OK, where to start… My previous girlfriend had syphilis when we were together. I refused to believe i had it. So i never got tested. 5 years went by and now i believe i may have it, i first went to my primary care doctor and without a test he told me i did not have it. But then prescribed me 20 mg of Ethromycin(spelling?)
I became violently ill, and did not take anymore. I called back the doctor and he still insisted i did not have syphilis. Well i told my friends of my worries and they said the doctor was negligent and that i should go to a Health Department. Did that, and took the blood test for syphilis. The first test came back with problems, and the health dep. doc wanted me to retest. Did that and it came back negative.
And i am positive my ex gf had syphilis during the time we were together. So i took it upon myself to research this disease myself. ANd i found some rather shocking information… One, administering ethromycin/penicillin in low dosage during on set of disease can lower the t-pallidum count thus masking the disease and making it near impossible for standard tests to detect.
WEll my question is, what am i supposed to do? I have taken the standard test at the local health department 3 times, all coming back negative… Where can i go to for different testing and or more information? Any expert help is appreciated.
Go to a urologist or other specialist with expertise in venereal diseases. Thanks to antibiotics many doctors are not familiar with syphilis, which is notorious for having a confusing array of different possible symptoms, including none at all. The bottom line is, if there’s any chance you might have it, you must absolutely seek treatment. Syphilis is a chronic disease that after the initial exposure can lie undetected for years while it does nasty things to your body, such as eventually causing brain damage. Spending the last years of your life in a mental institution with syphlitic dementia is not a fate I care to contemplate.
As a dissenting opinion, doctors are plenty familiar with syphilis and its problems even though it is not seen as often as it used to be, and not just because of antibiotics. You have to recognize something before you treat it, you know.
There are several tests for syphilis. The commonest test is probably a simple blood test called VDRL. This is a good screening test, meaning that if you have syphilis the test is likely to be positive. Unfortunately, a positive result does not mean you have syphilis. A negative result makes syphilis unlikely.
Using darkfield microscopy, the spirochetes of syphilis can usually be seen. However the most specific test is called the FTA-ABS looking for the syphilis antibody. If this test is negative, you don’t have syphilis.
Erythromycin is not the drug of choice for syphilis (still penicillin). It is also very hard on the stomach and lots of people can’t take it.
You say you have been tested three times, negative. If these were darkfield or FTA-ABS, you have NOTHING to worry about and do NOT have syphilis. Relax. Syphilis is a disease in three stages. Only 30% of people progress to stage 2, and only 30% of these go on to Stage 3. If you have not noticed rashes on your plams and soles or a painfil chancre on your penis, you should relax and believe the doctors. If you think you have syphilis, and it does not sound like it to me, a simple course of penicillin GETS rid of the infection for good. The fact your girlfriend had it only means you should be tested, and you have been.
I used to work at a clinic, and we would jam a few million units of penicillin prophylactically into people who simply had had sexual contact with someone who had syphilis, before a blood test came back. I don’t know why you can’t get straight answers, especially as to what the “problems” were on your blood tests. Seems like an MD somewhere ought set you straight and put your mind at ease. Maybe on this board!