navigating through STDs

[supertramp]

Not sure if its the right forum to ask what I'm about to,  I want to get an opinion here..

I have been bottoming bareback ever since 2016. I have had my share of STDs like - Chlamydia, Gonorrhea through out ,with the latest being Syphilis (S) in 2019 May. I got diagnosed for S when rashes appeared on my body (I think its the secondary stage ?) as I missed to notice chancre. The S count was 1:32 and then received one shot on my bum and the count got reduced drastically. At the same time I was also treated for HPV and then received series of vaccination. While these were being addressed, my S count dropped as expected from 1:32 to 1:8 and then to 1:4. In between this period I had my first and only party experience ( you know what I mean; I wanted to try everything once and stopped soon after) along with visiting a bath house for the first the only time. All fun things aside, I noticed the rashes on my body again after 4 months. I suspect I caught S again through these "fun" events and when I got tested the S count shot up to 1:64.. Same drill - got a shot on my bum (this was in 2020 March - just before lockdown). Since then I never had sex with anyone till now due to pandemic and also to make sure I was alrite with S. The S count dropped steadily from 1:64 (in March 2020) to 1:16 (August 2020) to 1:8 (Nov 2020) to 1:8 again (Feb 2021). Again, all through these period I have abstained from sex. Doc said the count drop is as expected and not to worry about. So, my questions to this forum is --

1. are these unusual with what's happening with me? any feedback or inputs from anyone who had similar experience regarding S count fluctuations? I hope I am nowhere near tertiary stage. 

2. i enjoy bb sex but I am concerned about S potentially getting picked up again; Chlam and Gono are easily manageable. Taking constant penicillin shot would make the bacteria resistant?

3. how do you guys deal with STDs and impact to personal and/or professional life?

I would like to hear from the members..

 

thank you

[viking8x6]

1. From my experience, that sounds pretty normal. If you caught it at the time of the rash, that's secondary, not tertiary stage (by definition). After that it can go underground for years (sometimes decades) before the slow damage it causes to your body allows it to emerge as tertiary syphilis.

An explanation of the "syphilis count" numbers: The RPR (rapid plasma reagin) test is *not* a specific test for the syphilis organism. It is a test for antibodies to a substance found naturally inside the human body's cells, that is released when they are damaged by the syphilis organism. Even after the syphilis organism is gone from the body, it can take a long time for these antibodies to drop back to the "unreactive" level, and sometimes they never do so at all. There's a more specific test for the organism itself, and if you get a reactive test on the RPR, they use the specific one to confirm that you actually have active syphilis.

2. Correct, and besides your body can develop an allergy to penicillin, so it's good to avoid using it unless you really need it. If you're allergic, you can't use it when you might really need it!

3. I get tested regularly and treated when necessary. The main impact on my personal life is that sometimes my playmates are disturbed or pissed off if they get the news that they've been exposed to something. That's annoying, but I don't consider it my problem - they're grown up people and they know (or should know) the risks. I never pretend to be an angel. It has no impact on my professional life (none of anyone's business in that arena).

[supertramp]

thanks for your response 'viking8x6'. i got tested for syphillis, its 1:4 now. I will repeat the test in a months time or so to make sure I have not caught any recent infection.

[Read1]

Ztheek, my advice - keep getting teated and treated regularly for any STDs. STDs are just part of the bb forest we love to lurk in. An occupational hazard too! But do keep barebacking! It’s what bring us joy and bliss!

[supertramp]

On 5/20/2021 at 8:43 PM, Read1 said:

Ztheek, my advice - keep getting teated and treated regularly for any STDs. STDs are just part of the bb forest we love to lurk in. An occupational hazard too! But do keep barebacking! It’s what bring us joy and bliss!

thank you for your response! and yes, thats what i will keep doing..

[supertramp]

Any other STDs we may need to pay attention to or get a vax for? I am vax'd for HPV, hep-b, hep-a..

[Close2MyBro]

1 hour ago, ztheek said:

Any other STDs we may need to pay attention to or get a vax for? I am vax'd for HPV, hep-b, hep-a..

Take the pneumonia vaccine as well. Most doctors will give you the vax if you ask and all the HIV docs I know actually suggest it if they know you are having sex with men. If you're over 50, you should get the shingles vaccine as well., its two doses two months apart. Just plan well for that one though, because it comes on strong and leaves you feeling tired and worn out for a few days after. I'd suggest getting it on a Friday so you can spend the weekend recovering from it.

[LetsPOZBreed]

Agreed with @Close2MyBro.  I was offered a pneumonia vax through my HIV doc not long after I started seeing her.  

Honsetly, if you are Poz, I'd take any vaccine they offer - you never know just how any of these nasties will affect your body once you're immunocompromised.  That's why early stage of the pandemic, I was effectively a shut in for the most part.  

Obviously bacterial infections (syphyllis, gon, clap) don't have vaccines, but just know that it's part of the territory.  The best thing you can do is to get tested regularly, and try and avoid situations that are a bit too sketchy - I had worse episodes of catching things during my drug-use period, so I've steered well clear of the "party scene" since.  Haven't really had any STI issues since then, even after gang bangs and saunas.