The ugly side of romance

Romance is fantasized in every TV show, movie, book, fable you will ever watch or read. The beautiful process of falling in love and adoring someone else on a mental, emotional, physical level is what we all crave. It is a key component of our humanity. It is what we’ve all wanted our entire life– to find someone who makes us happy and fulfilled in every way.

Recently, I was reminded of the ugly of romance, and I feel that this reminder was potent enough to write about it.

One of the many emergencies we tackle in the emergency room is abdominal pain. Surgical emergencies, including cholecystitis, appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, and nephrolithiasis are commonly diagnosed in the emergency department. Abdominal pain is also caused by non-surgical etiologies, including gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, constipation, and urinary tract infections. I was recently reminded of the true impact of sexually transmitted diseases on our female population. I take care of lots of young women in the emergency department with abdominal pain. The differential is quite broad as there are so many organs and processes in the abdomen. I was recently reminded of the magnitude of destruction that a sexually transmitted disease could generate.

A sweet teenage girl with acute onset of right lower quadrant pain, worsening to the point where she could not sleep, eat, or walk without paralyzing pain. Most commonly we think of acute appendicitis. However, these symptoms can also be pelvic inflammatory disease, which is when a sexually transmitted disease enters the abdomen. This is a serious and life-threatening illness, which can kill a woman or leave her without the ability to reproduce. Men may have dysuria (pain with urination), urethral, irritation, pus from the urethra, or absolutely no symptoms at all.

The truth is that if you have had ANY sexual contact with anyone or anything without a condom, you have been at risk for a sexually transmitted infection. Further, condoms are not foolproof, and there are many instances of having protected sex and transmitting disease.

The only way to know is to test and take care of yourself.

The best way to test is to ask your doctor. You can also seek care at the health department. A less recognized/more anonymous way is have the tests drawn from www.jasonhealth.com.

There you log on and select that you do not have a doctor’s order and answer question number seven that you want to be tested for STD’s. The full eight test panel is $105 plus a $18 draw fee.

The full 9 test panel includes early detection of HIV is $210 plus the $18 fee. There are labs in Weatherford, Granbury, Fort Worth. Those results are emailed to you and you only. This is an amazingly good deal. It is discreet and confidential.

The good news is that sexually transmitted disease diseases are manageable, and most of them are now treatable. To treat them we need to know about them and to know about them you need to be tested for them.

Positive results require care and if you need help, we would be happy to go over results with you to help you navigate treatment options or find the right provider.

Aside from that we offer sexual health treatment with Emsella, and aesthetics to bring you from head to toe to The Best You. The bottom line is that we exist to help you find your best self.

Romance is amazing and beautiful. It is often with a risk; But you, my friend, are not! Much love for a happy and healthy romantic season from Defying Time!!!