[Question #12398] Rectal STD Concern
8 months ago
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Hello, first of all, I had unprotected anal intercourse. After a few weeks, symptoms such as diarrhea etc. occurred. I did not notice it for a long time. After 10 months, symptoms such as inguinal lymph swelling, warmth, rectal pain etc. occurred. I went to the doctor and embarrassedly explained the situation, he told me that there was no rectal test (this is a Middle Eastern country). I drank 2 boxes of monodox 100 mg and the symptoms went away (lymph size decreased, but the situation remained only) but I researched on the internet and learned that 2 boxes of monodox did not cure some bacteria: gonorrhea, mycoplasma, ureaplasma. I went to another doctor for trichomonas and he said there was no rectal test but 2 boxes of monodox would be enough. I started the treatment late, I asked if it would be a problem, he said no, it won't cause any problems, that's enough, you don't have any symptoms anyway. Do you think the doctor is right?
It has been 7.5 months since the last antibiotic dose and there are no symptoms. Also, will 2 boxes of monodox clear rectal infections other than chlamydia (gonorrhea, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, trichomonas, etc.)?
8 months ago
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I must also say that I had HIV hepatitis syphilis tests done many times at the right times and they were all negative.
8 months ago
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I forgot to mention, this sexual intercourse happened exactly 1.6 years ago
8 months ago
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I'm so sorry, I went to another doctor for chlamydia and gonorrhea, not "I went to another doctor for trichomonas"
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
8 months ago
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Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your question.
No STI is likely to cause its first symptoms several months after exposure. But please clarify whether you were the insertive or receptive partner in anal sex; and whether your partner was male or female. But regardless of this information, some infections you mention are not possible from anal sex; trichomonas is transmitted only by penile-vaginal contact. Probably your symptoms 10 months later had nothing at all to do with the sexual event in your mind; there are plenty of non-STD causes of inguinal lymph node inflammation and the other symptoms you mention. And if you did acquire an STD, the doxycycline (Monodox) would have cured most of the possible infections. (I'm not sure how many doses are included in each box, and I'm slightly confused by "drinking" the drug. But if you took 100 mg pills twice daily for two weeks (one week per box?), then you if you had syphilis, mycoplasma, or ureaplasma, the infection was cured. Gonorrhea isn't necessarily cured by doxycycline, but your symptoms don't fit with gonorrhea; and it is almost always cleared by the immune system within a few weeks or months and there's no chance you still have it over 1.5 years since the sexual event. Finally, your negative HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis blood tests are proof you do not have any of these infections.
In summary, you had some sort of non STD infection causing your diarrhea and other symptoms -- nothing at all from the anal sex exposure. You had no STD, and definitely have no STD now.
I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD
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8 months ago
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Im sorry my Eng is bad.
I'm 23 y/o male I was receptive he was insertive
I thought I had an STD because 2-3 weeks after exposure, Reactive arthritis symptoms such as diarrhea, joint pain and eye redness appeared that lasted for months. I probably contracted rectal chlamdia and maybe more.I didn't go to the doctor for a long time. Exactly 10 months(I don't know why it came out after 10 months, maybe I bought 1 box of Augmentin from it.) later, I had pain, redness, discomfort in my rectum and swollen pain and feeling of heat in the lymph.Maybe I developed proctitis. Then ı went doctor surprising He said there would be no infection by this time. but still he gave me 2 monodoks 100mg for 14 days twice daily. ı took them. And my sympyoms gone away. (Meanwhile, ReA symptoms gone away within 1 year but My eye redness has become chronic) Right now, I have a slight itching in my rectus sometimes, probably due to my hemorrhoids or I had an anal wart (it cleaned before, maybe it recurred). other than that there are no rectal symptoms.
Questions:
-Now 568 days have passed since that exposure and 227 days from last monodox dose. Could there still be something like a silent infection?
-Would the body clear the infections in this long time? It doesn't say that on the internet.
