False positive STI
Has anyone here ever received a false positive STI test? How did you and your partner handle it emotionally?
I'm asking because I recently went through something that was honestly very stressful for both me and my husband.
I went to my gynecologist because I was having pain near my ovary. My doctor offered to test for vaginal infections, and to my complete shock, the test came back positive for gonorrhea. I've only been with my husband, and we've been together for 5 years.
As you can imagine, it immediately created a lot of confusion and anxiety. My husband insisted he had never been with anyone else, but it was hard not to question everything after getting that result. To make things more complicated, years ago there was an incident involving one of his coworkers that had already left a small crack in my trust, even though we had worked through it and moved on.
I ended up getting retested. One test came back negative, then I had additional testing done, including a urine test. My husband was tested as well. In the end, all follow-up testing was negative, and my doctor concluded that the original result was a false positive.
I'm incredibly relieved, but the whole experience was emotionally exhausting and put a strain on our relationship for a while. Even though we've talked through it and are doing well now, it made me realize how much damage a single unexpected test result can cause.
Has anyone else experienced a false positive STI test? How did you cope with the fear, uncertainty, and trust issues that came up while waiting for answers? How did your partner react?
