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After two months I finally went to the dr today to be tested. H went right away (same dr). He says everything can be tested for with blood and urine, no swabs. Is that true? Seems hard to believe. Also, I've been feeling very tender in that area (TMI), I told him that and he just shrugged and said that unless there are lesions there's nothing to do. But he didn't even look!
I'm feeling dismissed. Please tell me he's right and I don't need to worry. :(

Is this your GP or did you go to a GYN?

I went to my GYN for my testing. They spent a LOT of time talking to me before they even did an exam to arm me with information/education.

They did an internal exam, swabs as well as the lab work-up.

I am sorry your dr was dismissive and not more compassionate. It is hard enough to go to that appointment without additional BS.

If you are not satisfied, please try another dr or a clinic who specializes.

You can't see a gyn here without a referral from from the family dr. My only other option is a walk in clinic. That would be worse I'm pretty sure.
:(

Morhurt, do you have a Planned Parenthood in your area?

They will do STD testing (for a fee). I don't have insurance so I go there for my yearly well-woman exam. They've always been very professional/ nice and it might be worth a shot if you're near one.

Do you have any planned parenthood clinics nearby? They usually take both drop in and appointments. The clinicians at PP are usually very informed and compassionate and they deal with this type of thing all the time.

I went to one of the Family Clinics in our area, with a $30 co-pay for my BCBS insurance. The attending physician was very compassionate. She even asked if I need a referral to a MC or IC. They cant test for some STD's unless there is a sore (ewww), but the usual suspects they can ID with blood and urine sample (for guys). I then got a $400 bill where my insurance did not cover the lab charges. BCBS rep said our plan did not cover that sort of thing. It would pay if there was a diagnosis and a treatment, but just to check... I have to pay.

My WS went to the county clinic about three weeks later. They saw her for a $3.00 sitting fee. She said the attending nurse was very compassionate but the whole thing was very humiliating. They did blood, urine and swabs. She went back a week later, paid another $3.00 sitting fee, and got a clean bill of health.

All that said, check to see what your policy DOES cover. Not saying dont get checked (because you need to) but make sure you are not caught aware.

I was lucky that I was tested during my annual exam at the GYN. She asked what all I wanted to be tested for - that some could be done by swab while she did my regular exam, but others needed blood work. I opted for everything.

It sounds like you might need to find a more compassionate doctor. I know how humiliating it can feel to relay the story to people, but in the end you will probably feel more at peace if you've been tested for everything.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience :(

My doctor did not do a vaginal exam and also told me that everything would should up through blood and urine. I found out that i had herpes but never and still haven't had an outbreak. If my doctor would have only done a vaginal then i would not have known.

My doctor told me that blood and urine is the only 100% way to know for certain. I hope this helps.

((Hugs))

You need a blood test and a pelvic exam for swabs. Its a must. Many tests require swabs.

I've been tested twice in the past year. I would go to a clinic, its better than not knowing. Explain you need the test due to an unfaithful partner. All my staff were understanding and gentle.

Full panel testing includes:

HIV
Herpies
HPV
Hepatitis A, B, C
Chlamydia
Gonorrhea
Tric
Syphilis

I was clean of STD's but got numerous yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis from my fwh.

Please please get tested.

It seems the more thorough you can be, the better an outcome. Amazingly terrible things can come from undetected STD's, in some cases, things like cancer.

I don't like how you got shrugged off, it wasn't professional and I think could have been kinder.

FWIW, nearly Exh wouldn't go and was horrified that I suggested such a thing.

The area we live in has a family planning center that I hear is very compassionate, maybe your area does, too. There are also walk in general medical clinics and women's counseling places.

It's such a personal thing to have to go and say, though.

I hope everything will be ok and I commend you for having it done.

Do you have a std clinic around you. They will do every std test their is. I went there it was great. I picked up a lot of std pamphlets..great information.

