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Normally if a test is positive and you have these doubts I would just get tested somewhere else to either confirm it or if it was a false positive be done with it. In any case, Chlamydia is treatable and it will be ok either way.
All the best
Thank you. I am p sure that it could be possible I have it due to the symptoms I experience, but I don’t know where I could have gotten it. Though I have an autoimmune disease and took meds which suppressed my immune system so swimming in a public pool with someone who was infected could have done the trick
These stories make sex less and less sexy. I’d love to know how this turns it with another test and how this could have happened. Its also why I refuse to swim in my local pool because I always see bugs, leaves, hair or fluids that don’t have the same viscosity as the water around it. I just stay away!
To add something, catching STIs that way is VERY UNLIKELY. It would mean that even kids could contract chlamydia by just having fun at the public pool which is something I never heard of. Certain factors have to play into each other for they to happen, e.g. you have a weakened immune system like I have and eventually touched your privates with contaminated hands etc.
But I will for sure be way more cautious from now on. My body really hates taking antibiotics and I feel super nauseous for the entirety of taking it and even longer. Don’t wanna risk it again.
hey, antibiotics made me sick for years.
in fact once i ended up with c. diff after taking a really strong one. my doctor had me start taking a probiotic a couple of days before starting the antibiotics, and now i handle them just fine.
i took the lactobacillus everyone takes, but also the saccaromyces boulardii, it has to be refrigerated. the anitbiotic doesn't seem to interfere with their specific action.
it might be worth asking your doctor about.
I take probiotics along with my antibiotics. Been taking different kinds of probiotics for almost a year now because of my chronic illness and it really makes everything better. Yet, my stomach doesn’t take the antibiotics that well
That is true! Well all the best to you and hopefully your doctor can help with that. I have a friend that are allergic to pain meds and the off brand ones don’t work for them and any time they get sick or have a health issue it is usually a horrible time
This. False positives are rare but they do happen. If the second test comes back positive, you may never learn the cause. Just take the antibiotics and carry on with your life.
If the second test comes back negative, I would trust that one given your history.
You can in theory get some STI's if your mother has them while giving birth. Not likely, but possible.
You can in theory get some of them by sharing towels or such things with someone who has them. Not likely, but possible.
But here is the thing,
You don't have an *obvious* infection route. you need to explore the less likely ones. That simple.
My mum is clean so I didn’t have it from birth. I had a thing with a guy who was my boyfriend as a teen and we had oral sex but I’m pretty sure my doc tested me after it happened and I was fine. But then again, I got tested annually but I told them I never had penetrative sex, so maybe she therefore didn’t test for chlamydia 🤔 there is a reason I switched to another doctor
Did you ask specifically to be tested for chlamydia annually or why do you think your doctor tested you? I don’t know where you are from and how it is handled in your country, but where I’m from you have to specifically ask to be testest for STIs. What happens automatically annually is the PAP smear test but that has nothing to do with STI.
How is it not rude to call someone dirty for being sick? You know, maybe you're right. It's not rude. It's mean. It's ignorant. At times, it's downright bigoted. Rude was too soft a word.
World is fkkd w u, she said she’s clean she didn’t say someone is dirty cause of that. In english, clean also means clear or free of something. What u angry for? Nothin else to do? U got so much time finding flaws in here. Answer some questions and help ppl up.
Chlamydia passes from mucous membrane to mucous membrane. The most common way that two people come in contact this way is sex.
[Mucous membranes - The moist, inner lining of some organs and body cavities (such as the nose, mouth, lungs, and stomach). Glands in the mucous membrane make mucus (a thick, slippery fluid).]
Again, sex is most common but if you can think of any way that you came in contact with another human in this way, that’s how you can get it. Although mouth is listed, kissing is not enough. Eyes are not listed but can also transmit. It’s possible to get it without having sex but outside of child birth and sex there just aren’t many events where humans interact in this way.
I suspect that a.) the guy I was dating as a teenager wasn’t clean and my doctor never really tested me for chlamydia though I was sure she did. Or b.) I was on hormone suppressants for a long time which made me very sensitive to infections like UTIs so going to a public pool or using a public toilet could have done it too 🤷🏼♀️ I went to very musty public restrooms in my life and there is a possibility some infected person wiped their dirty hands on the toilet paper
Yeah. Now that I was not going to sleep I did some googling. You are right. It does not infect from surfaces. Most likely she had it from the past. Atleast that what all official sources said.