8 months ago
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By the way, I spoke with a laboratory yesterday, and they told me that I could provide a rectal swab sample via cargo from home and that I would get accurate results. I mentioned that I wanted PCR tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Do you think I should get tested for any other bacteria? Also, the results may take 10-15 days; will this conversation remain open until then? I would like to inform you of the results.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
8 months ago
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This additional information does not change my professional opinion and advice. You cannot conclude you had reactive arthritis only based on symptoms; it requires professional diagnosis. And your symptoms are not typical for ReA. You also cannot assume proctitis from the symptoms you describe. And if you had acquired chlamydia, the doxycycline would have cured it; and both gonorrhea and chlamydia are cleared by the immune system within a few months, long ago in your case. As for itching in the rectal area, every human being experiences anal area itching from time to time; it means nothing. Anal warts do not itch.
If you feel you need the additional reassurance from a negative rectal swab test for gonorrhea and chlamydia, feel free to do it. And yet, such a test will be accurate. As you request, I will leave the thread open so you can report the results. However, threads are closed after two follow-up comments and replies. Therefore, do not post any further comment of any kind until you have the test results. In the meantime, you can be sure the results will be negative. I remain confident you do not have any infection from your single anal sex exposure and probably never did.
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7 months ago
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Sir, the test results came back negative for chlamydia gonorrhea, mycoplasma and ureaplasma. But unfortunately I don't trust these tests. Because I did it wrong. They gave me 2 swabs and 2 tubes one normal and one with gel. I had a hard time doing it and had to wet the swabs a little by consulting the internet. Both swabs came into contact with fecal matter. I wiped one with a tissue, did the test again and put it in the tube. Since there was very little fecal matter in the other, I cleaned that area lightly with a tissue and put it in the tube. I guess I shouldn't have done these. So ı ignore the tests and have a questions:
Q1: Is there any problem I take the 14-day doxy treatment late?
Q2: Can rectal gonorrhea still be asymptomatic after all this time?
Q3: After the doxy treatment, my rectal problems disappeared. The lymph pain also disappeared but it is node still there. It is 6.6x3.2 mm in size with ultrasound. There is no pain or any other problem. Do I need to worry?
Q4: The most important question: would the immune system really clear gonorrhea or anything else in that amount of time? becouse ı can't find much data on the internet
Q5: I researched LGV. It has very severe symptoms. Can it cause asymptomatic rectal infection? and is it rare outside of Africa?
Q6: Unfortunately, I've had a few relationships like that before my last one. If I had caught bacterial STD, would it have been cleared up or cured by now?
7 months ago
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Sorry for writing long sir, but I have been really bad psychologically for 1.6 years. I want to move on with my life. In the country I live in, they do urine and blood tests but they aren't very helpful for rectal bacterial STDs. I will stay away from anal sex from now on. I have a few more questions, can I ask or do I need to get a new panel?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
7 months ago
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You can trust the test results. The details of collection method and the "difficulties" you had make no difference. Do not ignore the results; they confirm you were not infected with gonorrhea or chlamydia. (Ureaplasma and mycoplasma don't infect the rectum so those results don't matter one way or the other.
1. I guess you've already had the doxycycline, but it made no difference. How "late" you took it oesn't matter.
2. Yes, rectal gonorrhea usually is asymptomatic. But the test result means you were not infected.
3. I suppose you could have had some sort of nonspecific rectal infection that explained your symptoms, and the doxycycline might have helped. But most likely they were going to clear up on their own regardless of the doxycycline.
4. Gonorrhea generally clears without treatment over a few weeks to several months. However, there are no good data on this for rectal infection.
5. You cannot possibly have LGV after receiving 2 weeks of docycycline. Yes, LGV typically causes prominent symptoms, but it is equally susceptible as any other chlamydia to doxycycline.
6. For the reasons already stated, I am confident you have no bacterial STD you could transmit to a partner.
That concludes this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. Do your best to trust the science, including the tests and effectiveness of doxycycline. Best wishes and stay safe.
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