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Freaked out and upset

To cut a long story short I went to the doctor today to get a smear test done, and she told me I had a lot of discharge in my vagina, and it looked like I had an infection. She told me she couldn't do the smear test with the infection present, and then she started talking to me about chlamydia. I nearly died, since I never thought I could have that. I've only had sex 4 or 5 times, all with the same guy and always using a condom. I didn't lose my virginity until May this year at the age of almost 21, and part of the reason I waited so long was because I was paranoid about getting an STD or getting pregnant. I couldn't have been more responsible or careful, and now I likely have chlamydia. She was trying to reassure me that it wasn't a big deal, and that I was lucky to have caught it by coming in for the smear, but I feel so depressed. I must have had it for 5-6 months, since I haven't had sex since then. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and told me it was very very unlikely anything was wrong (since it can cause infertility) and that with the antibiotics everything should turn out fine. She thought I was totally overreacting, because she diagnoses people with that all the time, but it was such a shock because I'm so careful and have had one partner in my life. I was paranoid about condoms splitting and people on here called me a nutter for worrying, but apparently I had cause to, because one of the 5 times, the condom apparently didn't work (I had no idea).

I had to tell my mum because I was so upset and she told me not to worry and that everything will be fine, like the doctor said. I've got over the shock now, and feeling 'dirty' because I know there was nothing I could have done, but I'm worried about the antibiotics not clearing it all up, or that some damage will have been done, although the doctor said it's extremely unlikely. Has anyone else experienced something similar? I just feel so let down and crushed.

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Reply 1

slackerbeeatch

She cant tell it was chlamydia without doing a test.... did she?

Im not a medical professional (though I do work on a sexual health advice line) and to be honest id say its more likely to be thrush... If you used condoms correctly then theres virtually no chance of you having chlamydia.

Reply 2

romeosbitch

ive not had a similar experience, although to be fair, i dont know cos ive not had a smear or anything but you have to focus on the positives, you werent sleeping around and you've caught it early and the antibiotics will clear it up and you will be fine. you did everything you could to not get an std or get pregnant, you were responsible and basically unlucky rather than careless.

the fact that you're upset just shows that you are careful about these things.

Reply 3

slackerbeeatch

Sorry, should have mentioned that it can be passed through oral sex.

But honestly, don't worry. If, indeed, you do turn out to have had Chlamydia, the antibiotics will clear it right up :smile:

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

No, she didn't test me. Because I am going on holiday next week, she told me she would give me antibiotics anyway, and they should clear up the infection, whether it's chlamydia or not. I don't mind taking them if they're not necessary, I just want to get rid of this infection. She asked if it was thrush at first, and then for some reason she seemed to think it was chlamydia, even though I told her I had only had protected sex. She said I could just be one of the unlucky ones. She seemed to think there was a fairly high chance of it being chlamydia from the appearance of the infection - she said it could be a couple of other, non sexual related things, but that taking the antibiotics should get rid of whatever it is. I was just shocked that I may have been exposed to God knows what - I would never have chosen to have unprotected sex without requiring the guy to be tested for STDs. She didn't seem to think it was a big deal, so it makes be feel a bit better.

Reply 5

Helenia

Looks like it's all turned out a lot more complicated than you were expecting it to be, which is understandably distressing. For your own peace of mind (and health!) take the course of antibiotics and after your holiday go back and get tested to make sure everything is clear. You've done everything you could to be safe so it's a great shame if you are unlucky, but at least it's been picked up.

them ones

There's no way she could tell from the "look" of the discharge... some girls have much heavier discharge than others and it changes with your cycle.

Obviously I can't comment on the nurse as such but it sounds to me like she's a bit gung-ho with the antibiotics and scare-tactics

Reply 8

Anonymous #1

Well she said it was greenish and had bubbles - definitely an infection, and that my cervix bled which is not good. Of course I was shocked, since I wasn't expecting anything to be wrong, and I just went into panic mode. This is the first time I've had an internal exam since I had sex so obviously I was thinking it was possible it was an STD. I was just shocked because we used condoms. They were his, not mine but as far as I could tell he was using them correctly (I was a virgin so not an expert), and I never noticed them breaking. In fact the first thing I asked every time he finished was if the condom had stayed on OK. I suppose it is possible there was a tear in one, and I didn't realise.

Reply 9

Helenia

It may be a non-sexually-transmitted infection. You did everything you possibly could have done, so try not to blame herself.

And slackerbeeatch, while it's quite unusual for someone to make a diagnosis just on what something looks like, it seems in this case the doctor had some reason for what she said and did. Let's not worry too much about that and focus on what the OP should do now.

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

Are there many non STDs with these symptoms? She did mention it could be bacterial vaginiosis (sp?), but I've been tested for that before, 2 years ago, and it came back negative. She seemed to be thinking it was most likely chlamydia.

