Throat STDs

[+ PhileasFogg]

This is just to share a funny story, but also to get advice.

i currently live in Mississippi.  My physician is the only Concierge MD in a 100 mile radius.  So, I have good primary care support.  They know I’m bi, active, and wanting regular STD testing.   No problem.

Once, I called and said “I think I need to get my throat swabbed for an STD.”   They said “we can’t do it here, but we can send you to the outpatient clinic at the hospital…let me send in the order now.”   So, I get to the hospital, get checked in and wait to be called.   The MedTech brought me back and handed me the cup and pointed me to go pee in the cup.   When I said, “I’m not here for a urine test but to have my throat swabbed” and explained it to her, she got that look on her face (that large southern black women have perfected) like I had a third eye and that I was crazy.  So she called “upstairs” and they again said “pee in the cup.”   I go through it again and then they finally say “oh, we don’t do that here, we send it off and it will take 10 days!”

Hell, what’s the point to testing if the test takes as long as the natural resolution!

so my question - how often do you get your throat swabbed and where do you get it done?  How long does it take to get the results?

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

7 hours ago, PhileasFogg said:

so my question - how often do you get your throat swabbed and where do you get it done?  How long does it take to get the results?

How often do I get my throat swabbed:  I get my throat swabbed at the same frequency as my blood tests, urine tests, and my anus swabbed.... About every 4 months.

Where do I get it done:  in the back of my throat.

How long does is take to get the results:  about 4 days.

Edited March 5 by Vegas_Millennial

[chitownguy]

I get my STI testing done at the clinic where I receive my PreP shot.  I also have my throat swabbed at the same time as the other STI tests every 4 months.  It takes 2-3 days to get the results.

[+ SirBillybob]

I time testing uptake according to event exposure potential and recommended detection windows. Spontaneous clearance of NG and CT is not at all guaranteed. False negative rates are sobering so I attend where the clinicians are well trained in throat sample collection and it’s about all they do, in tandem with bloods, outside of the self-collection toilet, beyond education and treatment intervention.

Pharyngeal testing non-access is not an uncommon problem. I go for the setting with fully comprehensive testing panel, pharyngeal would be my most likely anatomical site for non symptomatic yet transmissible bacterial infection, and there’s no point in opting out of components since once venipuncture is applied to regularly qualify for PrEP the draw may as well include assessing for syphilis. 

Edited March 5 by SirBillybob

[+ Gar1eth]

10 hours ago, PhileasFogg said:

Hell, what’s the point to testing if the test takes as long as the natural resolution!

Just as an FYI-my understanding-at least for chlamydia and gonorrhea-is that they don't 'resolve.'  The symptoms may go away. But you'd still have the bacteria in your throat. 
 

As for where to get the test done more quickly-plus to make sure they don't screw up the specimen if they are unfamiliar with the test (the proper swab and transport media need to be used), I'd see if there is

#1 A county/govt STD Clinic of some type.

#2. In my area Planned Parenthood sees males for STD evaluations.

#3. I'd check to see if Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp are in the area. 

[moonlight]

Sounds like waiting the 10 days would be your best option. Any natural resolution isn't certain or likely with those bacteria. There are at home testing options like this: https://hellowisp.com/products/chlamydia-gonorrhea-test

But that probably wouldn't be any faster.

I think this normally takes a few days for me. I would say there's a good chance that you would get the results even sooner from the hospital lab despite what they say.

Edited yesterday at 11:57 AM by moonlight

[+ Lucky]

On 3/5/2026 at 2:55 AM, PhileasFogg said:

This is just to share a funny story, but also to get advice.

i currently live in Mississippi.  My physician is the only Concierge MD in a 100 mile radius.  So, I have good primary care support.  They know I’m bi, active, and wanting regular STD testing.   No problem.

Once, I called and said “I think I need to get my throat swabbed for an STD.”   They said “we can’t do it here, but we can send you to the outpatient clinic at the hospital…let me send in the order now.”   So, I get to the hospital, get checked in and wait to be called.   The MedTech brought me back and handed me the cup and pointed me to go pee in the cup.   When I said, “I’m not here for a urine test but to have my throat swabbed” and explained it to her, she got that look on her face (that large southern black women have perfected) like I had a third eye and that I was crazy.  So she called “upstairs” and they again said “pee in the cup.”   I go through it again and then they finally say “oh, we don’t do that here, we send it off and it will take 10 days!”

Hell, what’s the point to testing if the test takes as long as the natural resolution!

so my question - how often do you get your throat swabbed and where do you get it done?  How long does it take to get the results?

Wow! Surprised at the difficulty you had getting a swab. Did you report the issue back to your primary care?

[+ PhileasFogg]

1 hour ago, Lucky said:

Wow! Surprised at the difficulty you had getting a swab. Did you report the issue back to your primary care?

Yes.  But they are powerless. 

[BoyGeorgeandMarilyn]

6 hours ago, PhileasFogg said:

Yes.  But they are powerless. 

I remember once I had gonorhea in Palma  And I had unprotected sex with a lot of spaniards

[+ PhileasFogg]

6 minutes ago, BoyGeorgeandMarilyn said:

I remember once I had gonorhea in Palma  And I had unprotected sex with a lot of spaniards

Congratulations? 🤪

[BoyGeorgeandMarilyn]

2 minutes ago, PhileasFogg said:

Congratulations? 🤪

I am quite proud of it! They got the clap in Palma De Mallorca!

[BoyGeorgeandMarilyn]

16 minutes ago, PhileasFogg said:

Congratulations? 🤪

I was so horny and happy to share everything fromme!

[mtaabq]

I am throat-swabbed and anal-swabbed every 3 months at my local university’s men’s clinic. At the same time the lab draws the blood to check for the other STI’s, and I do UA as well. They renew my Prep and other meds at the same time. Great group of men and women working there. 

[Wings246]

I live in the gayest city of the bluest state of the West Coast and my HMO devotes a ton of resources to preventive health so my access to sexual health care is not a problem.

I get all my testing done once every 3 months during one 15-minute visit (Syphilis + creatinine + HIV via blood tests, Chlamydia + Gonorrhea throat swab, Chlamydia + Gonorrhea rectal swab, Chlamydia + Gonorrhea urine test).  The results are available within 24 hours and they are all posted on my online medical record for me to see in about a day.  Then, my PrEP & DoxyPEP prescriptions will be refilled the next day.  Everything is pretty streamlined and “autopiloted.”  I suppose that’s the “advantage” of living in a major metropolitan area.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

33 minutes ago, Wings246 said:

I live in the gayest city of the bluest state of the West Coast...

 

33 minutes ago, Wings246 said:

...I suppose that’s the “advantage” of living in a major metropolitan area.

I didn't know you lived in Boise!

[Wings246]

25 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I didn't know you lived in Boise!

Good try.  I don't live there, but I can probably retire early there comfortably tomorrow, considering my current income and the cost of living in ID.   😆