Abdominal Pain & STDs

Abdominal pain can cramp your style in the way that many STD symptoms can’t. After all, abdominal pain can prevent you from doing everything from enjoying a good meal to getting a decent night’s sleep. But often, people don’t realize that Chlamydia or another STD might be to blame for their abdominal pain.

If your abdomen is aching, here’s a guide to help you determine whether or not you need STD testing.

What’s Causing My Abdominal Pain?

Assuming your abdominal pain isn’t the result of eating too much candy or doing a few too many sit-ups yesterday, it’s probably worth investigating. Some STDs known for causing abdominal pain include:

• Chlamydia: Often called a “silent” STD, Chlamydia may cause abdominal pain, but more often shows no signs of its presence.
• Trichomoniasis: Abdominal pain is considered a “rare” side effect of trich, but it’s certainly possible.
• Pelvic inflammatory disease: PID results from bacteria that enter a woman’s reproductive organs from the vaginal tract. Bacteria form Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause PID, but it may also result from other types of bacteria. PID can cause significant lower back and abdominal pain.

So who’s at risk for these infections? Anyone who is sexually active is technically at risk, but certain behaviors lead to higher risk levels. It’s probably a good idea to get an STD test for your abdominal pain if you:

• Have multiple partners;
• Have unprotected sex;
• Haven’t had STD testing done in more than a year; or
• Have a partner who has multiple partners.

Will Abdominal Pain from STDs Go Away?

Medication can vanish some types of abdominal pain. If the pain is a trichomoniasis or Chlamydia symptom, for example, it can usually be cleared up with a round of antibiotics. And even PID and the abdominal pain it causes can usually be treated and cured.

But consider this:

• Untreated Chlamydia can lead to PID. (Chlamydia testing and early treatment can prevent the STD from progressing.)
• Untreated PID can lead to infertility and dangerous ectopic pregnancies.

Bottom line: abdominal pain from Chlamydia can range from mild to severe. Regardless of the intensity, though, STDs like Chlamydia can lead to serious long-term complications that you can prevent with early STD testing and treatment.