[daisymae]

I have a question that hopefully I could get some ideas on. I had Chlamydia twice but had it treated and at my last appointment a month ago the tests came back negative but came back positive for Gardnerella which I also treated. A few months ago it started to be painful when I had sex. I told the doctor who did an ultrasound and said everything looked fine. However, even after treating Gardnerella which I hoped was the reason for the pain, I am still experiencing deep pain everytime I have sex and sometimes now the day after. Does anyone know what this could be? I've been reading about PID and feel like my symptoms are similar but I would think when they did all of the tests on me and the ultrasound something would have shown for this. Any help or ideas would be so helpful because I am very scared!

[loveburns]

Detecting and diagnossing PID can sometimes be hard for doctors or so they say. I myself have had Chla and Ghon and wonder if I maybe have PID but the doctors never give you a definite nor do they want to run the necessary test. I believe as women we all know our bodies and we can sense when something is wrong. I've been wanting a baby for a while now and I think my chances are slim to none due to my past STD infections. I too believe that I may have PID after reading about it because I have in the past experienced pain during and after sex and pain in my lower abdomon. The doctors always want to pass it off as gas. I encourage you to keep pushing and pushing at your Doc until he says fine we'll give you the test. Let me know what you find out. Best of luck...God Bless!

[niclou]

Hi
I found out I had chlamydia last year, when they tested me at the same time as my routine smear test. I must have had it for 3 years, so I'm assuming it had developed into PID, which I was assured would have been cleared when I took the antibiotics for chlamydia.

The only symptom I can remember experiencing was a sensation of air being forced deep inside me during sex, however I didn't think anything of, and actually thought it must have been trapped air!

Anyway, recently I've been expereincing pains, aches and twinges from my lower abdoman and slight discomfort during sex again, so I was convinced that the PID must have come back.

I went to the doctor who was really good, I played on my symptoms slightly and said they were worse than they were and I ended up being sent for another chlamydia swab, as well as a swab being taken from higher up in my organs, which apparently tested for all sorts of infections like thrush and everything, so PID would have been picked up.

All came back ok, however it maybe worth exaggerating your symptoms slightly and asking your doctor directly for a higher internal swab to test for every sort of infection.

I'm still unsure as to why I've been experiencing these pains ...

[katty1]

Hi you said that you wre tested for all sorts of possible infections so PID would have been picked up? I dont think you can pick PID up though a swab ...but you can pick up STI if you went for a cervical smear test thats usually what it is - jsut to test for any abnormalities with the cells they can tell however in th process of doing the test if you have cervical inflammation . But that dosent mean a person has PID there is a condition called strawberry cervix - the cervix is inlammed and has a strawberry appearence ...if you just did an antibiotic for chl - that will not clear up PID as you generally have to do a combination of two separate antibiotics ...which are given if PID is stongly suspected or you are diagnosed with PID ...but you do need to have swabs they will test for all sorts of STI including bacterial vaginosis (not an STI but needs treatment ) thrush is generally not a dangerous condition its very common but if you have repeated bouts of thrush it is possible to develop PID ...CHLY can mimic thrush or yeast infection in other words it can just appear to be thrush but it isnt ...have some further investigations as having untreated chly is one of the main causes of PID . Do you have any period ltype pains that are there all the time. any fever thats suddenly happens or feeling faint and very nauseous, back ache thigh/leg pain, pain in your side feeling as if you have been puched below the ribs , pain or tenderness when you lie on your front just below belly button , bleeding between periods foul odours discharges , or no period or very light period one or two days and it stops . Your doctor should be able to get a clear idea by placing one hand on your abdo and giving you an internal at the same time ...but you will need separate medication for PID if you have it .
Good luck katty x

[niclou]

Hi Katty

I'm going back to see the doc in 10 days so I will make sure I talk to her about it in more detail. I can't remember what antibiotic I took, however it was only two pills that I had to take together straight away, I was under the impression that they cleared up PID too.

I had a chlamydia and smear test last year, however I went back recently as I have been experiencing pains, so was sent for another chlamydia test. While I was there, the nurse said she was taking a second swab from higher up in my organs which would detect any infections; so if I had any infection up there causing PID, then they would find it.

