Like, now I find out I have syphilis???
I am 62 years old and diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. I had more tests done because the symptoms are becoming more noticeable. Extensive blood work was done, moreso than has ever been done before. I find out I am HIV negative, which I predicted, and lo and behold, I have syphilis.
I haven't had a sexual partner in 20 years, only ten or so more in the 20 years before that. The doctor told me the virus gives you an immediate sore and a rash. I never noticed that back then. Then it goes dormant in your body and can reappear at any point in the rest of your life.
Here's the kicker. It can interrupt brain and nerve function, hallmarks of frontotemporal dementia. I may have been misdiagnosed all these years, with no hint I should have been going to an infection specialist all along. I wonder why my primary doctors never did these tests on me.
I am shocked! I feel guilty and dirty. How am I going to tell my family this?
Have you experienced this?
by Anonymous | reply 52 | November 23, 2022 6:18 AM
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Why do you have to tell your family? I mean, yeah you'll need to tell them you have dementia, but you absolutely don't have to tell them it's because of untreated syphilis.
Best of luck to you. I hope you can get mitigating treatment.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | October 22, 2022 2:15 AM
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No, but is the damage reversible if the infection is treated? Good luck with your treatment. You don't need to tell your family.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | October 22, 2022 2:16 AM
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OP, it went to your brain. Regardless, you have a very real brain condition. That’s what syphilis does.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | October 22, 2022 2:17 AM
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[quote]No, but is the damage reversible if the infection is treated?
No.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | October 22, 2022 2:18 AM
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The damage is irreversible. But it can be stopped in its tracks when treated. That's the plan.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | October 22, 2022 2:19 AM
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My dad’s best friend got syphilis from a hooker in Vietnam. Apparently, he died from it (according to my mother). My dad always acted like he died in active duty.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | October 22, 2022 2:19 AM
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[quote]How am I going to tell my family this?
Oh god. Now I know you're fabricating all of this.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | October 22, 2022 2:20 AM
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If you feel like you need to tell your family can't you tell them it's from a head injury? Or that your physicians don't know what caused it?
by Anonymous | reply 9 | October 22, 2022 2:22 AM
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Don't worry about telling your family. Especially if the damage is irreversible. Continue your treatment plan with your doctor and concentrate on getting the care you need now. When you start thinking about power of attorney, that person might be the person to inform of your medical condition, only because it helps them make the right decision based on your circumstances and wishes. But it's not something anyone else needs to be aware of. It doesn't change anything.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | October 22, 2022 2:31 AM
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I think you would not have to tell your family the reasons behind your illness if you don't want to. Then again is there any Shane in having syphilis? I don't think so but maybe others do. Get it treated and get on with life.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | October 22, 2022 2:34 AM
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[quote]I feel guilty and dirty.
As you should, you dirty whore.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | October 22, 2022 2:36 AM
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So it laid dormant for 20 years?
by Anonymous | reply 15 | October 22, 2022 2:39 AM
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Many a vet in WW2 had the same story. Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie NY had a special building for those poor old demented guys. If you were on antibiotic it treated the acute stage, the soreness & rash. 2nd stage very symptom free, 3rd stage what you are now experiencing. Syphilis is sneaky. You have to keep getting tested & retreated if & when it comes back.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | October 22, 2022 2:39 AM
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You sound like a pearl clutching prisspot
by Anonymous | reply 17 | October 22, 2022 2:42 AM
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Tell them nothing. You just have dementia. I've always said that if I get anal cancer from HPV from anal sex- I'm telling my family I have prostate cancer.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | October 22, 2022 2:44 AM
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You can still have a long and productive life, and share your talents with the world.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | October 22, 2022 2:45 AM
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I've had STIs before, but I also get regular checkups. 20 years to find this out???
