Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello. Has anyone ever got antibiotic resistant gonorrhea? How did you treat it? How long did you take to cure it? I believe I've got one. And it was azithromycin treatment that failed.

Posted (edited)

There is a huge difference between gonnorhea that is resistant to some antibiotics and gonnorhea that is resistant to all antibiotics (sometimes referred to as “super-gonnorhea”). The former is very common, the latter is very rare (in fact, I’m not sure it even exists yet).

I suspect you have the former. Were you treated orally or by injection?

Someone in here with better medical knowledge than me will be able to enlighten you further.

Edited by Spunkinmyarse
  • Moderators
Posted

The current CDC recommendation in the US is intramuscular ceftriaxone, because azithomycin resistance in gonorrhea has been increasing substantially over the last decade. So back to the doctor with you!

Quote

Changes in azithromycin susceptibility. Azithromycin resistance in N. gonorrhoeae is an increasing concern. Genomic epidemiology data confirm that azithromycin resistance can result from multiple mechanisms (23). Nationally, the percentage of N. gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility (MIC ≥2.0 μg/mL) increased more than sevenfold over 5 years (from 0.6% in 2013 to 4.6% in 2018) (Figure) (1). During 2018, among men who have sex with men, the proportion of GISP isolates with an azithromycin alert value was 8.6%, compared with 2.9% among men who have sex with women only (1). Studies have associated development of reduced azithromycin susceptibility with azithromycin exposure among patients with N. gonorrhoeae infection (24,25).

From this web page: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6950a6.htm

  • Upvote 1
Posted
39 minutes ago, sindiktas said:

Hello. Has anyone ever got antibiotic resistant gonorrhea? How did you treat it? How long did you take to cure it? I believe I've got one. And it was azithromycin treatment that failed.

I’m a big advocate that people should not ask Medical questions of the hive. Most of us are not healthcare professionals. And none of us know your full medical history. I’m not trying to be rude. But realistic.

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

To clarify myself, I'm not asking for medical advice, but rather reassurance. The doctor prescribed me another antibiotic now (ofloxacinum). We'll see how that works. I just feel very alone in this, that I got such a rare thing and anxious that it's going to take forever to heal. Both set of antibiotics were taken orally.

Edited by sindiktas
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, sindiktas said:

Hello. Has anyone ever got antibiotic resistant gonorrhea? How did you treat it? How long did you take to cure it? I believe I've got one. And it was azithromycin treatment that failed.

Firstly, take a deep breath. You're fine.

Second, what @viking8x6 said. 

What makes you think you're not cured? Did you test again after 14 days, or did the provider do a follow-up proof of cure test? If the former, you need to make sure you've waited long enough (especially with pharyngal gonorrhea), if the latter, the provider knows the protocol for follow up treatment.  

That said, I have to ask - are you in the US? If so, you should have got intramuscular ceftriaxone for "uncomplicated gonorrhea" per the CDC.  That's the bog-standard kind that I'm betting you have and just needed to be given the right medication to treat it.

The oral ofloxacinum you were prescribed this time is as, or more, curative of uncomplicated gonorrhea as intramuscular ceftriaxone based on this study, so I think you should relax and let the medication do its job.

I just took a quick look at your posts on BZ and I noticed they are all about STIs - HIV, HPV, syphilis, gonorrhea, etc. I really recommend you find a clinic that caters to the gay community and get all your sexual health vaccinations, PrEP, Doxycycline PEP, etc. so you can get up to date information from people who know our community and help you be more informed and proactive about your sexual health.

Edited by blackrobe
Posted
35 minutes ago, blackrobe said:

Firstly, take a deep breath. You're fine.

Second, what @viking8x6 said. 

What makes you think you're not cured? Did you test again after 14 days, or did the provider do a follow-up proof of cure test? If the former, you need to make sure you've waited long enough (especially with pharyngal gonorrhea), if the latter, the provider knows the protocol for follow up treatment.  

That said, I have to ask - are you in the US? If so, you should have got intramuscular ceftriaxone for "uncomplicated gonorrhea" per the CDC.  That's the bog-standard kind that I'm betting you have and just needed to be given the right medication to treat it.

