The “Newer” STIs…

*Trigger warnings: medical gaslighting, miscarriage

This is a public service announcement, so that you might add this to your routine screening, or maybe schedule something now if you have urogenital pelvic pain, endometriosis (these infections can be a catalyst), or unexplained infertility.

Have you ever heard of the ureaplasmas? Or their kin mycoplasma?

Terming them "newer" is tongue and cheek. It is how my Primary Care doctor referred to them years back when my partner at the time was presenting with symptoms but testing negative for all other sti's included in a common full panel. Research revealed these buggers are as old as HIV. They ain't new to doctors, or to us experiencing them. What's new is that now we can know about them.

What’s also new is social media. It was the account of Sex Educator @cliterallythebest that informed me Mycoplasma Genitalium was even a thing. I then took this info to my doc, got tested and was positive. This was after I had a spontaneous miscarriage, one of the most common implications of these infections. This is why I am telling you. No one else should have to be at the mercy of medical professionals to take them seriously, and get the care they deserve, before it becomes a too late emergency.

Myco has kin in Ureaplasma Parvum and Ureaplasma Urealyticum. Two strains of bacteria that are found in small amounts in the urinary tracts of many. They can be sexually transmitted, or passed in more mundane ways. Many folks will do fine with these small amounts in their systems, and weigh that with the gut havoc of antibiotics and decide to let their immune systems do the fight. But if the rapidly multiplying bacteria wins and causes symptoms, more likely for urethras tucked away in vulvas, now we have a problem.

Except if we don’t even know to look for a problem or what to call it, that leaves us with little tools in approaching the white coats. So if you wanna know if this has been causing you problems past, present or future, here is what to ask for. Wherever you normally get tested for STIs (please make this self health choice even if you are solo or with one longterm partner because, like I said, this stuff can get you without sexy time or in solo sexy time!), ask for these 3 additional tests, which are a simple urine sample: Mycoplasma Genitalium, Ureaplasma Parvum and Ureaplasma Urealyticum.

You have to say “I think I was exposed” or “my partner tested positive” for them to go ahead with it. Why you ask? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think it is likely two fold. By now we should all be able to recognize that the care extended to people with vulvas is not equivalent to the medical interest in dicks, and then within that, starker differences in care along racial, economic, and sexual orientation/identity lines. And then, all three of these are hard to treat, as they have grown antibiotic resistant over the years. Popular belief is we like concrete answers and scripts that work when we see doctors. They also don’t historically like being in the unknown mystery of life with us. Rather than all of this being above ground and researched, it seems society and the medical association are taking the stance that what we don’t know about won’t kill us.

But it is causing great harm. Potentially leading to recurrent “unexplainable” miscarriages, or eventual infertility. All three are also suspect as one of the potential catalysts for the onset of endometriosis, as the bacteria travels up to the uterine lining eventually and can cause havoc there. Ever wonder why women’s ailments are so often phrased as mysteries? I would wager anything is a mystery if you don’t look into it.

Okay, so this is a mild righteous rage post, now two months into the pelvic ache of Ureaplasma Urealyticum. I took two weeks of antibiotics, waited the additional month to get retested like my doctor advised, wondering why I seemed to be hurting more and more, only to discover I still had it. Then more research uncovered that the ureaplasmas are kin to mycoplasma and all three are antibiotic resistant.

So after you get tested, come strapped with an article to show your doctor what this is (most of them haven’t heard of it either) and the knowledge that depending on the specific type of bacteria, certain classes of antibiotics have been shown to have more of a fighting chance, and others are way more likely to be trouble for your gut and not much help for your pelvis.

You are ALWAYS in your agency to choose if you want treatment. Ureaplasma is found in small amounts everywhere, and you can decide if you want to be aggressive with it or see what your immune system does. We all get to do the cost benefit dance with treatment and symptoms for ourselves. And there is the more natural route of working with an herbalist, which I am attempting as my guts already got hit hard with the last round of antibiotics, which have their own whole body implications. My herbalist happens to be Alex at Ypsilanti’s Bloodroot, who is knowledgeable and values me as an equal partner in coming up with whole health solutions.

Coming back into health when there has been a disruption is more than medication. It’s even more than herbs. It’s connection and care, healing the wound that may have caused the rupture. I believe this time around these lil buggers are trying to show me boundaries, to honor my body and time and energy as much as I value that of others. And I intend to move slow enough to glean the wisdom, practice and then let them know resoundingly that they are not welcome in my body temple either. And in their place will be a network of folks offering well attuned care and reciprocity in exchange for my trust.

May we all be well, rid our bodies of these invaders and receive well attuned care that puts our knowing at the forefront.