u/peace_Pen_3911

Took 4 months to get ride off it .
I don’t really know where to start, but I wanted to share my experience with Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen). It has honestly been one of the most depressing and anxiety-filled experiences of my life.

A little about me: I’m a 36-year-old man. I think I caught the infection in February, but I didn’t develop any symptoms until 21 March.

I live in London, UK, and I was lucky. It was a Saturday, so I searched online for a sexual health clinic that was open on Sunday. I found Burrell Street Sexual Health Clinic, which accepts walk-in patients on a first-come, first-served basis. I got there early and was first in the queue.

At the appointment, I told the doctor I’d had unprotected sex in early February with someone I’d been seeing for years. We both get tested regularly, so I was pretty sure I didn’t have chlamydia or gonorrhoea. I just couldn’t understand why I suddenly had urethral discharge.

The doctor examined me and took a urethral swab to look under the microscope. She said she couldn’t see any signs of gonorrhoea. She ordered all the routine STI tests and, thankfully, also added a test for Mgen.

Two days later, I received the results: positive for Mgen, and it was macrolide-resistant. One thing London sexual health clinics do very well is resistance testing, which is incredibly important.

By then, I had already started doxycycline. My symptoms improved almost immediately, and within three days I was symptom-free. I wasn’t worried at all. A doctor from the clinic then called me and prescribed another seven days of moxifloxacin.

When I collected it from the hospital pharmacy, they gave me a long list of possible side effects. As someone who already struggles with anxiety, reading that list made me even more anxious. Thankfully, I didn’t experience any serious side effects from either antibiotic.

After finishing the treatment, I still felt completely symptom-free and was convinced I was cured.

Then, about a week later, the discharge came back.

That was when everything changed. I panicked, and my anxiety completely took over. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mgen 24/7. Reddit can be helpful, but sometimes it made my anxiety much worse.

I went back to the clinic. They tested me for several other STIs that aren’t included in the standard screening panel. Because it was too early for a test of cure, they prescribed 14 days of minocycline.

The next day, all my additional STI tests came back negative.

Once again, my symptoms improved very quickly on minocycline. But on Day 13, I woke up with a small amount of discharge. That one episode caused me so much anxiety. It didn’t happen again, and I finished the antibiotics. Then, on Day 18 after treatment, the yellow-green discharge returned. At that point, I was convinced the treatment had failed.

The two days before my test of cure were some of the worst days I’ve ever experienced. I felt completely broken. I convinced myself this tiny bacterium had some kind of superpower. My anxiety was through the roof. I couldn’t sleep without sleeping tablets.

The strange thing was that Mgen itself never caused me severe symptoms. I never even had burning when I urinated.

Instead, my anxiety seemed to trigger all kinds of pelvic symptoms that I’d never had before:

Needle-like sensations in my urethra
Left testicular pain
Inner thigh pain
Pain down my left leg
Lower left back pain

These symptoms would change every day. One day it would be my thigh, the next my testicle, then my urethra. Looking back, I realise anxiety played a huge role.

On 19 May, I returned to the clinic for my test of cure. They also repeated additional STI testing.

Unfortunately, the Mgen test came back positive.

I started another seven-day course of doxycycline while waiting for the consultant to review my case.

Two days later, a senior consultant from the clinic called me. He asked how I’d tolerated moxifloxacin. I told him it had been manageable but had increased my anxiety. He initially suggested a longer course of doxycycline. Because I was so anxious, I asked whether pristinamycin, the French antibiotic, might be an option. He asked if I had any allergies, and I said no.

Later that day, he sent me a message through MyChart and prescribed 14 days of doxycycline plus pristinamycin.

I took doxycycline 100 mg twice a day for 7 days. Then I continued doxycycline 100 mg twice daily while adding pristinamycin 1 g three times a day for 14 days.

Fortunately, I tolerated the combination well. I had occasional loose stools and some stomach upset, especially when I took both antibiotics together. The doctor advised me to spread the doses throughout the day, which helped.

Throughout this time, my pelvic symptoms never completely disappeared. Every day I seemed to have something different. If I had inner thigh pain one day, I wouldn’t have testicular pain or urethral discomfort. The symptoms kept changing. I genuinely believed the bacteria was somehow affecting my nerves.

Looking back now, I think it was mostly anxiety.

On Day 13 after finishing this treatment, I noticed a small stain in my underwear. Then another dry stain on Day 18. I never actually saw any yellow discharge coming from my penis, but seeing those stains terrified me.

On 29 June (Day 19 after finishing antibiotics), I went back to the clinic. The doctor examined me and said there were no white blood cells in my urethra, meaning there was no evidence of ongoing inflammation or infection. He still performed my test of cure.

The next day, he personally called me because he knew how anxious I’d been.

The result was NEGATIVE.

I honestly can’t describe the relief I felt.

This experience taught me two important things.

First, Mgen is treatable.

Second, my anxiety caused me far more suffering than the infection itself.

If you’re dealing with Mgen in the UK, I strongly recommend attending one of the London sexual health clinics, especially 56 Dean Street, as they deal with complex Mgen cases all the time. Burrell Street was also excellent and has outstanding laboratory testing.

Every appointment, every test, and every course of treatment I received was completely free through the NHS. Thank you, NHS ( national health services).

I believe they can also treat people who are visiting the UK or who don’t have an NHS number, although it’s best to contact the clinic to confirm.

I originally thought the NHS didn’t have pristinamycin available. A friend bought some from France and sent it to me, but in the end I didn’t need it because the clinic prescribed it.

Every doctor I saw remained calm. None of them acted like this infection was impossible to treat. Every single one told me the same thing:

“It’s treatable.”

I was the one who couldn’t believe it because anxiety had convinced me otherwise.

Failing moxifloxacin is frightening, but it does not mean you’re out of options. Your strain may be resistant to moxifloxacin, or the bacterial load may simply require a different treatment approach. In my case, pristinamycin combined with doxycycline finally cleared the infection.

If you’re reading this while going through Mgen, please don’t lose hope.

Trust experienced sexual health specialists. Follow the treatment guidelines. Resistance testing is incredibly important. At the moment, London clinics routinely test for macrolide resistance, which helps guide the right treatment.

Almost two months after my negative test of cure and still had and have some left testicale pain inner thigh pain here and there but is fading almost nothing these last days .
I hope my story gives hope to anyone going through Mgen right now. You will get through this. Trust the professionals, follow the guidelines, and don’t let anxiety convince you that you’re beyond help. Recovery is possible.

This std is spreading so fast

My journey with mgen infection