Chlamydia, Pelvic inflammatory Disease and Infertility

[Louise07]

If someone has chlamydia which I understand can lead to PID which in turn can lead to infertility (please correct me if I am wrong), how long does it take from contracting the disease until the person becomes infertile? I understand this question probably cannot be answered with any facts but just a rough idea will be helpful, or if anyone has any experience of this, I would be grateful. I cannot seem to find an answer on the internet so I am probably relying on personal experience of people. TIA

[Goodsoulette]

Im not sure to be honest but the reason you get it is because the chlamydia travels into your womb via the sperm thus causing the infection.

Basically the longer its left untreated the worse it gets. You could end up with a big ball of puss inside your womb or scarring on your fallopian tubes which is where the fertility problems came in.

I know a woman who had PID and lost both her fallopian tubes to ectopic pregnancies. She had no idea when she contracted chlamydia and I think this is why you wont find anything conclusive on it.


If you had PID you would more than likely be feeling pain in your lower abdomen (possibly to one side), especially when peeing, chills, sweats and symptoms are often worse after a period. If you really think you have been exposed to chlamydia and have any of these symptons your doctor would nore than likely start you on antibiotics straight away.

[jsherris]

Hi, my middle daughter (23yrs) had Chlamydia last year - we went along to the G U M clinic & saw a nurse there who gave 2 massive pills to take - and that was that!
We asked her about the risks of Chlamydia - remember, you get told all about becoming infertile & you hear all the horror stories... well, the nurse laughed at us.
She then explained that infertility from Chlamydia could indeed occur, but really only if you repeatedly contracted Chlamydia over & over.
I must say, I was surprised, but since that visit, further websites have backed up her story. If you have Chlamydia maybe a dozen times in as many months, then maybe you are looking at complications - but if it's the first or second time, then you can almost certainly stop worrying.
Hope this has been helpful.
Julie.

[Louise07]

Hi jsherris,
Thank you for your answer, I must say I feel better after reading it. I was concerned that if I have it, I may have had it for at least 4 years without knowing and was very worried that having it for that length of time would put me very much at risk of becoming infertile.

[Goodsoulette]

Im not trying to sensationalise your infection if you have itbut I avoided saying this as it is personal, I contracted Chlamydia from my no good cheating boyfriend when I was 18, I ended up with pain when urinating dull aches in the bottom left part of my abdomen and got away with it fine, having now had 2 children. This was the only time I got chalmydia and it led to PID.
Continued infections increase the risks of it developing. Although chlamydia can be a silent disease, PID in general isnt. You would have at least some symptoms if you had it, although PID caused by chlamydia causes milder syptoms than through other routes.
I really hope you are ok but I think its very irresponsible of sexual health workers not explain the worst consequences of your actions. I mean you could come away from having unprotected sex with someone with HIV uninfected, will they start laughing that off?

[NatalieF]

I had chlamydia when i was 16 years old for about 5months. My now ex bf went n got him self tested n it came back positive, we wernt even together but he still had the guts to tell me.

I get paranoid bwt if im infertile as my periods havent bin the same. I also get paranoid bwt gettin myself tested as i dont want to catch it again.

I was sufferin from servire pains and i rang the nhs line n they told me i could have PID which i started to freak out!!

I went n got my self tested n i havent got it but its always in the back of my mind if they did the test wrong n i have got it!

The one thing i want the most in my life is a child of my own n i dunno wat id do if that doesnt happen but if ur worried go to ur gum clinic n have a chat!!!!

xxx