pelvic inflammatory disease

[ajh1985]

Hi!just looking for some advice! I recently had vaginal swabs taken which tested positive for Bacterial Vaginitis and Chlamydia!!! I took the relevant antibiotics (Zithromax 1g and a course of metronidalzole for a week).  I finished these three and a half weeks ago.  I should prob point out that my diagnosis was quite a surprise as I wasn't experiencing any symptoms.  However, about a week ago I started to experience 'symptoms'!  Mainly a heavy discharge and mild lower abdominal and back pain.  I'm confused as to why this is.  My initial thought was that the treatment hadn't worked and I still had chlamydia but I didn't actually have these symtoms to begin with and it would appear that zithromax is a very good treatment so I'm thinking this is unlikely.  My second concern is that I may also have gonnorhea!  I initially assumed that if I had gonnorhea this would have shown up in the swabs taken at my doctor's surgery but I attended a GUM clinic at my doctor's suggestion for a full sexual health screen and they said they where unwilling to rule it out as the swabs taken at my doctor's surgery may not have been tested for gonnorhea!  I rang my surgery and spoke to a doctor who said that all vaginal swabs where tested for a general o&s, chlamydia and trichomoniasis and that gonnorhea would have shown up under the o&s and I therefore didnt have it.Bit of conflicting advice here and I'm not sure what to believe. I did later speak with a nurse in the GUM clinic and told her what the doctor said and she agreed that if the swabs where tested in this way then I didn't have gonnorhea but now that these symptoms have appeared I'm not sure what's right.  If it's not either of these STD's I'm wondering if it could be Pelvic Inflammatory Disease as a result of the chlamydia and possible gonnorhea but I'm not sure!I don't know much about PID other than that it's a complication of untreated STD's.  Someone did tell me that the antibiotics I took for the chlamydia would have cleared up PID if I had it but that doesn't explain why I am now experiencing these symptoms!Help, I'm confused and worried!!!

[ajh1985]

Sorry to go on!Have another question - How quickly can PID develop following exposure to an STD?  I contracted chlamydia no more that three months ago.  Treatment was actually taken about two months after exposure.  Some people have told me that this isn't long enough for it to develop into PID - is this right?  I'm guessing it's probably not but just wanted another opinion on this.

[ajh1985]

Hi!  just an update.  Went to the doctor's today.  She say's they don't normally test to make sure chlamydia and BV have gone but that if it put's my mind at ease she will do them.  She's also going to test for gonnorhea.  She agreed with what the other doctor said about it showing up in a general o&s test but did say there was also a specific test that could be requested to check for gonnorhea and that she would do this just to make sure (I can't understand why when they where doing the original swabs and specifically asked for a chlamydia that they didn't ask for this specific gonnorhea test, but anyway, nothing I can do about that now!).  Trouble is, like I suspected she wants to wait until the 6 week point after completing the antibiotics before doing them which mean's I have a three week wait!!!  She said if I really wanted them done now they could be done but where more likely to yield false results and she didn't want to have to be giving me treatment unecessarily especially considering I had bad side effects after taking the first lot of antibiotics.  She feels strongly that this increased discharge could be very much down to the antibiotics I've already taken for the BV and chlamydia.  She says the metronidazole in particular is known for doing this.  I know that this make's sense but it still doesn't explain why I am experiencing these pains.  With regards to the pain, like yourself she said it was a very real possibility that PID could have developed  due to the chlamydia but said she felt if it was this I'd be in a lot more pain.  I'm not sure if this is accurate or not - some sources of information I have read have backed this up but others say that PID pain can sometimes be so mild that it's not noticed or excused as something else!  I don't know what to believe.  She did say if I was very concerned about the pain she would refer me to a gynacologist but again felt this could be unecessary and felt I should wait until I've had these repeat swabs and see if anything show's up in them.  I can completely see her logic but I have myself convinced (not sure if rightly so or if it's a case of being to paranoid and worried) that I have either gonnorhea or PID, or maybe even both!!!  And if so I'm worried that things will only get worse by waiting these three weeks!

[megancannon]

i am honestly not sure about time periods between getting swabs and everything. i think you would be safe to wait though, two weeks seems like forever when it's something important but it is not long enough to take the disease worse. are they going to re-test you for the BV and chlamydia after you finish your antibiotics? i would make sure you get that done to make sure everything is cleared up and get the gonorrhea test. it would probably be safe for you to get tested regularly for everything as long as you are still sexually active. hopefully everything will clear up and you won't have any more problems.

[ajh1985]

Thanks.  I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow but the waiting is driving me around the bend.  I was told at the GUM clinic that swabs shouldn't be taken for 'test of cure' for 6 weeks after taking antibiotics as they can interfere with results which is also the reason that they didn't test me for gonnorhea as they said I could get false negative results.  Hence the reason the gonnorhea concern is still in my head. Do u know if this is accurate information?  I will be finished my antibiotics 4 weeks tomorrow which would mean according to this advice I would have to wait another two weeks before having further swabs.  I'm not sure I can wait that long or that I want to risk things getting worse.  Should I instist on having swabs taken tomorrow even with the risk of getting false results?

[megancannon]

first of all, don't be surprised. a lot of people with STDs have no symptoms. If you have pelvic inflammatory disease you would be in a lot of pain. my doctor always told me it would be extremely painful just to press down on your pelvic area.

two very common causes of pelvic inflammatory disease are gonorrhea and chlamydia, so yes, it is VERY possible you have developed this as a cause of the std.

the most common symptoms are vaginal discharge, a foul odor, fever, abdominal pain, painful intercourse and painful urination.

i would suggest making another appointment and have the doctors re-do the tests for chlamydia and BV to make sure they are now negative and the infections have cleared up. make sure you tell them about all your symptoms and your concern about PID because the longer PID goes untreated the more severe it will be and the more complications it will cause. this can severely damage your reproductive organs and cause infertility. If caught soon enough this can be cured with different antibiotics. Don't waste any time in getting back to the doctor. Good luck.