I didnt do any scientific searces thou. So I still don't know why it does not or how it infects. What are the mechanics and what is the lifetime of the bacteria outside the body etc. I'm on the phone and too lazy. Maybe if I remember I'll check the reasearch when I'm back at the work and have access to scientific search engines...
Maybe that’s the case. My doc tested me, but maybe not for chlamydia. I told her I never had PiV sex so she assumed I don’t need any checkups (which is more than false but there is a reason I switched to another professional). I told her I wanted them anyway so she did some but maybe not this 🤷🏼♀️ I will never know
If you were tested, it should be in your records. In most places, this is not a standard test and you have to ask for it. Given your prior history it seems like docs would be unlikely typically just to add it themselves.
Ask for your history of this test. You may have just had it the whole time.
Finally, I’m glad they figured this out so you can treat it now! Maybe it will help some of the symptoms and other issues.
In the last year I have had two incidents of a Urinary Tract Infection. They were unrelated with differing bacteria involved. Neither the local doctor nor the Urologist could explain how I got them and the urologist told me that how some bacteria get into the bladder remains one of the great mysteries and does not necessarily have anything to do with personal hygiene or activities.
You could be having something similar with your chlamydia infection.
I hope so. I’ve been dealing with a lot of UTIs in the past years and no one knew why. Only common denominator was that it always happened around the time I was menstruating. Either way 🤷🏼♀️ I will never know but I hope I won’t experience these weird cramps and frequent UTIs anymore
Are you actually testing positive for UTIs every time, or are you just having symptoms and not getting tested? Because if you are coming out negative for UTI and you turn up testing negative for Chlamydia after taking a second test, you may want to look into interstitial cystitis!
I test positive every time. I have testing strips at home and I do them regularly at my doctor’s when I feel a sharp pain when peeing. I don’t have the possibility to go test somewhere else as most doctor’s are on holiday rn plus I have to work. I will just take the antibiotics and then it should be fine.
To cysts, my gyno didn’t find anything when doing an ultrasound on me and I also had an MTR as well as a colonoscopy done on me in the last year and none showed anything serious. I have Crohn’s disease though
Interstitial cystitis has nothing to do with cysts! It is a chronic bladder pain condition that gives you symptoms of a UTI without testing positive for one. But if you're testing positive for UTI then it might not be the case. Just something I wanted to bring up since I have IC and I went through hell trying to get diagnosed.
Ok thank you ! Didn’t know this is a thing 🤔 I noticed my UTIs get worse when I’m in stressful situations. During my finals week, I had blood in my urine and it hurt like hell. Ever since I’m out of school I feel better though
Yeah of course! Interstitial cystitis from what I told a few years ago when I got diagnosed is that it is still something they are trying to figure out, and some doctors don't really bring it up since it's considered pretty new. That may have changed in the past few years though! And my IC symptoms definitely get worse when I'm under a lot of stress. It never hurts to ask a doctor about it next time you go!
And my gosh I'm really sorry you were going through that and I'm glad they haven't been as bad since you're under less stress. Please please make sure to see a doctor and keep getting tested if you keep having the UTI symptoms and the visible blood in your urine because you don't want to let yourself go untreated if there's an underlying issue causing this. I get healthcare is expensive though, but just make sure you are advocating for yourself when you do go!
I’m very lucky to live in Europe where healthcare is part of your taxes, so you don’t have to go bankrupt. Otherwise I had to consider dubious money-making schemes with my wrecked health lmfao.
I used to regularly have UTIs as a kid and then it just stopped at age 10-12 when I started menstruating. Then it started to resurface at age 17, like a few months after I broke up with said ex partner. I was very worried back then but I felt too embarrassed to really ask my gyno about my urninary tract issues as she didn’t take me seriously anyway being a penetrative virgin still. Whenever I asked her about it, she would blame it on me being hysteric or she hinted at me lying about my sexual activity (why would I do that?)
I don’t know why I wasted so much time there and finally had the chance to see someone else who took me seriously and tested me because she thought my issues sound familiar. Every other doctor made me feel extremely shitty because I’m a PiV virgin as if that means I can’t have reproductive issues 💀
Oh what a relief you get that Healthcare! I'm in the US so I guess I just assume everyone has shitty healthcare like we do haha.
And yes having a doctor that makes you feel comfortable and doesn't shame you for your concerns is so important! Don't ever accept that! If a doctor treats you that way, just move on. There are good doctors out there, you just have to search for them unfortunately. So many doctors ignored my symptoms because well the tests were negative, and I'm like, well, clearly something is wrong!! It took a long time for me to find a doctor who would listen and I am so grateful I found her.
