I had just had a baby after a very troubled pregnancy. At my six week checkup my doctor informed me of the disease. He gave me antibiotics which he said both my husband and i had to take for 10 days. I could not breast feed my premature baby. I questioned the doctor about the disease and he told me to be calm, and that they call it the “married folks disease,” and that i should not be concerned. I have often wondered however. My husband was less than an ideal partner at the time, although i never had any evidence of unfaithfulness. That was 34 years ago.

I was 42 years old, involved in a 15 year marriage, which was a monogamous relationship. When I developed a soreness in the glands near my testicles and burning during urination, my doctor diagnosed Chlamydia and antibiotics were prescribed. This cleared up the problem quickly. When I expressed concern that my wife must have contracted the disease in an extra marital affair (despite never giving me any reason to be suspicious), my doctor said that this disease can be carried in a dormant state for many years. An unusually long period of stress can cause the symptoms to manifest, which described my case perfectly. Twenty years later I am still married to the same woman, and have never encountered any hint of an affair.