Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
STDs (Expert Forum)
NGU complications?
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
This forum is for questions and support regarding STD issues such as: Chlamydia, Crabs (pubic lice scabies), Gonorrhea, Hepatitis (viral), Herpes, HPV, Molluscum Contagiosum, PID, Rectal Infections, Syphilis, Trichomoniasis, Warts, Yeast Infection.All questions will be answered by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D. or Edward W Hook, MD.
 |
NGU complications?
by peterp75, Jan 15, 2006 12:00AM
I've been with the same woman for almost 8 years, and were were virgins when we met. About 2.5 years ago (in October in 2003), I messed up and received unprotected oral from a friend. Here's what happened since:
November 2003:
- about 2 weeks after the encounter I experience intense pain in the testes
- foolishly continue to have unprotected sex (other than birth control) with my girfriend
January of 2004
-my girlfrend starts to get monthly yeast infections. She has a history of getting them maybe once every 6 months or so, just not this frequently, or as bad (her thighs had severe rash on them, and it burnt when she urinated, although she also has a brief history of urinary tract infections).
June 2004 (7 months after the oral from the friend)
- yeast infections continue, and I confess. We get tested for STD's (chlamydia, gonerrha, syphilis,etc... all except herpes. The girl I got the oral from said she doesn't have it and I believe her, even though she does has a "past"). Everything came back negative.
- I'm finally diagnosed with a bacterial infection/prostatitis through an ultrasound. I'm put on doxycycline on and off for about 3-4 months.
July 2004-December 2004
- eventually, my gf is diganosed with a bacterial infection too, and she is given meds which clear it up. Yeast infections cease (finally). In addition to the yeast infections, my girlfriend also complains of being "irritated". Her vaginal area is really red.
January-August 2005
- girlfriend goes from doctor to doctor to find out what is causing her irritation, but to no avail. It eventually subsides on its own for awhile.
October 2005
- irritation returns. She is finally given amitriptyline and it works, as her doctor says that all the different meds she was on in an attempt to cure her yeast infections messed her up and made the nerve endings of her vagina really sensitve.
Januray 2006
- now that the amitriptyline is done, the irritation is back (just not as bad as before). My testes pain (which is more of an "ache" now) has never really gone away either, and it's been 2.5 years. My gf also misses her period. Home pregnancy test is negative.
My questions:
1) from all the doctors I saw (family, STD clinic and urologist) "NGU" never once came up. Would the STD tests have detected NGU (especially the chlamydia and gonerrha tests), even if the doctors didn't think to specifically look for it? Eveything was done through urine samples for me, and by swabs/urine for my gf. It never burned when I urinated, nor did I ever have any discharge.
2) we weren't tested for STD's until 7 months after the exposure. Could that have made a difference in anything?
3) If it is NGU - could that be the culprit for the yeast and bacterial infections, and her recently missed period 2.5 years later? What about her redness? Any fear of infertility for either of us?
4) The oral 2.5 years ago is always in the back of our minds. Does it have ANYTHING to do with what she's going through?
November 2003:
- about 2 weeks after the encounter I experience intense pain in the testes
- foolishly continue to have unprotected sex (other than birth control) with my girfriend
January of 2004
-my girlfrend starts to get monthly yeast infections. She has a history of getting them maybe once every 6 months or so, just not this frequently, or as bad (her thighs had severe rash on them, and it burnt when she urinated, although she also has a brief history of urinary tract infections).
June 2004 (7 months after the oral from the friend)
- yeast infections continue, and I confess. We get tested for STD's (chlamydia, gonerrha, syphilis,etc... all except herpes. The girl I got the oral from said she doesn't have it and I believe her, even though she does has a "past"). Everything came back negative.
- I'm finally diagnosed with a bacterial infection/prostatitis through an ultrasound. I'm put on doxycycline on and off for about 3-4 months.
July 2004-December 2004
- eventually, my gf is diganosed with a bacterial infection too, and she is given meds which clear it up. Yeast infections cease (finally). In addition to the yeast infections, my girlfriend also complains of being "irritated". Her vaginal area is really red.
January-August 2005
- girlfriend goes from doctor to doctor to find out what is causing her irritation, but to no avail. It eventually subsides on its own for awhile.
October 2005
- irritation returns. She is finally given amitriptyline and it works, as her doctor says that all the different meds she was on in an attempt to cure her yeast infections messed her up and made the nerve endings of her vagina really sensitve.