No doctor should accuse you of lying or shaminy you for your sexual experiences! I'm really sorry you've had that experience. Some doctors really are just egotistical assholes and just don't want to listen to someone who knows their body better than some random stranger does, even if they have a degree.
I’m sorry you have a tough time with health care :( are there options for you to get insurance through a job for instance ?
Yeah I have to say I feel really insecure and shitty after going to my check ups because of being a virgin in the eyes of health care professionals and I’m 22, turning 23 soon. They act as if I am some nut case for being a virgin or that I’m abnormal for not having had a proper partner at my age. I know it’s stupid and doesn’t matter but I do feel very insecure in these moments as if I’m not normal or hideous
My ex fiancé from many years ago had a similar issue, just with herpes.
When she was in elementary school, one of the kids had it and touched _everything_. Days go by and she eventually touched a surface and then contracted it. That Ben Stiller film was right all along 😅
I was in college till summer of 2023 and took immune suppressants during that time. We had some very unhygienic school toilets so it could have been that
Get a retest before you stress yourself. My friend had a bad yeast infection and it came up positive for trichomoniasis. She was freaking out and didn’t understand how as she’s married! Turns out it was a false positive.
If it does indeed come out to be positive you have some things to figure out.
Thank you for posting in the r/Sex community. To ensure that everyone respects our safe space, we ask that you familiarize yourself with our Forum Rules and Posting Guidelines — which are visible in the forum’s sidebar, and also linked [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/sex/about/rules/). *** Restricted subjects in r/sex include sex stories (which are permitted in the Daily Sexual Achievement Thread only), body image and penis-size issues, hookup attempts, common topics which are considered repetitive in our forum, and requests for private chats. To cut back on comments that add little value to the conversation, we have instituted a minimum character requirement that will silently remove comments that fall below it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sex) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Normally if a test is positive and you have these doubts I would just get tested somewhere else to either confirm it or if it was a false positive be done with it. In any case, Chlamydia is treatable and it will be ok either way. All the best
Thank you. I am p sure that it could be possible I have it due to the symptoms I experience, but I don’t know where I could have gotten it. Though I have an autoimmune disease and took meds which suppressed my immune system so swimming in a public pool with someone who was infected could have done the trick
These stories make sex less and less sexy. I’d love to know how this turns it with another test and how this could have happened. Its also why I refuse to swim in my local pool because I always see bugs, leaves, hair or fluids that don’t have the same viscosity as the water around it. I just stay away!
To add something, catching STIs that way is VERY UNLIKELY. It would mean that even kids could contract chlamydia by just having fun at the public pool which is something I never heard of. Certain factors have to play into each other for they to happen, e.g. you have a weakened immune system like I have and eventually touched your privates with contaminated hands etc. But I will for sure be way more cautious from now on. My body really hates taking antibiotics and I feel super nauseous for the entirety of taking it and even longer. Don’t wanna risk it again.
hey, antibiotics made me sick for years. in fact once i ended up with c. diff after taking a really strong one. my doctor had me start taking a probiotic a couple of days before starting the antibiotics, and now i handle them just fine. i took the lactobacillus everyone takes, but also the saccaromyces boulardii, it has to be refrigerated. the anitbiotic doesn't seem to interfere with their specific action. it might be worth asking your doctor about.
I take probiotics along with my antibiotics. Been taking different kinds of probiotics for almost a year now because of my chronic illness and it really makes everything better. Yet, my stomach doesn’t take the antibiotics that well
That is true! Well all the best to you and hopefully your doctor can help with that. I have a friend that are allergic to pain meds and the off brand ones don’t work for them and any time they get sick or have a health issue it is usually a horrible time
Get tested a second time and make sure there wasn’t a mistake. That can happen sometimes.
This. False positives are rare but they do happen. If the second test comes back positive, you may never learn the cause. Just take the antibiotics and carry on with your life. If the second test comes back negative, I would trust that one given your history.
You can in theory get some STI's if your mother has them while giving birth. Not likely, but possible. You can in theory get some of them by sharing towels or such things with someone who has them. Not likely, but possible. But here is the thing, You don't have an *obvious* infection route. you need to explore the less likely ones. That simple.
