[Question #8092] STD
 |
49 months ago
|
My boyfriend recently said his balls were bothering him. He went to the doctors on a Friday. The following Saturday he broke up with me saying I had given him chylamdia. I later found out he knew for a whole week before telling me and also had epididymitis from untreated chylamdia. This happened mid May. He made weird remarks like I could of had it and gotten rid of it, didn’t want to discuss anything about it, etc. I went and got tested and I had it.
I had not been with anyone. I remember at the end of the March being blacked out with some friends and thought maybe something happened with one
of the guys there. I remember he tried to make out with me. I made him go get tested in May after my boyfriend accused me. And the guy from March came back negative and showed me proof. I am trying to understand if it was my bf who gave it to me.
Timeline:
March - blackout incident
April - my bf and I only had sex once (maybe twice at most) in this time period
May - my bf has epididymitis and chylamdia and accuses me
May - guy I thought maybe did something to me in March tested negative twice
Few things:
A. Can chylamdia disappear from someone in a 2- 3 month period without treatment?
B. How long does it take epididymitis to form from untreated chylamdia?
C. What are the transmission odds?
I am so confused and distraught over everything and would appreciate any insight.
 |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
49 months ago
|
Welcome to assume thanks for your confidence in a service. I’m sorry for the situation you were in. As I understand it, your boyfriend is the only person you have ever knowingly had sex with. If that is the case unless you were assaulted during your blackout, your boyfriend may have had sex from a previous partner presuming he had had sex with others prior to initiating sex with you. In our experience with persons are diagnosed with an STI, They have three questions, who gave this to me, how long have they had it, and what can you do about it. Unfortunately for persons who have ever had sex with more than one partner the only question which could be answered is the final question. Chlamydia infections in both males and females are typically asymptomatic and can be present for long periods of time. For persons who have had sex with more than one partner, the only way to be sure that one does not have chlamydia is by testing. About one and five chlamydia infections will resolve in a period of one month following acquisition but the majority of chlamydia infections persist whether asymptomatic or symptomatic for far longer periods of time until they are diagnosed and treated. Thus, if you had never had sex with another person and your ex boyfriend had, it is far more likely that he had an asymptomatic chlamydial infection which both caused his epididymitis and what she transmit it to you than any other possibility. Thus, in response to your specific questions:
1. Please see my response above. While Chlamydia can be eliminated within a few weeks or months following infection in a small proportion of persons, in the majority it can persist in asymptomatic for him for several months or even longer.
2. Most often epididymitis occurs in untreated infections which have been present for relatively long periods of time. Precisely how long is difficult to say.
3. Most single exposures to an infected sex partner did not result in infection. Following a single encounter, on average, sex partners are infected 2240% of the time. With more exposures, the likelihood of infection goes up.
I hope the information I have provided has been helpful to you. If there are further questions or any part of my responses but I’m clear, please don’t hesitate to use your opted to follow up questions for clarification. EWH
--- |
49 months ago
|
Okay thank you.
So as my follow up question...
if this guy (guy A) did something to me blacked out...
I had sex with my bf once after..
bf has chylamdia & epididymitis...
and then guy A tested negative for chylamdia about a month and a half later...
the odds are pretty slim that guy A gave anything to me?
|
Edward W. Hook M.D.
49 months ago
|
Thanks for your follow up summary. You are correct, given your negative tests it is unlikely that guy A gave you an STI which you then transmitted to your boyfriend With a single act of intercourse which then shortly there after lead to epididymitis.
You have one follow up remaining. If anything is unclear or their further questions please don’t hesitate to seek clarification. EWH
--- |
48 months ago
|
Hi there,
Thanks for your help. Here is my final follow up.
In your initial response there was a typo... did you mean to say one time transmission was 22-40%?
Would epididymitis usually take more than 1-2 months to progress from chlamydia?
Do men ever show serious symptoms when the women doesn’t have any symptoms? Does that mean the man has more bacteria within his system?
Thanks.
|
Edward W. Hook M.D.
48 months ago
|
As you know, this will be my final response. I would think it should be obvious that there was a typo in my initial response and the likelihood of transmission of infection following a single exposure is 22–40%.
There are no good scientific data to define what the interval is between acquisition of chlamydial infection and development of complications such as epididymitis however, logic would tell us that infection would have to be there for a while. Whether that is a period is weeks or months cannot be stated using scientific data.
As I stated above, there are no good high-quality scientific data to indicate how long it takes between acquisition of chlamydial infection and development of epididymitis. This complication only occurs in a minority of persons who are infected and logic would tell us that the longer the infection is present, the more likely it is for a complication is to occur.
The development of complications such as epididymitis is an unpredictable event. Without a doubt, it is possible and even likely for a woman to have an asymptomatic chlamydial infection and for her partner to go on to develop a epididymitis. I would add, given the scenario we discussed in this thread, it is more likely that your boyfriend had pre-existing chlamydial infection before you acquired the infection or he developed epididymitis. I strongly encourage you to not try to place the blame for his complication on yourself.
I hope the information I have provided on this thread is helpful to you. My sense is that you may be accepting the blame that your boyfriend is extending to you. I do not accept that as a possibility And I would encourage you to challenge it if that is what is happening. No one can know who gave chlamydial infection to whom. . Accept the fact. Get treated. And move forward. Your boyfriend should do the same. If he cannot, that is his problem, not yours. EWH
---