I will definitely talk to the doc about this tho, as now I'm quite concerned! :-|

Nic xx

[katty1]

Hi Niccy ...i just saw you had posted in my email, wanted to get back as i know your worried. Dont be worried Nic, i think but im only speaking as a woman who has had pid and chlamydia ...it was the chlamydia they cleared up for you ..you can have that but as you can see nfrom my previous posts i had do a few weeks of doxycycline possibly more than two as i took them at the same time as taking my meds for pid in hospital ...but if you like ..you can read ..about meds i took in other posts on this forum. The nurse has taken a high vaginal swab which is good for sti infections ect but what i meant was by just giving a high vaginal swab ...you cannot tell if you have PID ...as if there was a swab specifically to see if you had PID it wouldnt be that difficult to diagnose ...i wish there was a swab but sadly there isnt as far as im aware , What i think they are saying is ...untreated chlamydia or Ghon or both if a person is suffering nfrom the two i just had chlamydia ...is giving them a clear indication that THAT specific conndition is likely to be the cause of PID ...and it generally is if the sti has gone on untreated . the thing is two tabs wont clear up PID i think thats for the STI you would need a course of the antibiotics metronidazole and ofloxacin. I know they have others and iv shots ect but im assuming you are posting from england and if you dont have any problems tolerating these antibiotics i would assume they would give you these Niccy ....the thing is swabs go off to the lab ect and you do have to wait a bit of time to get these swabs back they might have reswabbed you because they suspect you have cought ..chlamydia ..or they are just doing the overall check ...its good that they have done it as well as you providing urine sample and perhaps blood ..there is a check they do on white blood cell count ...and they can tell if your body fighting any infection ect Dont worry niccy it sounds as if its in hand or the drs on to this for you i just want to read the other post you made and i will reply to it ....hang on a mo :-)

[loveburns]

My last three test for STD's have ome back negative my only worries is that the last two were tested from urine and I dont think that that's an accurate way to test for STd's so I have a gyn appt Thursday and I plan to stretch my symptoms a little to make sure he looks into it the bestway he can. I talked to the doc that diagnosed me with the infection 10 years ago and he told me that it was caught in time not to cause PID. I'm still not convinced. I have been sexualy active for the last 10 years and on Birth control pills on and off but I find it strange that I have never been pregnant.

[katty1]

Hi LB ...i agree with you its best to get a swab of high up ...They say urine test is pretty accurate and it is accurate but its better to get high vaginal. I think think you are right to def have some further investigations perhaps a little op to look around inside or making an appointment with a gyne especially as you are worried youve been trying for a while and nothing seems to be happening about having a baby but it might be that you have been on the pill on and off it takes a bit to get out of your system ...i hope it isnt PID but im sure if they have a little look this could only benefit you ...crossing fingers for you and hope it all goes well . I just sent a sample of urine off (it came as a home test kit) to a clinic i paid a bit extra with postage so it would arrive the next day ...so the chly team can test it ...i ring next week for my results ...I dont have any symptoms but im not taking any chances i had sex with a condom but *not sure* if there wasnt one or two mins that that condom wasnnt on the guy...you know its worrying all i care about is not getting it agin and most of all if i ever did i catch it a week or two after i had any reason to think i might have cought it !...its better than getting sick and sore ect ...its prob me worrying coz i waited a year and and several moths after i did all my treatment for PID and CHLY ...so i expect its jsut my personality (a bit of a worrier) but im testing anyway ...i expect to get the results when i ring next week ...il post my news on this forum! good :-) or bad :-( ...but if its bad not to worry il just have to do a little bit of doxy 1 or 2 ...
Hope you get the gyne appointment soon take care and do post agin to let us know how you are Katty x

[loveburns]

Thanks Katty I hope all is well with you as well as for a worrier I am guilty of that as well. I pray that all ends up well for all of us. God Bless!

[niclou]

Hi
Well I went to the docs yesterday, and in all honesty they are clueless! I went in and explained my history and that I thought PID had been treated last year with the chlamydia, however I had recently found out that it hadn't and I was experiencing problems again and I wanted the anitbiotics to treat PID.
Well the doc didn't have a clue. He thought PID was clamydia, so I had to explain to the doc that it is caused by chlamydia however is a separate issue in itself. I told him that I should have been given two different antibiotics last year however I wasn't; and he had to get his little chart out and check that I was correct!
I had looked on the GUM Clinics website prior to going and it also confirmed that the antibiotics I was given last year wouldn't have cleared PID - so he ended up prescibing me metronidazole and ofloxacin which I have now started taking, so thank you so much Katty for explaining this to me as otherwise I would have gone on indefinitely thinking it had been treated!
To be honest, I feel completely let down by my doctors, you would have thought that when I told them I had had chlamydia for 3 years, and knowing that PID is notoriously difficult to diagnose and often symptomless, they would have thought I was a prime candidate to be suffering from it and treated it anyway just to be on the safe side, and not let me continue suffering with it for an additional 7 months!
The NHS won't do an internal pelvic examination to check to see how much damage has been done unless I have been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for a year, however I have been in touch with BUPA who will do the examination as well as a consultation, for £120 in London and £170 anywhere else in the country, so its something I'm currently considering; just so that I can lift this cloud of uncertainty from my mind and get on with my life knowing what to expect.
Anyway, thanks again for giving me the correct info about the antibiotics - its much more than the doctors did!
Nic xx