Hi. A couple of days ago I went to the doctors for some issues and turns out I have chlamydia. I am already on antibiotics and have reached out to all of my sexual partners about it.
My question is how do I move on? I know it’s curable, and that it’s just a bacterial infection like strep, but I am so so so upset about it.
I feel so embarrassed. I have confided in a few friends, one of whom has had it before and that has made me feel better and even laugh about it, but I’m still so upset. All of the partners I reached out to were very understanding, but I just feel so bad. I’m in college and one of the guys is graduating in a little more than a week and I feel so bad that I probably ruined his last week of school. I know this probably sounds so dramatic but I feel like I’m in a bad dream.
I don’t even care about the actual chlamydia per say, I feel like I caught it fairly quickly (I get tested every six weeks) and like I said, I know it’s a round of antibiotics and then have to get retested in a few months to make sure it’s gone.
I’m curious about my future. I am someone who likes to flirt and talk to guys at bars and am usually open to go home with them. I feel like I can never do that again. I have a kind of long term sexual partner that was gone this semester (will be back next semester) that I’m unsure about seeing now. I don’t even know why. I’m scared in the future of telling future boyfriends that I have had chlamydia in the past and have given it to people. I’m a pretty sexual person but even thinking about sex or guys right now is making me anxious and upset.
I also am so scared of the fact that I’m now seen (even if just by a few guys) as that girl that gave them chlamydia. I can’t even think about having sex at all right now. I don’t necessarily feel dirty or like a whore, I think I’m just really embarrassed. I also just feel so bad for the guys I was with.
Writing this out is making me see how dramatic I sound, but any advice would be appreciated about how to get over something like this.
2 comments
First of all, have protected sex with everyone! Second of all, you need not share it with future partners that you once had it. It’s easily treated, and should be taken as a warning of what you can catch by being with untested partners in unprotected situations. It could be a lot worse, so please be careful going forward, you don’t want to end up with HIV.
STIs are a part of being sexually active – it’s a risk you and anyone having sex takes. If it’s too much for these guys to deal with – thats on them. They made the decision to sleep with you – they took on the risk. There is no such thing as safe sex – only safER sex.
That being said you should be using condoms, discussing recent STI results (and asking to see them) and if you are not using condoms you should let partners know that you don’t so they can weigh the added risk. I personally would not care that you were tested every six weeks – or even every six days. If you’re having unprotected sex it’d be a no for me even if we were using protection.