by Anonymous | reply 22 | October 22, 2022 2:48 AM
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Minor problem with your story OP .......... syphilis is a BACTERIAL infection, not a VIRAL infection, as you stated in your OP...........if you had REALLY been through this with your doctor, he would have made this clear to you.........and you would have known not to make that slip-up
by Anonymous | reply 23 | October 22, 2022 2:49 AM
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Reminds me of a story. I live in Australia. My best friend is a phlebotomist. A lady had been treated for chlamydia and was having a further test to see if she was clear of it. Koala bears are prone to chlamydia. Now, this lady my friend was treating was rather proper and conservative, about 55. She told my friend that she must have gotten the chlamydia from a koala she petted! We still laugh about it, those koala bears dropping from trees to rape unsuspecting prudes.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | October 22, 2022 2:52 AM
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Wonder how many posters are thinking, damn should I get a test. I also think a good many males have clamydia since it is supposed to be a silent infection.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | October 22, 2022 2:55 AM
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R23-
There's an ignore button right at the top of the thread if you care not to participate.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | October 22, 2022 2:56 AM
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OP doesn't get the clap, he gets applause!
by Anonymous | reply 27 | October 22, 2022 2:57 AM
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R25 - Not I! I'm not a WHORE like you.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | October 22, 2022 2:57 AM
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I don't have syphilish, I'm just shwell!
by Anonymous | reply 29 | October 22, 2022 2:57 AM
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OP I'm very sorry this happened to you
This is a lesson to everyone that you must have yearly STI testing. For those who do not have health insurance, there are many free clinics catering to gay men who will do the testing.
Once a year, get tested for STI
by Anonymous | reply 30 | October 22, 2022 2:57 AM
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I can't get STI's, I'm on Prep!
by Anonymous | reply 32 | October 22, 2022 2:59 AM
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[quote]My dad’s best friend got syphilis from a hooker in Vietnam.
Al Capone contracted syphilis from a prostitute at a brothel in Chicago.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 33 | October 22, 2022 3:06 AM
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I'm sorry you're going thru this, OP, good luck to you.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | October 22, 2022 3:09 AM
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Syphilis? OP are you a time traveler from the past?
by Anonymous | reply 35 | October 22, 2022 10:59 PM
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Yes OP, after a rash , I was diagnosed with syphilis. It was a complete surprise, I never did anal unprotected, and I didn't even know you could contract the syph by Giving a BJ. (I don't like oral on my dick, but I like to suck a dick. ) But it happened. The rash comes between the second and third year. I was treated with three shots, I have to go through a check every year now .
by Anonymous | reply 36 | October 22, 2022 11:04 PM
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I don't want your stuff OP
by Anonymous | reply 37 | October 22, 2022 11:06 PM
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A friend’s elderly brother was diagnosed with latent syphilis at the age of seventy two! He never had any symptoms, he was treated with three cycles of antibiotics and is hale and hearty at nearly eighty!
by Anonymous | reply 38 | October 22, 2022 11:12 PM
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There is definitely Shane involved!
by Anonymous | reply 39 | October 22, 2022 11:16 PM
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R15 - oh, dear!
Lie, lying, lay, have lain.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | October 22, 2022 11:18 PM
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Long term syphilis is very rare nowadays because almost any antibiotic, taken for any reason, would have killed it.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | October 22, 2022 11:22 PM
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R21, it worked for Biden...
by Anonymous | reply 42 | November 23, 2022 3:35 AM
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A 62 year old should know better than to start a sentence with "like".
[quote] Like, now I find out I have syphilis???
by Anonymous | reply 43 | November 23, 2022 3:54 AM
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Make sure they test for Hepatitis C. It can lie dormant for decades, too. Sorry, OP. I hope the damage is reversible. At least they finally caught it.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | November 23, 2022 4:05 AM
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Don't be a drip and tell them you have the drip, OP.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 23, 2022 4:15 AM
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You are a whore OP. Face facts!
by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 23, 2022 5:06 AM
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Is there a special test for tertiary syphilis or does it test like fresh infected syph?
by Anonymous | reply 48 | November 23, 2022 5:14 AM
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R43 Like, what do I do? 🤡
by Anonymous | reply 49 | November 23, 2022 5:16 AM
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Have you tried painting your gums with mercury?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 50 | November 23, 2022 5:22 AM
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Look on the bright side, at least your nose didn’t fall off.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | November 23, 2022 6:07 AM
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