Oh, and lastly if re-infection occurs and is caught early is there significant increased risk for PID? Also, is it realistic to be concerned about the new study showing that chlamydia can re-emerge from the gut?
Okay, I'm done, and understand if not everything is answered.
Thanks again for your help as I know it must be monotonous to have to reply to anxiety-driven piles of questions!
I have an anticipated sexual encounter in 3 weeks and I was also curious, in relation to #1, if I should disclose my previous infection at the risk that it wasn't cleared. I completed the Doxycycline on the 19th.
I would happily pay to ask another question but as you are not taking anymore I feel this may be my only choice? Just some quick follow up questions to avoid another visit, hopefully they don't seem overly repetitive or anxiety driven. Thank you again for your work.
I have since been treated with 200mg of doxycycline for 14 days
1) After seeing a gyno for a follow up, he told me to use spermacidal condoms until my 3 month retesting. Is this because he thinks I run the risk of being reinfected? Or because he thinks I could still transmit the infection?
2) Is a test of cure necessary or is my doxycycline treatment assurance of clearance? I noticed a lot of light yellow, odorless discharge coming off the antibiotics so I feared the chlamydia wasn't cleared but could it just be yeast?
3)One of the partners (one time) sent me their lab results but he lives in South America and they did a IgG and IgM test for chlamydia. He tested negative but should he get a DNA test? Another (one time) partner got DNA testing and tested negative, ordered a retest, but I haven't heard back. Should I expect them to be not infected?
4) I also noticed a strange thing after masturbation that my sexual discharge rubbed off like if you were to let elmers glue dry partially and rub it. As if it was dead skin? Wouldn't trich or BV show up on my cultures/urine/blood tests?
5) Also, was masturbation harmful during the course of antibiotics?
6) Lastly, should I worry about HPV if I received three guardisil injections before I was sexually active? ( Gyno told me that " these things travel together" and ordered me new blood tests which I'm waiting on, although I know they don't test for HPV)
Thank you again, as always.Hope you all are well. I'm thinking of pursuing a career in infectious diseases because of this work (Probably not the place to say that).
Feel free not to answer the following questions. And thank you for answering the former. You've relaxed my anxiety a fair amount, so I am truly grateful.
Could some of the itching/burning ( labia minora/ anus, not severe, occasionally uncomfortable) be caused by the doxycycline? Possibly due to yeast or upset stomach? With 200mg a day at 100 lbs I feel like that might have some effect on me. But then I feel like the diflucan I took before hand would have stayed in my system long enough to account for that.
Anyway, I'm seeing a Gyno nearing the end of this month and hope to get full testing again. Would you recommend testing for HSV2?
Thank you for all of your help and this will be my last comment Doctor.
"Could" it have been a chlamydial eye infection? I suppose so, but it still is not a realistic possibility. Of all the many causes of superficial eye infection (conjunctivitis), chlamydia is among the rarest. In my entire 40 years in the STD business, I have seen exactly one patient with chlamydial conjunctivitis.
Also, not sure if this is completely far fetched... The April 14th encounter's partner had an eye infection that he was treating each hour with antibiotic ointment. Could this possibly have been a chlamydial infection of the eye? Could that indicate chlamydia?
Thank you Doctor for your reply and for the work you do here,
I've had so much anxiety over this to the point where it's actually affected my work ethic so thank you so much for putting my mind at ease. Also so that I can stop grilling those guys on their test history...
I actually figured I was being over treated and returned to the clinic to make sure there wasn't a mistake but they assured me it was fine. I assumed it must have been due to an "aggressive case" or something.
If I anticipate a sexual encounter in late July and have not had any symptoms and have had test-of-cure, is it then safe to proceed?
Sorry for the follow up questions and thank you again for your time and thoroughness.
Welcome to the forum.
I understand your concerns; you've had some risky exposures, and acquired chlamydia as a result. However, there is no reason to suspect you have herpes as well. Many STD/HSV education resources list lots of herpes symptoms, but the bottom line is that in the absence of overt, painful genital blisters and open sores, it is unlikely you acquired a genital HSV infection. Herpes lesions may itch, tingle, etc -- but those symptoms by themselves rarely are due to herpes.
I cannot judge when and where you acquired chlamydia, and I doubt you'll ever know. And it really doesn't matter at this point. The important thing is that you were diagnosed and treated (over treated; 7 days doxycycline is recommended -- the additional 7 days was unnecessary).
No STD causes pain the jaw or ear, and a pelvic sonogram cannot cause pain.
Of course continue to follow up with your doctor if any symptoms continue that concern you. But I doubt you have any STD other than the chlamydia, and that's now a done deal.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD