Re: Reiter's and sexuality?

[Guest guest]

,

Our members are of many ages, both sexes, etc. Some of us are older, but still

active sexually.

I don't see why you need to tell someone you are dating casually about your

Reiters Syndrome. It is not contagious. No one can catch it from you. You

may, however, want to be tested for STD's and get treated if you do have one.

If you do enter into a long-term relationship with someone you may want to tell

them about your health history which would include RS/ReA. But I don't see the

necessity of that if you are casually dating someone since you can't transmit RS

to anyone else.

Reiter's, now called Reactive Arthritis, is a condition that arises after you

have developed an infection from an STD or intestinal bacteria, or another

infection, because your immune system 'short circuits' and begins to identify

certain cell tissue within your body as if it were invading bacteria. It is

this immune system reaction that causes the inflammation, swelling, pain, etc.

This is a simplified statement.

Since there is no Reiters virus or bacteria causing the condition, you cannot

give it to anyone else. Even if you have an STD and communicate it to another

person the chances are extremely slim that that person would ever develop

Reiters. Reiters is a very rare condition.

Now, as to being sexually active: Several of us have noted that when we are

sexually active that exposure to the bacteria, secretions, etc., of another

person can seem to aggrivate our own conditions. If this is the case with you,

then I guess, since you are sensitive to latex, you'll have to purchase the

alternative to latex condoms even if the price is expensive. I do understand

your reluctance to use protection during intercourse, but safer sex demands that

in this age of HIV and antibiotic resistant diseases. There are many other ways

to pleasure each other than just intercourse and most of those ways fall into

the category of safer sex. You may want to do some exploring of sexual

pleasures with your partner(s).

You are not 'damaged goods' and you have nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty

about. You just happen to be one of the rare individuals in which an autoimmune

response has been triggered through no fault of your own. Many of us do not

know what our trigger was. Since I developed RS/ReA as a child under the age of

puberty I can pretty well rule out STD's for myself. To accuse a partner of

giving you " RS " is also not reasonable, since RS is not a communicable disease,

but a biological reaction to exposure to some bacterial agent whether

intestinal, sexual, or otherwise.

If you are experiencing urinary problems you need to see a urologist who can

help with such problems as frequency and urgency, bladder spasms, inflammed

urethra, painful penile tissue, testicular problems, etc. I had enormous

urinary problems for far too many years that were ignored by my doctors, or I

didn't communicate the seriousness of the problem to them. Minocin therapy

(antibiotic therapy) and Detrol LA (for bladder spasms) were miracle drugs for

me in this regard. I had to suspend the Minocin therapy due to liver function

imbalance. I used the Detrol LA for two years straight and then found that my

bladder had more or less retrained itself to not spasm uncontrollably. I no

longer feel urgency and frequency and I no longer leak constantly.

You should also talk to the urologist about any 'performance' issues you are

facing. I am sure he or she will have many suggestions for you.

Good luck.

Ray Neal, moderator

[Guest guest]

THIS IS OPINION is Very Dangerous! Many respected researchers, Doctors,

and scientists treat ReA as a Cell Wall Deficient (CWD) infection with

antibiotics with great success! Minocin is a very successful abx for

ReA!

Be V careful not to pass on your CWD infection to someone you care

about!

On Friday, July 9, 2004, at 04:52 PM, HRayN wrote:

> I don't see why you need to tell someone you are dating casually about

> your Reiters Syndrome.  It is not contagious.  No one can catch it

> from you.  You may, however, want to be tested for STD's and get

> treated if you do have one.  If you do enter into a long-term

> relationship with someone you may want to tell them about your health

> history which would include RS/ReA.  But I don't see the necessity of

> that if you are casually dating someone since you can't transmit RS to

> anyone else.

>

> Reiter's, now called Reactive Arthritis, is a condition that arises

> after you have developed an infection from an STD or intestinal

> bacteria, or another infection, because your immune system 'short

> circuits' and begins to identify certain cell tissue within your body

> as if it were invading bacteria.  It is this immune system reaction

> that causes the inflammation, swelling, pain, etc.  This is a

> simplified statement.

>

> Since there is no Reiters virus or bacteria causing the condition, you

> cannot give it to anyone else.  Even if you have an STD and

> communicate it to another person the chances are extremely slim that

> that person would ever develop Reiters.  Reiters is a very rare

> condition.

[Guest guest]

On Jul 9, 2004, at 9:52 AM, HRayN wrote:

Reiters Syndrome.  It is not contagious.  No one can catch

> it from you. >

well yeah i cant communicate a condition to them but they could trigger

symptoms in me potentially.. which is why it would come up as a topic..

it would definitely come up as a topic b/c i would need to explain why

i either dont want to have sex or why i only feel comfortable with this

or that. it also affects my day to day life so it would naturally come

up as something i deal with on an ongoing basis.

i definitely know that it was triggered from intercourse in my case.

i dont have any urinary problems.. and the performance stuff is purely

due to decreased sensation when wearing a glove only. the only thing a

doctor can do for that is give me whatever that pill is that causes

heart damage in younger men.. no thanks. i have enough problems already

from medications i've tried, many of which i'm allergic to [including

most antibiotics] or physically intolerant of. if it doesnt make me

intolerably dizzy, hallucinate, or break out in a rash then it sets off

severe gastritis and accompanying chest pain from reflux. that is my

experience with about 90% of medications in the last 8 months or so.

there isnt always a pill for every problem.. :-(

>

-----------

Mike Rock

http://www.mike-rock.com

Feyrie Artwork - http://www.cafeshops.com/mojomike

Friendster - http://www.friendster.com/user.jsp?id=824828

[Guest guest]

Ray gave a really good answer to the questions you ask. The only thing I

have to add is that if the person is right for you, those sorts of things

won't matter if you decide to discuss them.

I am divorced but not over the hill yet. I have found that the concerns you

mention are easily discussed when you are with the right partner,

Now, finding that person isn't the easiest thing to do and till you get

there, following Ray's suggestions is the only way to go.

Another thought...

It still terrifies me to think that HIV was in the blood supply for so long

that it was even incorporated into the making of Factor 8, which is used in

the making of clotting factor for hemophiliacs. I had 2 close friends who

died as a result of this treatment. One of them was the poster guy for the

drug company which made and marketed the stuff. He was younger and was

treated with it sooner than his older brother, whose resistance had gone

down to the point that he succombed to an ARC related illness.

So it never hurts to be careful.

Honestly I don't think that anyone ought to feel any reluctance to protect

himself or herself. If a partner has a resistance to this maybe it's a good

idea to not get involved n that way with that partner.

Just my 2 cents worth.

GA and MI

[Guest guest]

On Jul 11, 2004, at 11:14 PM, Herring wrote:

> Ray gave a really good answer to the questions you ask. The only thing

> I

> have to add is that if the person is right for you, those sorts of

> things

> won't matter if you decide to discuss them.

>

> I am divorced but not over the hill yet. I have found that the

> concerns you

> mention are easily discussed when you are with the right partner,

>

>

well whats disappointing to me in all this is that what i've grown

accustomed to does not involve a lot of talking. to be blunt until

Reiter's i was a big slut and loved every minute of it. i'm not

convinced, based on the evidence, that there is such a thing as " hiv "

that causes AIDS, so that argument to caution is frankly lost on me,

and i'm not willing to discuss that here in more depth. there are

plenty of resources out there that address those issues. more of a

concern is the possibility of bacterial infectons because i am allergic

to most antibiotics. and the possibility of stirring up further

symptoms of Reiter's as i said. y'all's answers don't address or

acknowlege my fears of intimacy. they just give obvious " advice " . it

sucks to have to care about some kind of mythical " right partner " to

begin with. when " right now " was previously so easy to come by.

" use protection " or abstain is a big ol' duh. my question was more

emotional support seeking than practical. ray's response was medically

speaking " good " but kind of falls flat emotional wise as does this one.

am i the only person here who feels they have had to change their

behavior so drastically from 70 mph to 10? and who thinks it really

bites?

i'm not in a relationship, after maybe 3 dates in 10 years i've kind of

given up on finding a relationship. it doesn't sound like anyone else

has really been affected in this way by Reiter's etc?

mike

-----------

Mike Rock

http://www.mike-rock.com