I made an appointment at the local hospital’s STD clinic, thinking they were a good way to get into the system. They found evidence of inflammation in my urethra (which has been happening for years, without any positive test results for infection) and immediately assumed it was being caused by an STD and wanted me to start on antibiotics while I waited for test results.
Instead of waiting and taking antibiotics that I was fairly sure I didn’t need I made an appointment with my GP. He also immediately leapt to the conclusion that it was probably chlamydia. Fortunately my husband, who is himself a doctor, was there and pointed out that for men any sign of blood in the urine means that you should be referred to urology. The GP grudgingly gave in and referred me.
The STD tests came back negative, unsurprisingly.