During her annual checkup a few weeks ago, my wife got tested; the results just came back, and she's tested positive for Chlamydia. They've put her on antibiotics right away, partially because she's very recently had an afternoon of some pelvic pain and because they feel that this indicates PID.

Unfortunately, the doctors haven't been as helpful as we'd like; she went back for a second exam, just to be sure, and the nurse who was taking her sample said that she didn't really know the answer to some of these questions. She's going in again next week (since you're supposed to get rechecked to make sure the antibiotics are working), so this isn't a situation where we're ignoring medicine; we're just somewhat concerned, and it'd help to have some answers to a few questions a little sooner than next week. Here's what we're wondering:

1. We know there isn't really a clinical test for PID (right?)it's something that has to be clinically diagnosed. We also know that untreated PID can often cause infertility in women. This is what we're most worried about. However, no one's been able to tell us: is there any way to know how much damage PID has caused? She's on antibiotics, as I said aboveare there any other treatments? What's the likelihood of infertility? She hasn't felt chronic pelvic painonly once, really, although she's had bad digestion for some time.

2. How can Chlamydia be communicated? Everything we've read about it says that it can be sexually transmitted; we found one article that mentions that there is an avian version and a version most often found in children, but we don't know how far that goes.

3. The reason we ask that second question is: we've been together, and monogamous, for six years. We know each other well enough to know that neither of us has cheated. (No comments on the inevitability of betrayal, please; we just want answers.) I (male) have never seen so much as a single symptom of Chlamydiano discharge, no pain, no swelling. I've had a very limited number of sexual partners (3 before her) and was very dilligent about using condoms; she had a few more partners than I, and has a latex allergy, and so she had more exposures. We're thinking it's likely we've had this, undetected, for six years. Our question: is this likely or even possible? Could Chlamydia really exist for six years without symptoms or detection?

4. Of course, there's a wrinkle even on this possibility. While I haven't been tested at all, she was tested five years ago, about a year after we got together, at a small clinic at our tiny (about 200 students) college. That test was negative. She doesn't really remember what kind of test it was, unfortunately. Is it possible that she had Chlamydia then, but the test didn't detect it? Otherwise, it's likely I had it before I met her; but then it seems strange that, a year after we'd started having sex, she hadn't contracted it.

So. what are the possibilities? Most of all, can someone fill us in on the detection of potential damage that's been done to her reproductive system and treatment of that damage?

I realize I haven't mentioned: I'm getting tested next week, so I'll know about myself soon.

posted by anonymous to health fitness (17 answers total)

The National Library of Medicine has a lot of information.

Just scanning these, it seems pretty clear that Chlamydia is transmitted sexually and sometimes has no symptoms.

posted by jasper411 at 11:30 AM on May 23, 2009 [url=http://www.steelersnflofficialauthentic.com/authentic-martavis-bryant-jerse... Bryant Youth Jersey[/url]

(I don't have anything to offer, just a correction, OP. "The Clap" refers to gonorrhea, not chlamydia.)

posted by zerokey at 11:43 AM on May 23, 2009

About half of men infected with Chlamydia are asymptomatic.

posted by reflecked at 11:49 AM on May 23, 2009

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am an undergrad in a biomedical field. All the information I'm going to give you is biological and from reliable websites.

Chlamydia is not only sexually transmitted, it can be transmitted if she's been in an infected pool. Has she been in a public swimming pool lately that hasn't been adequately chlorinated?

If symptoms occur, they occur within 13 weeks after exposure. Chlamydia is often a 'silent' disease. When was the first time you had sex that was unprotected enough to pass chlamydia? It may even be possible that her immune system could be weakened enough right now to allow symptoms to develop even if she was [url=http://www.steelersnflofficialauthentic.com/authentic-martavis-bryant-jerse... asymptomatic. It can linger for months or years before being discovered.

Chlamydia causes PID in about 50% of cases. An assessment of your wife's reproductive system will have to be done by her doctor. She'll be prescribed an antibiotic; I don't know what can be done about PID.

posted by kldickson at 11:51 AM on May 23, 2009

Chlamydia is an organism that can infect many different body systems (eyes, lungs, etc) and can be transmitted in various ways. If you have it in your uterus however, it most certainly got there through sexual transmission. Know though that it is quite common and also tends to stick around, failing to cause symptoms for a long time so its not abnormal that she could be only having symptoms now from a longago infection.

It's also possible to have false negatives (and false positives) on any medical test. The likelihood depends on both the skill and experience of the care provider and on which type of test is being used. Chlamydia testing has changed recently, so perhaps a new test caught something an old test didn't. Also consider that she may not have actually been tested for chlamydia in that older checkup a routine Pap smear does NOT "look for" chlamydia.

(It's very common that chlamydia is totally asymptomatic in men. Good to hear you'll be tested and treated so as not to reinfect her.)

There are various tests she could consider to evaluate possible "damage" to the tissues of her uterus and fallopian tubes, and you'd be best off approaching a gynecologist or infertility specialist about this, but [url=http://www.steelersnflofficialauthentic.com/authentic-dri-archer-jersey.htm... if you're actually trying to get pregnant you may just want to see if you have any problems before embarking on expensive, invasive, and probably unnecessary testing.

I'm also curious to know which antibiotics she's on. Generally, the treatment for PID is a bit more aggressive than the treatment for an uncomplicated chlamydia infection. My understanding is that PID treatment assumes exposed to gonorrhea and treats for both organisms.

Good on you for not panicking and for seeking out more information. Do check out the links jasper411 highlighted above too, and good luck. I'm sure it will all work out soon.

posted by serazin at 11:53 AM on May 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

I have never heard of transmission through a pool mentioned above, and without seeing a reference in the medical literature, I am having trouble believing this is possible.