The oral ofloxacinum you were prescribed this time is as, or more, curative of uncomplicated gonorrhea as intramuscular ceftriaxone based on this study, so I think you should relax and let the medication do its job.

I just took a quick look at your posts on BZ and I noticed they are all about STIs - HIV, HPV, syphilis, gonorrhea, etc. I really recommend you find a clinic that caters to the gay community and get all your sexual health vaccinations, PrEP, Doxycycline PEP, etc. so you can get up to date information from people who know our community and help you be more informed and proactive about your sexual health.

Hello, thanks for the word of confidence. It was rectal gonorrhea. 3 weeks after finishing treatment I started feeling increased itchiness and I saw discharge again. I live in Europe. In a small country. We don't have clinics/organizations for gay men. We have some checkpoints which offer blood tests but nothing else. And generally DoxyPEP program is not taking place in Europe as far as I know.

Posted (edited)

And presumably that’s why you come to this site for advice, information and support when it comes to gay health matters. That is completely understandable, and please don’t be put off by other people’s comments in this thread. Don’t feel that you are alone in what you are going through: most of us here have probably lost sleep at some point over some sexual health related issue. And very often, it turns out that it wasn’t  nearly as bad as we thought and we needn’t have worried- and I’m sure that’s going to be the case with your current bout of gonnorhea.

It is so important that we are able to discuss medical matters here: sometimes you only find out what questions to ask your medical practitioner by hearing about the experiences of others. And medical opinions and treatments often vary, particularly from one country to another: asking other BZ members about how they dealt with a particular issue can be a very useful tool to gaining the right treatment. And for what it’s worth, I think there is more combined medical expertise on this site when it comes to gay men’s sexual health than there is in most STI clinics you’re likely to visit.

Edited by Spunkinmyarse
  • Like 1
Posted
37 minutes ago, sindiktas said:

Hello, thanks for the word of confidence. It was rectal gonorrhea. 3 weeks after finishing treatment I started feeling increased itchiness and I saw discharge again. I live in Europe. In a small country. We don't have clinics/organizations for gay men. We have some checkpoints which offer blood tests but nothing else. And generally DoxyPEP program is not taking place in Europe as far as I know.

If we knew what European country it would help. I'm guessing it's one of the least gay friendly ones at the tail end of the attached list.

 

 

Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 2.27.41 PM.png

Posted

As spunkinmyarse said there’s definitely no harm in asking here…

azithromycin is no longer first-line treatment; if intramuscular ceftriaxone did not work that would be a far greater cause for concern. 
 

Thankfully antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea remains extremely rare.

Posted
On 6/11/2024 at 12:33 AM, blackrobe said:

If we knew what European country it would help. I'm guessing it's one of the least gay friendly ones at the tail end of the attached list.

 

 

Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 2.27.41 PM.png

Yes, you're right. It's Lithuania.

  • Moderators
Posted

Hot off the presses, a report on antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea in Europe:

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/antimicrobial-resistance-gonorrhoea-rising-threat-treatment-efficacy

There are significant amounts of resistance to azithromycin and to ciprofloxacin (note that in all probability the latter would also be resistant to ofloxacin). However, they're probably trying to use these agents whenever they are effective, in order to prevent the development/spread of strains that are resistant to cephalosporins (which right now are still rare).

It is interesting to note that the reported caseload for gonorrhea in Europe increased by 48% from 2021 to 2022. Probably that was partly post-pandemic, of course, but still that's a substantial increase!

Posted
8 minutes ago, viking8x6 said:

caseload for gonorrhea in Europe increased by 48% from 2021 to 2022

Yup. I can confirm the findings in this report. In 2022 I got it twice, when I normally get it once a year. But, with the help of my handsome gay-friendly doctor and his wonderfully chatty nurse, got treated nicely, and all sorted out. Knock on wood, this year I didn't get anything. But I got a trip to Berlin coming up at the end of the week so I booked myself for a test already when I get back. Statistically speaking, I should get one of the 3s in Berlin. Will report back with the results!

Posted

Just for an update, the doctor called me today and said that the swab from the previous week did not show that I was sick so maybe the treatment did work after all. And now I'm gradually feeling better daily.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Guidelines. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.