Syphilis

Titre has not dropped as fast as they wanted

Treated a few months ago, went back for follow up bloods and was told the number hasn’t come down as much as they’d like and they want to keep watching. Nobody seemed alarmed but I’ve been alarmed ever since.

riverbank9 3 months ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

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tinbird 3 months ago

Follow up bloods track a number that’s expected to fall over time after treatment, and how fast it falls varies a lot between people. Slower than hoped is common and is a reason to keep monitoring rather than a sign treatment failed.

The reason nobody in the room was alarmed is that they see this regularly. Ask them directly what they’d want to see and by when, so you have something concrete instead of an open ended worry.

northwindow 3 months ago

Ask that question in writing if you can, or write down the answer in the room. I left an identical appointment reassured and then couldn’t reconstruct why by the evening.

held_note 3 months ago

There is a name for what you are describing and hearing it helped me: serofast. A titre that falls and then settles at a low level without going fully negative.

It is common enough to be expected rather than alarming. A meaningful minority of people treated for early syphilis do not hit the expected fourfold drop inside twelve months, and low starting numbers are less likely to fall dramatically in the first place.

What would change the plan is a rise, not a plateau. That distinction is why nobody in the room looked worried.

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