My mum is clean so I didn’t have it from birth. I had a thing with a guy who was my boyfriend as a teen and we had oral sex but I’m pretty sure my doc tested me after it happened and I was fine. But then again, I got tested annually but I told them I never had penetrative sex, so maybe she therefore didn’t test for chlamydia 🤔 there is a reason I switched to another doctor
Did you ask specifically to be tested for chlamydia annually or why do you think your doctor tested you? I don’t know where you are from and how it is handled in your country, but where I’m from you have to specifically ask to be testest for STIs. What happens automatically annually is the PAP smear test but that has nothing to do with STI.
It's rude to say "clean" to refer to not having an STI. You say you're "negative" or "clear." People who catch an STI aren't dirty.
Ok sorry. I didn’t think of it in a negative way
If it turns out you do have an STI, you'll be happy not to be thought of as dirty.
It’s also rude to give someone grief over a simple vocabulary choice but here you are
I didn't give them grief, I simply pointed out they were being rude, even if unintentionally.
It’s not. That’s just too much thinking 😂
How is it not rude to call someone dirty for being sick? You know, maybe you're right. It's not rude. It's mean. It's ignorant. At times, it's downright bigoted. Rude was too soft a word.
World is fkkd w u, she said she’s clean she didn’t say someone is dirty cause of that. In english, clean also means clear or free of something. What u angry for? Nothin else to do? U got so much time finding flaws in here. Answer some questions and help ppl up.
Weird reason to give someone a hard time, know because of you I shall refer to positive STI tests as dirty until such a time as I die.
Gotta be careful around koalas!
Good thing I don’t live down under
Chlamydia passes from mucous membrane to mucous membrane. The most common way that two people come in contact this way is sex. [Mucous membranes - The moist, inner lining of some organs and body cavities (such as the nose, mouth, lungs, and stomach). Glands in the mucous membrane make mucus (a thick, slippery fluid).] Again, sex is most common but if you can think of any way that you came in contact with another human in this way, that’s how you can get it. Although mouth is listed, kissing is not enough. Eyes are not listed but can also transmit. It’s possible to get it without having sex but outside of child birth and sex there just aren’t many events where humans interact in this way.
I suspect that a.) the guy I was dating as a teenager wasn’t clean and my doctor never really tested me for chlamydia though I was sure she did. Or b.) I was on hormone suppressants for a long time which made me very sensitive to infections like UTIs so going to a public pool or using a public toilet could have done it too 🤷🏼♀️ I went to very musty public restrooms in my life and there is a possibility some infected person wiped their dirty hands on the toilet paper
Yeah, you can get chlamydia from toilet seats etc. After all it is just a microbe. Atleast if I remember my school stuff correctly.
Unless OP was actively schmearing their genitals on toilet seats, no they didn’t get an STD from a toilet seat. Your school failed you.
Yeah. Now that I was not going to sleep I did some googling. You are right. It does not infect from surfaces. Most likely she had it from the past. Atleast that what all official sources said. I didnt do any scientific searces thou. So I still don't know why it does not or how it infects. What are the mechanics and what is the lifetime of the bacteria outside the body etc. I'm on the phone and too lazy. Maybe if I remember I'll check the reasearch when I'm back at the work and have access to scientific search engines...
Maybe that guy wasn't a virgin, just inexperienced (they often lie). You can have chlamydia for years without knowing it.
The only thing that makes me doubt this is she had clean screenings in prior years.
Maybe that’s the case. My doc tested me, but maybe not for chlamydia. I told her I never had PiV sex so she assumed I don’t need any checkups (which is more than false but there is a reason I switched to another professional). I told her I wanted them anyway so she did some but maybe not this 🤷🏼♀️ I will never know
If you were tested, it should be in your records. In most places, this is not a standard test and you have to ask for it. Given your prior history it seems like docs would be unlikely typically just to add it themselves. Ask for your history of this test. You may have just had it the whole time. Finally, I’m glad they figured this out so you can treat it now! Maybe it will help some of the symptoms and other issues.
Get another test to be sure. Could be a false positive.
In the last year I have had two incidents of a Urinary Tract Infection. They were unrelated with differing bacteria involved. Neither the local doctor nor the Urologist could explain how I got them and the urologist told me that how some bacteria get into the bladder remains one of the great mysteries and does not necessarily have anything to do with personal hygiene or activities. You could be having something similar with your chlamydia infection.
I hope so. I’ve been dealing with a lot of UTIs in the past years and no one knew why. Only common denominator was that it always happened around the time I was menstruating. Either way 🤷🏼♀️ I will never know but I hope I won’t experience these weird cramps and frequent UTIs anymore
Are you actually testing positive for UTIs every time, or are you just having symptoms and not getting tested? Because if you are coming out negative for UTI and you turn up testing negative for Chlamydia after taking a second test, you may want to look into interstitial cystitis!
