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Can epididymitis be caused by symptomless chlamydia or gonorrhea?
I have a question regarding my epididymitis and if I have an STD. I'm 34 years old, male, straight.
I had sex with a female 8 days and 22 days before this posting. I was covered with a condom properly, I believe, but there was oral without a condom.
I started to feel bad around 5 or 6 days ago. I did have some malaise or tiredness around the onset, but I think that could happen to anyone, can't it? I had some decreased appetite, which later scared me when I read about it as an HIV symptom. But all in all, I realized that I never really had a significant case of it. My current appetite is much closer to normal since I started my treatment, and if this were clearly HIV, it wouldn't explain it much, so for now, I guess I should leave HIV out of the equation until I can get tested when it's closer to the 60-day point. In Japan, you can't really get an earlier HIV test it seems, unless I'm wrong.
When my symptoms began:
This is why when I think back, my symptoms started vaguely 5-6 days. But I had no real symptoms, just worry. I first noticed a lump 4 days ago.
But the thing is, I don't have any of the symptoms of chlamydia or gonorrhea except "frequent urination," which is also a symptom of epididymitis according to some web pages, yet it is possible that it's only mentioned as a epididymitis symptom because of this association. I know that it is said that you may not have all the symptoms of C or G, yet I find it a little odd that I have had pretty much no major symptom other than the main symptoms of epididymitis.
My symptoms:
1) Frequent urination (this is the only symptom that is mainly shared with C or G).
2) Hard lump in the left testicle from 4 days ago until about today. (I went to the doctor and started levofloxacin, 100mg x3 a day for over 7 days. I live in Japan, so yes, this dosage is 100% correct. I read somewhere that people thought this dosage is not possible). I've been checking all day and it really seemed to have disappeared, but the testicle is still weak and sensitive, so maybe it's possible that 1.3 days of levofloxacin treatment could have cured the lump part, although the testicle is still in a weak stage.
3) The left testicle has been noticeable tenderer and weaker than the right one, so I believe it's the left one.
4) Discomfort in the lower abdomen and groin, but not pain.
5) This isn't really mentioned so clearly on most web sites, but from 4 days ago until yesterday morning, my scrotum hung out a lot (drooped) a lot and penis was in a very flaccid state (same time frame as my lump). It felt like what I might expect my penis to be like when I'm 70. After I started the levofloxacin yesterday, my penis shape seemed to return to normal to an extent. I'm very glad about this.
Symptoms I'm surprised I don't have:
1) I'm very surprised I have no pain when I urinate. I haven't ejaculated or gotten stiff in about 4-6 days. I think my penis is just too tired right now, so I'm not worried about that part at all.
Other than that, I may have or have had some other symptoms, but they either lasted too briefly, like one instance or so and/or mild, so they could have even been part-psychological. It might be a bigger disservice to mention them, because it could lead to misinformation, unless you think I should mention it in case I'm missing something. (I am a layman - meaning I don't have much medical knowledge)
So though I'm sure I must have chlam or gonorrhea, I just don't know why I seem to have not many symptoms of them. I could have gotten C from the first encounter and G from the 1st or 2nd, according to the net research about standard incubation/ and signs of symptoms rates.
Any thoughts?
I had sex with a female 8 days and 22 days before this posting. I was covered with a condom properly, I believe, but there was oral without a condom.
I started to feel bad around 5 or 6 days ago. I did have some malaise or tiredness around the onset, but I think that could happen to anyone, can't it? I had some decreased appetite, which later scared me when I read about it as an HIV symptom. But all in all, I realized that I never really had a significant case of it. My current appetite is much closer to normal since I started my treatment, and if this were clearly HIV, it wouldn't explain it much, so for now, I guess I should leave HIV out of the equation until I can get tested when it's closer to the 60-day point. In Japan, you can't really get an earlier HIV test it seems, unless I'm wrong.
When my symptoms began:
This is why when I think back, my symptoms started vaguely 5-6 days. But I had no real symptoms, just worry. I first noticed a lump 4 days ago.
But the thing is, I don't have any of the symptoms of chlamydia or gonorrhea except "frequent urination," which is also a symptom of epididymitis according to some web pages, yet it is possible that it's only mentioned as a epididymitis symptom because of this association. I know that it is said that you may not have all the symptoms of C or G, yet I find it a little odd that I have had pretty much no major symptom other than the main symptoms of epididymitis.
My symptoms:
1) Frequent urination (this is the only symptom that is mainly shared with C or G).
2) Hard lump in the left testicle from 4 days ago until about today. (I went to the doctor and started levofloxacin, 100mg x3 a day for over 7 days. I live in Japan, so yes, this dosage is 100% correct. I read somewhere that people thought this dosage is not possible). I've been checking all day and it really seemed to have disappeared, but the testicle is still weak and sensitive, so maybe it's possible that 1.3 days of levofloxacin treatment could have cured the lump part, although the testicle is still in a weak stage.
3) The left testicle has been noticeable tenderer and weaker than the right one, so I believe it's the left one.
4) Discomfort in the lower abdomen and groin, but not pain.
5) This isn't really mentioned so clearly on most web sites, but from 4 days ago until yesterday morning, my scrotum hung out a lot (drooped) a lot and penis was in a very flaccid state (same time frame as my lump). It felt like what I might expect my penis to be like when I'm 70. After I started the levofloxacin yesterday, my penis shape seemed to return to normal to an extent. I'm very glad about this.
