[Question #7681] Latent Syphilis Testing
53 months ago
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About 18 years ago I was a traveling musician and had a severe drinking problem. I was very promiscuous. Had unprotected and protected sex with different females almost daily. Received oral sex from males just as much. Nothing more than that. I know my behavior put me in the high risk category for STD's.
One morning I noticed a big pimple/blister on the glans if my penis. Looked almost green/grey/yellow. I don't remember it becoming an open sore. Don't remember if it went away in a matter of days or if it stayed long. I'm more inclined to say it went away in days instead of weeks. I stupidly didn't go to the clinic and get it checked out. I put it out of mind. I finally got clean and haven't had a drink for over a year. Thinking of past mistakes now.
About a month ago I had bad vertigo for about four days. So I started thinking maybe what I saw was a chancre. Maybe I got Neurosyphilis or Tertiary Syphilis now. I got tested for Syphilis with one of those home std test kits. Everlywell.com it was. I tested negative. I've emailed them to ask what type of test they ran. Still haven't received the name of the specific test they ran. The response I got was, "The lab that processes our Syphilis Test screens for the Treponemal Antibody first (direct antibody for the organism that causes Syphilis). Then, a RPR (rapid plasma reagin) and titer test is conducted as the confirmation." Their website says they use the same labs doctor offices use. CLIA-Certified.
I've read that long standing Syphilis can show negative on tests. The negative test hasn't done much to ease my nerves because of that. What test do you recommend for someone like me? If I'm already on the late latent stage, or perhaps even worse, Neuro or tertiary, will a regular blood test suffice? When I get the specific test name I will update my post.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
53 months ago
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53 months ago
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Thank you for the info. The test I had was an FTA test. I have some follow up questions.
1.Would an FTA test catch a Syphilis infection from 20 years ago?
2. Would antibodies be present in this type of test even if I took Doxycycline for another skin disorder?
The reason I ask is because I've read Doxycycline is used to treat latent Syphilis. About three years ago I was on it for about 45 days to treat cystic acne. Twice a day 100mg I believe it was.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
53 months ago
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