I test positive every time. I have testing strips at home and I do them regularly at my doctor’s when I feel a sharp pain when peeing. I don’t have the possibility to go test somewhere else as most doctor’s are on holiday rn plus I have to work. I will just take the antibiotics and then it should be fine. To cysts, my gyno didn’t find anything when doing an ultrasound on me and I also had an MTR as well as a colonoscopy done on me in the last year and none showed anything serious. I have Crohn’s disease though
Interstitial cystitis has nothing to do with cysts! It is a chronic bladder pain condition that gives you symptoms of a UTI without testing positive for one. But if you're testing positive for UTI then it might not be the case. Just something I wanted to bring up since I have IC and I went through hell trying to get diagnosed.
Ok thank you ! Didn’t know this is a thing 🤔 I noticed my UTIs get worse when I’m in stressful situations. During my finals week, I had blood in my urine and it hurt like hell. Ever since I’m out of school I feel better though
Yeah of course! Interstitial cystitis from what I told a few years ago when I got diagnosed is that it is still something they are trying to figure out, and some doctors don't really bring it up since it's considered pretty new. That may have changed in the past few years though! And my IC symptoms definitely get worse when I'm under a lot of stress. It never hurts to ask a doctor about it next time you go! And my gosh I'm really sorry you were going through that and I'm glad they haven't been as bad since you're under less stress. Please please make sure to see a doctor and keep getting tested if you keep having the UTI symptoms and the visible blood in your urine because you don't want to let yourself go untreated if there's an underlying issue causing this. I get healthcare is expensive though, but just make sure you are advocating for yourself when you do go!
I’m very lucky to live in Europe where healthcare is part of your taxes, so you don’t have to go bankrupt. Otherwise I had to consider dubious money-making schemes with my wrecked health lmfao. I used to regularly have UTIs as a kid and then it just stopped at age 10-12 when I started menstruating. Then it started to resurface at age 17, like a few months after I broke up with said ex partner. I was very worried back then but I felt too embarrassed to really ask my gyno about my urninary tract issues as she didn’t take me seriously anyway being a penetrative virgin still. Whenever I asked her about it, she would blame it on me being hysteric or she hinted at me lying about my sexual activity (why would I do that?) I don’t know why I wasted so much time there and finally had the chance to see someone else who took me seriously and tested me because she thought my issues sound familiar. Every other doctor made me feel extremely shitty because I’m a PiV virgin as if that means I can’t have reproductive issues 💀
Oh what a relief you get that Healthcare! I'm in the US so I guess I just assume everyone has shitty healthcare like we do haha. And yes having a doctor that makes you feel comfortable and doesn't shame you for your concerns is so important! Don't ever accept that! If a doctor treats you that way, just move on. There are good doctors out there, you just have to search for them unfortunately. So many doctors ignored my symptoms because well the tests were negative, and I'm like, well, clearly something is wrong!! It took a long time for me to find a doctor who would listen and I am so grateful I found her. No doctor should accuse you of lying or shaminy you for your sexual experiences! I'm really sorry you've had that experience. Some doctors really are just egotistical assholes and just don't want to listen to someone who knows their body better than some random stranger does, even if they have a degree.
I’m sorry you have a tough time with health care :( are there options for you to get insurance through a job for instance ? Yeah I have to say I feel really insecure and shitty after going to my check ups because of being a virgin in the eyes of health care professionals and I’m 22, turning 23 soon. They act as if I am some nut case for being a virgin or that I’m abnormal for not having had a proper partner at my age. I know it’s stupid and doesn’t matter but I do feel very insecure in these moments as if I’m not normal or hideous
I’ve had this happen as well. Friggin wild!
My ex fiancé from many years ago had a similar issue, just with herpes. When she was in elementary school, one of the kids had it and touched _everything_. Days go by and she eventually touched a surface and then contracted it. That Ben Stiller film was right all along 😅
You’ve probably had it for years
Possible. Just think it’s shitty he lied to me about being a virgin. Would have liked to know that he could be infectious
coud be a smear infection .. like hand to down there and so on
I was in college till summer of 2023 and took immune suppressants during that time. We had some very unhygienic school toilets so it could have been that
Get a retest before you stress yourself. My friend had a bad yeast infection and it came up positive for trichomoniasis. She was freaking out and didn’t understand how as she’s married! Turns out it was a false positive. If it does indeed come out to be positive you have some things to figure out.