Symptoms I'm surprised I don't have:
1) I'm very surprised I have no pain when I urinate. I haven't ejaculated or gotten stiff in about 4-6 days. I think my penis is just too tired right now, so I'm not worried about that part at all.
Other than that, I may have or have had some other symptoms, but they either lasted too briefly, like one instance or so and/or mild, so they could have even been part-psychological. It might be a bigger disservice to mention them, because it could lead to misinformation, unless you think I should mention it in case I'm missing something. (I am a layman - meaning I don't have much medical knowledge)
So though I'm sure I must have chlam or gonorrhea, I just don't know why I seem to have not many symptoms of them. I could have gotten C from the first encounter and G from the 1st or 2nd, according to the net research about standard incubation/ and signs of symptoms rates.
Any thoughts?
I was surprised that my results were in because it was only the 4th day since I took the test and it's usually a week. The test came back negative for both G and C. He said it was probably due to 雑菌 (ざっきん) which means saprophytic bacteria or microorganisms. He said that it could have come through from any direction, even orally. Even though I didn't have really hard sex, I guess there's no way to know for sure, but just to say it probably went through my urethra somehow, like through my penis. It's not impossible for bacteria to get in since I did have uncovered oral sex. Basically, it could have been a UTI but I wasn't really checked for it. I still kind of like the theory that my thinner skin on my scrotum could have allowed it to pass through, although I don't know if that leads bacteria to the urethra or not.
Anyhow, I'm mostly reporting this so that anyone else who has this might benefit from knowing the outcome.
Anyhow, I'm mostly reporting this so that anyone else who has this might benefit from knowing the outcome.
Thank you Vance. I agree with you. For the reason you've stated, I'm completely boggled myself. "How did I get epididymitis?" I'm asking myself and the forum.
I should clarify and also update. For one thing, I think we first need to agree that something caused my epididymitis, right? Well, nothing happened in my life except for the sex I had recently (without going into further detail), so I we need to accept the two instances of sex as "a given" for being related to my epididymitis.
Now that that is accepted, it is possible that I don't have C, or G, like you said. I forgot if I indicated that I was given a C and G test 2 days ago, but the results won't be in right away. Hopefully, I can get them after 6 days, rather than 7.
Update in my situation:
What did happen was that 1 day before my first post and 2 days before this post, I got levofloxacin from my doctor after he checked me. After taking 1/7 of my medicine, the epididymitis disappeared but my left ball was still fragile. Now I've taken 2/7 of my medicine and my left ball seemed nearly normal now. It feels fairly close to normal down there . Also, I don't have enough of any other symptoms now at this point to report any sign of STD, but I will continue to take my remaining 5/7 of levofloxacin unless I get side effects.
Update in my understanding:
I now understand that levofloxacin can cure E. I thought it had to cure C or G, which would in turn cure my E. But it seems, though I'd like someone to confirm it if you have any knowledge, that levofloxacin directly cures E.
New question:
Epididymitis was cured by levofloxacin in 2 days but why and what caused my E in the first place?
Theory:
Maybe my scrotum skin was weak during sex and it got infected during the sex process, but not by any STD. Maybe I didn't need the levofloxacin but the C and G test results aren't out yet and by the time it is, I will have finished most of the medicine anyway.
I now think the chances of G are nearly 0% based on what Vance said and something I read by a doctor on this forum. Maybe there's a 10-20% chance of C? At least C can be symptomless, right? Of course I believe I used my condom correctly, so I adjusted it to 10-20%. Any thoughts? Can Chlamydia enter through the skin of a weak scrotum?
I should clarify and also update. For one thing, I think we first need to agree that something caused my epididymitis, right? Well, nothing happened in my life except for the sex I had recently (without going into further detail), so I we need to accept the two instances of sex as "a given" for being related to my epididymitis.
Now that that is accepted, it is possible that I don't have C, or G, like you said. I forgot if I indicated that I was given a C and G test 2 days ago, but the results won't be in right away. Hopefully, I can get them after 6 days, rather than 7.
Update in my situation:
What did happen was that 1 day before my first post and 2 days before this post, I got levofloxacin from my doctor after he checked me. After taking 1/7 of my medicine, the epididymitis disappeared but my left ball was still fragile. Now I've taken 2/7 of my medicine and my left ball seemed nearly normal now. It feels fairly close to normal down there . Also, I don't have enough of any other symptoms now at this point to report any sign of STD, but I will continue to take my remaining 5/7 of levofloxacin unless I get side effects.
Update in my understanding:
I now understand that levofloxacin can cure E. I thought it had to cure C or G, which would in turn cure my E. But it seems, though I'd like someone to confirm it if you have any knowledge, that levofloxacin directly cures E.
New question:
Epididymitis was cured by levofloxacin in 2 days but why and what caused my E in the first place?
Theory:
Maybe my scrotum skin was weak during sex and it got infected during the sex process, but not by any STD. Maybe I didn't need the levofloxacin but the C and G test results aren't out yet and by the time it is, I will have finished most of the medicine anyway.
I now think the chances of G are nearly 0% based on what Vance said and something I read by a doctor on this forum. Maybe there's a 10-20% chance of C? At least C can be symptomless, right? Of course I believe I used my condom correctly, so I adjusted it to 10-20%. Any thoughts? Can Chlamydia enter through the skin of a weak scrotum?
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