Januray 2006
- now that the amitriptyline is done, the irritation is back (just not as bad as before). My testes pain (which is more of an "ache" now) has never really gone away either, and it's been 2.5 years. My gf also misses her period. Home pregnancy test is negative.
My questions:
1) from all the doctors I saw (family, STD clinic and urologist) "NGU" never once came up. Would the STD tests have detected NGU (especially the chlamydia and gonerrha tests), even if the doctors didn't think to specifically look for it? Eveything was done through urine samples for me, and by swabs/urine for my gf. It never burned when I urinated, nor did I ever have any discharge.
2) we weren't tested for STD's until 7 months after the exposure. Could that have made a difference in anything?
3) If it is NGU - could that be the culprit for the yeast and bacterial infections, and her recently missed period 2.5 years later? What about her redness? Any fear of infertility for either of us?
4) The oral 2.5 years ago is always in the back of our minds. Does it have ANYTHING to do with what she's going through?
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Jan 15, 2006 12:00AM
, Jan 15, 2006 12:00AM
The sequence of events you describe does not suggest NGU in you or any complications of it in either you or your partner. Other than cases due to chlamydia, NGU is not known to cause serious long-term health consequences in either infected men or their sex partners. NGU and prostatitis (and urinary "bacterial infection") may be confused with NGU, and they can be difficult to distinguish from one another; so it is conceivable you had it early in the course you describe (6/04). However, if you had anything sexually acquired at that time, the doxycycline would have resolved it.
1) See above. I doubt you had NGU.
2) No, the delayed testing is unlikely to have made any difference.
3) NGU does not cause yeast infections or nonspecific "bacterial infections" in women. (I'm not sure what your partner had, but that terminology suggests the possibility of bacterial vaginosis. It generally is not sexually acquired.) There is nothing in your clinical story that makes me concerned about a risk of STD-related infertility.
4) I doubt any of this has any connection to the oral sex episode you are concerned about. However, amitryptiline is an antidepressant, and the apparent improvemetn on that drug suggests that some of your and/or your partner's symptoms might be related to anxiety over that event.
So the best I can suggest is that you and your partner follow up with your own providers. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck--
HHH, MD
1) See above. I doubt you had NGU.
2) No, the delayed testing is unlikely to have made any difference.
3) NGU does not cause yeast infections or nonspecific "bacterial infections" in women. (I'm not sure what your partner had, but that terminology suggests the possibility of bacterial vaginosis. It generally is not sexually acquired.) There is nothing in your clinical story that makes me concerned about a risk of STD-related infertility.
4) I doubt any of this has any connection to the oral sex episode you are concerned about. However, amitryptiline is an antidepressant, and the apparent improvemetn on that drug suggests that some of your and/or your partner's symptoms might be related to anxiety over that event.
So the best I can suggest is that you and your partner follow up with your own providers. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck--
HHH, MD
Just out of curiosity, in response to my first question, do the standard chlamydia and gonerrha tests detect NGU, understanding that they can be difficult to distinguish from one another?
If there's no particular reason why she was taken off it, maybe she could talk with her doctor about starting it again.
One more thing doctor, I noticed that when I drink caffine, my discomfort resumes... is that a sign of it not being NGU as well?
Is it possible your gf has vulvar vestibulitis? It suddenly dawned on me that her symptoms sound very similar to a woman on another board I frequent, who was regularly posting her treatment updates. It's not really known what causes it, but it looks like HPV, repeated yeast infections/BV, chemical irritation, etc. are good possibilities. Amitriptyline is one method of treatment. Surgery is another (although I'd say that would be a last resort!). Do a search for more info.
I guess I do and I don't really understand not wanting to take medications for the rest of her life. It seems to me that if it works, and she's in pain without it, that's a pretty strong argument for continuing. Besides, look at it this way: what if she had high blood pressure, or she were diabetic? Would she still refuse meds?
In the meantime, here are some other things she can do: avoid tight pants/jeans, wear only cotton underwear, use unscented/hypoallergenic detergent, no soap on her vulva... there are a bunch of things that can help. She might want to consider seeing a pelvic pain specialist, as well as a sex therapist to help her deal with the emotional aspect of all of this.
Caffeine naturally increases bladder tone and it also is a mild diuretic (i.e., increases urine output). Most people who ingest caffeine have to urinate more frequently and/or more urgently, and it isn't just because of the water intake in the coffee or soft drink.
I agree completely with monkeyflower's last comment.
HHH, MD