Reply 11

Jennybean

As far as I have read, chlamydia has to go untreated for several years to result in infertility and even then it only happens in some people. The government uses it a lot for scare tactics in adverts for safe sex but it's not really an enormous risk, so try not to worry about that kind of thing, it really is extremely unlikely that if you have chlamydia it has done any kind of lasting damage. Other than that, I completely understand it must be upsetting to be told you may have an STI but try and distance yourself from the stigma and emotional reaction attached to this (possibly incorrect) diagnosis. Chlamydia is very easily cleared up with antibiotics as it's a bacterial infection, not a virus, and will not recur, unlike herpes etc. The best thing is just to take a deep breath, make sure you follow the course of antibiotics to the letter, then go back to the doctor's when you've finished the course. The trouble is that people doing smear tests must see a hell of a lot of young people who mess around with unprotected sex - she wasn't to know that you were careful to the point of paranoia ( :smile:

) and may just have been trying to shock you a bit and hammer the message about using condoms home. I guess the only lesson to be learned from this is the benefit of regular smear tests and also to just carry on being as careful as you have been, as accidents do happen. Maybe clue up on how to use condoms and make sure you supervise the guy putting it on in future? But I don't think it sounds like you did anything wrong and if you did catch an STI then you're proof that it can happen to anyone if you're unlucky. Hope you feel a bit calmer soon x

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

Can I rely on the antibiotics working? The doctor said they would and that's the standard treatment for chlamydia but I've never been on them before. She said it was as simple as taking a week's course of them and then whatever I had would be cleared up, unless it was just thrush, which isn't serious anyway. She told me to wait for the results of the smear in 3-4 weeks, and that it will most likely come back abnormal due to the infection, so it will have to be redone, and that she could then test for chlamydia if I was still concerned, just to make sure.

Reply 13

Jennybean

Unless you take antibiotics on a regular basis and could have cultured a resistant superbug in your body, the antibiotics will kill off any harmful bacteria, clearing up any infection you might have, be it sexually transmitted or otherwise. You may also notice that they kill off the "good" bacteria in your gut, leading to digestion problems. This can be remedied by eating natural yoghurt regularly once the course has finished. There's no need to worry about the antibiotics not working, provided you take them as instructed and finish the course. :smile:

Reply 14

Anonymous #1

OK, thanks. I'm just nervous because you can't see if an infection on your cervix has cleared up the way you can with your eye or hand or whatever. I suppose you just have to assume it's all fine. Do you think it would be fine to wait until the smear results come back and just go for another smear/chlamydia test then?

Reply 15

Anonymous #1

Ah I'm reading some of the symptoms online and it says that abdominal pain can be a sign of PID which damages the reproductive organs. I've had that pain, but didn;t think anything of it. :frown:

What it be really obvious if you had PID and not just a few cramps here and there? (I also have IBS, which confuses things). I just feel sick to my stomach - it's so unfair. I know people who have had unprotected sex since 14 and caught nothing, and I'm 21 and have had sex with one person. I don't know of all those sites are just exaggerating and that it's rare to become infertile or get tube damage or what. The doctor was telling me that's a worst case scenario and unlikely, but it's also a worst case scenario to get chlamydia after having protected sex only a few times. I just feel like crying and I wish I didn't have to deal with this - becoming infertile is one of my worst nightmares.

I also read on one site that people infected with chlamydia also carry gonorrhea - would the antibiotics kill that one as well?

Ahh and earlier I had convinced myself I was being a worrywart and everything would be fine. I don't know what to think. I'm trying to focus on the fact that LEFT UNTREATED it causes problems, and I've caught mine. I just hope it was early enough. I mean, loads of people never get smear tests done and could have it for years without knowing. I seriously don't think I can ever have sex again after this - my trust in protection is ruined.

Reply 16

Helenia

Anonymous

You could easily have developed BV since then though - 2 years is a long time!

Really, stop beating yourself up over this. You haven't done anything wrong, and whatever has happened is on its way to being sorted. You don't even know that you have anything serious - and as has been said before, it usually takes years for chlamydia to cause serious damage. The abdominal pains could be anything, especially as you have IBS - loads of people have non-specific abdo pains. You should certainly stop panicking about infertility and think about never having sex again. Besides, if you never have sex again, you can't have kids anyway!

As everyone has said, just take the antibiotics, go back for your smear and ask to be tested for STIs. Or you can go to a GUM clinic and have the tests done separately, but either way you can put your mind at rest. When you go to your GP, it might help to have a list of your questions/worries written out, so that you can refer to it if you start to get upset and forget things. I'm sure she didn't mean for it to upset you this much and so she should be happy to answer your questions.

Reply 17

Anonymous #1

Well, I haven't had any smelly discharge/large amount of discharge or any symtoms of BV at all. If anything my discharge has got much better in the last few months, which I think made the doctor think it was unlikely to be BV or thrush although she couldn't be sure.
Yes thanks I will do what you advised. I have just found out my uni clinic test for chlamydia as part of the smear, so I will go there to get it done and I'll be able to get tested for that specific infection. I suppose I just have to accept there's nothing I can do now, it was just bad luck and now I'm doing all I can to fix it, and put my faith in the fact it's extremely unlikely to cause any long term damage. It's just a horrible shock to finally get over my fear of sex by telling myself protection is really effective just to find out I'm one of the few people out of 100 who it failed for, and getting an STD from my first time. I was relying on condoms as extra contraception as well since my Pill absorption can be affected by my IBS. Oh well. If I sleep with anyone now it will be someone I've known for a good while and I will request that they get tested first. It isn't worth the hassle.

Reply 18

Helenia

Anonymous

That's probably a good idea for anyone - you should always get tested before having unprotected sex. If your IBS is interfering with the pill, have you considered some other form of hormonal contraception such as the injection/patch/implant? It would put your mind more at rest once the STI situation had been sussed out.

Reply 19

Anonymous #1

I used to think the injection seemed like a good idea but I've read that loads of people suffer horrendous side effects and that it's a matter of luck whether you get them or not so that put me off a bit.