‘Your test results came back positive for chlamydia.’
Sitting across from the doctor while lying in a hospital bed, I listened intently as they explained the outcome of my STI test in 2021.
It was completely treatable so they advised me to stay calm.
But how could I? I was in shock because it’s not everyday that you’re hospitalised with crippling leg pain brought on by a sexually transmitted infection – a pain so bad I thought I might need an amputation.
At the time, I’d been seeing someone, who I met via a dating app. By our third dinner date, I had to leave to go to work as a go-go dancer at a club, but I said I’d come back to his place after.
Sure enough, later that night we had fun together. I must admit that in the heat of the moment, I didn’t give much thought to protection.
The very next morning, I woke up feeling a strange discomfort.
My legs felt heavy and sore, and when I tried to get out of bed, I realised that I couldn’t put any pressure on them without wincing. At first, I thought it was just a case of overdoing it at work by pulling a muscle while dancing.
But as the day went on and I left his place, the pain became unbearable. I started to worry that something was seriously wrong.
The second day, the pain in my legs was so excruciating that I could barely get out of my bed.
One leg was much worse than the other – it felt almost paralysed. I was unable to move it.
There was also a constant throbbing and sleeping became a challenge, since I couldn’t relax.
At about 11am, I called the non-emergency services and they booked me in to do some tests at a nearby sexual health clinic and then told me to go to A&E.
I was surprised – going to a sexual health clinic seemed like a waste of time, since the pain was in my legs.
But I had no choice, so I called an Uber.
I was at The Royal London Hospital for about 10 hours in total, where they had me hopping around for various tests between different rooms on crutches because I couldn’t walk. By this point, the pain had got worse and my leg started to swell.
Then the first wave of bad news came. One of the tests I’d done came back to reveal that the blood pressure and circulation to my foot wasn’t good so they would have to keep me in.
My heart sank and I immediately thought the worst: What if I had an infection and my leg might need to be amputated?
The hospital stay was dire and miserable. On top of the bland food, there were moments when my leg would suddenly start burning and I would have to ring my bell for assistance from one of the nurses.
They would give me painkillers – usually a dose of morphine – but it had to be authorised by someone, which sometimes took hours. Every day seemed like a battle.
I had to exercise my leg to try to get the blood flow going, so I was always walking around the hospital on my crutches.
They carried out what felt like every test under the sun.
When the chlamydia test came back positive around a week after first being admitted to hospital, they told me I had contracted reactive arthritis, which can be a response to chlamydia. It can cause joint pain and inflammation so needs to be treated with antibiotics.
I was shocked. I couldn’t believe I had such a severe reaction.
At that point, I just wanted to leave the hospital, but they had to keep me in.
The nights were the hardest. The pain came quick and strong – but no one came when I rang the bell. The medication I was on only stopped the pain for a couple of hours, but it would come back with a vengeance.
This took a huge toll on my mental health.
After two weeks in total, I left the hospital – still on crutches – and missed a month of work because I still couldn’t walk properly. I was also prescribed codeine, which helped with the pain and inflammation.
While the treatment was effective, it was a slow recovery process so it took time for me to regain full mobility. I had to be patient and listen to my body.
The day after I left the hospital, I texted the guy I’d been dating to tell him all about what I’d been through. That’s when he told me that he had tested positive for chlamydia too, but was already on medication for it.
I was furious at the idea that he may have given it to me, or that he had tested positive and just not told me.
My experience with chlamydia was a traumatic one, but it also taught me a valuable lesson. It’s important to get tested regularly, especially after having unprotected sex.
Even if you don’t feel any symptoms, you could still have something. And if you do experience symptoms, don’t ignore them – and especially stop having sex. Seek medical attention immediately.
This experience has changed me in many ways. It has made me more cautious about my sexual health and more aware of the potential consequences of unprotected sex.
I never knew that someone of my age could suffer with arthritis brought on by something like an STI.
That’s why it’s so important for me to tell my story – so others may not have to go through what I did.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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