positive. GF visits doctor. GF takes same medicine the following day. GF gets tested. GF Swab tests are negative for chlamydia and gonorrhea. GF Blood tests are non-reactive for HIV.

I get retested 7 days after I tested positive for chlamydia and after my one day of medication. My urine tests are negative for chlamydia and gonorrhea, blood tests and non-reactive for HIV, and negative for syphillis. We have unprotected sex again.

A week later, I still have more pronounced symptoms. Still itching on tip of penis and burning after urinating. Slight pain in testicles. I see doctor. Doctor suspects I have urethritis. Doctor prescripes 20 pills of 100mg doxycyline, which I take 2x/day for 10 days. Symptoms do not go away. In fact, I feel more pain in my testicles now. I also have stomach pain. GF experienced pain during sex a couple of days ago.

All of this leads me frustrated and confused. GF has not had sex since beginning of 2005. Our first sexual encounter was in june 2005. Is it possible for to have chlamydia and not show any symptoms for in her case 6+months, my case 12+months? How can I test positive and she negative when we had unprotected sex 30+ times since I was diagnosed? What is the false positive (and negative) for a chamydia urine test? Can you think of any other reason why I'm in pain.

I'm seeing a urologist this friday. Where should I go from here?

Keep up the great work =)

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It is very common for women to carry chlamydia for 6+ months, often a year, and rarely up to 4 years.  So the odds are that your partner brought chlamydia into your relationship and you acquired your infection from her.  People with chronic chlamydial infection eventually clear it up on their own, so her negative test--even though you developed a positive test--is understandable.  (I suspect your partner's symptoms were indeed due to yeast, and that her chlamydial infection was asymptomatic.)  You don't say your partner was treated for chlamydia, but I asssume she was; that is essential.

Your current symptoms sound like you could indeed have persistent nonchlamydial, nongonococcal urethritis (NGU).  However, I'm not at all certain; true urethritis almost always would improve with doxycycline.  If there is no abnormal discharge, and if urinalysis does not show eleveted white blood cells, then it is likely that no further therapy is required.  Symptoms alone do not necessarily indicate continuing infection; just as a sprained ankle may hurt from time to time for months after complete healing, genital discomfort often follows STDs without meaning anything important.  Your current symptoms also are consistent with anxiety-generated sensitivity to otherwise normal body sensations.

I'm not sure seeing a urologist is a great idea.   Without intending to demean an entire specialty, most urologists are not well trained in STD.  An alternative is to just sit tight for a couple of weeks; be sure your partner was treated for chlamydia (if not, she should be treated now, while you are taking doxycycline--even if her most recent test is negative).  To play it extra safe, avoid sex (e.g., stick with hand jobs) or use condoms consistently for the next few weeks.  I'll bet that over time, all your symptoms fade and all will be back to normal.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[frnkbates]

Hi, I am not a doctor but i suspect his response will be that you had a negative test for chlamydia 9 months after your exposure so it is unlikely that you had chlamydia. It is possible for a female to carry chlamydia for a long time- rarely up to 4 years without symptoms so it is much more likely that she already had chlamydia before your relationship with her especially as you say you didn't notice any symptoms until after you started having unprotected sex. The dr will give you more info but i am sure he will say much the same thing, but we will have to wait and see. One thing though as chlamydia is often "silent" with no symptoms and she had this before your relationship i hope it doesnt affect your feelings towards her, after all we all have history and she has just been plain unlucky. Good Luck - Frank

[monkeyflower]

I think false positives are not uncommon for chlamydia, so it could be that you never had chlamydia at all. And if your gf's symptoms abated after taking meds for a yeast infection, I think it'd make sense that her symptoms weren't due to chlamydia, either. Besides, she tested negative.

So, maybe you contracted her yeast infection. I gave my husband one once, although he only had itching and redness, none of your other symptoms - and I'd think a doctor would recognize that anyway. Hopefully Dr. Handsfield will reply soon; it'll be interesting to read what he thinks.

[candlelover58]

I was falsely diagnosed with chlamydia in May 2003. I had been taking 2 antiobiotics that were prescribed after being diagnosed with diverticultis in the ER in April 2003. Went to my doctor because I had symptoms of a yeast infection (had them before). Doctor's diagnosis was candidiasis on 4/28/03. On 5/5/03 got a phone call from doctor's office saying I tested positive for chlamydia and they called in a prescription for zithromax (4 - 250 mg). I was shocked and in disbelief as I had not had sex with anyone but my husband. My husband was told to have testing done, and his results came back negative. I told the doctor that this couldn't be true as I never cheated on my husband. I should have requested a second test, but I didn't (beat myself up about this all the time). Went back to doctor's office on 5/16/03 and the diagnosis was still candidiasis, not chlamydia. ?? Had really put all of this behind me, but my husband and I separated in May 2004 and he filed for divorce. I think we could work things out if I had some way of proving that my test result was incorrect. He wants proof of my innocence. The statute of limitations has expired so I can not get help from a lawfirm that specializes in medical malpractice. My next step is to contact my state epidemiologist and see what they can do for me. This situation is tearing me apart. I know I'm innocent and God knows I'm innocent, but my husband thinks otherwise.

[monkeyflower]

Mistakes happen in all areas, including medicine, and in my opinion an inaccurate test result isn't malpractice. But jeez, I can certainly understand how frustrating and upsetting this must be for you, wanting to prove your innocence but being unable to do so.

However, there's another way you could look at this. I think you might ask yourself why you'd want to stay with someone who doesn't trust you and doesn't believe you. You may have had a false positive, but your husband chose not to believe you and chose to get divorced over this. So stop torturing yourself. Yes, things could have been different, but this is where you are right now, and that's the only thing you can change. Seek counseling to help you figure this whole thing out, and help you get past this and move on in your life. Depending on the current situation, maybe he'd even come along with you. No matter what, though, there are better things ahead. :-)

I wish you the best.

[belle70]

I attended an oriental massage parlor 1.5 weeks ago. the session consisted of a table shower where she scrubbed all parts of my body with a washcloth and a nude massage whereas the girl rubbed her body all over mine. I began getting itching symptoms on the tip of my penis along with an urge to urinate. I then got symptoms of pink eye. Is is possible to get Chlamydia from these spas in the absence of intercourse?