I'm still confused. :(
I looked at the requisition form, looks like chlamidia, gonorrhea, Hep C (I had hep A from food as a youth) and HIV. That's it (and iron because I'm chronically anemic). I think I may have a yeast infection or something but he was in such a hurry to get rid of me, I didn't say anything.
He's usually very compassionate. I went and saw him the day I found out and he seemed quite caring. :( I'm casual friends with his wife, that may be part of what's going on.
We live in a pretty small town, the idea of going to planned parenthood is scary. I feel pissed off that I made the step of going in and he couldn't just be thorough. I asked three times if he was sure there no reason for a swab.
I'm so mad at H that I have to go through this because of him. He feels super shitty about it, and he should!!

Another disease, which I don't see mentioned, is trichomoniasis. It's detected by swab only.

Group A beta-hemolytic strep is tested in urine; it is usually not an issue unless you're pregnant, in which case it can pose huge risk to the newborn.

Just so we are clear, because a couple people said urine and blood is all that is needed -

THAT IS NOT TRUE! SWABS ARE REQUIRED FOR WOMEN if you want a FULL STD PANEL.

The only way you can test for HPV is with a swab. So that all by itself tells you if you only got urine and blood as a female, you didn't get tested for everything. I won't go into other tests, because this is enough to know that if the swab is absent, something is already missing.

There is no official list of tests for a STD panel, thus if you just ask for a full panel, different docs will request different tests and tell you different things. A starter list, if you wanted everything, would include HIV, Syphilis, both Herpes (which you will likely have one strain because most people do), Chlamydia, Hepatitis a/b/c and Gonorrhea. In addition, if you are female, you should also consider HPV tests, any bacterial vaginosis tests, bacterial STDs (including ureaplasma, mycoplasma genitalium, trichomonas, gardnerella, mobiluncus mulieris, and mobiluncus curtisi), yeast tests (c. tropicalis, c. krusei, c. dubliniensus, c. glabrata, c. parapsilosis, c. albicans.) that are available to females.

I'm so sorry you had that experience. STD testing because of partner infidelity is already bad enough. I would highly recommend you go see a OB or go to a Planned Parenthood Clinic (or county clinic) and get all the tests they have as well as address any fears of any kind of infection you have symptoms for. (((Hugs)))

Please do whatever it takes to get fully tested (swab, visual exam & blood). I was fully tested after Dday #2 and tested positive for BV (Bacterial Vaginosis), Chlamydia and Trichomoniasis. Fucktard didn't get tested until after I tested positive....what a charmer.

After Dday #3 (yes, I was a slow learner), I was tested again (was clean....thank God) and have chosen to be tested at my yearly exams since. My personal health and being here for my children is priceless to me.

Best of luck to you!

There is a nasty STD out there called HPV, that caused cervical cancer in women and oral/throat cancer in men. You can NOT test for this with bloodwork or urine, it HAS to be done vaginally. And even then, HPV can show up years later, so it's VERY important that you stick with your annual exams and watch them carefully! Also, let your WH know that he needs to be aware of any changes in his throat/mouth. Some dentists are even good enough to catch the first signs of what is HPV in men.... but only after it's turned into cancer. There's no test for men for HPV at all though.

I talked to H and he was very upset for me. He's insisting we go to a walk in clinic together today, as I feel unable to deal with this myself. Going to my family dr who already knew was hard enough.
Should H be retested also? It was this same dr that tested him so maybe he didn't get a full panel either?
As an aside, it's been over a year since he had intercourse with anyone besides me.

Yes, you BOTH need to be tested again. Trichomoniasis is a bacterial infection that often has no symptoms. When it does in women, it resembles a yeast infection. It is only detectable by a swab of vaginal fluids, or penile fluids in the case of your hubby. BOTH partners must be treated at the same time, or you will keep reinfecting each other.

We went to a walk in and saw a dr (that we kind of know) and H told him a watered down version of what I needed and why. He totally agreed that I needed swabs and seemed surprised that my family dr (they know each other well) hadn't done them. He was very reassuring and proffessional.
Obviously I'm mad at H for why I had to go, but I was so glad that he arranged it, came woth me and took the rest of the day off.
Thank you all for the info and support.

I'm so glad you went to another clinic.