How many years can you have chlamydia before it turns into a pelvic inflammatory disease?

Answer 1

It can vary widely, some have to have it a lot less than others. It depends on such factors as severity of infection and immune response effectivity.

Answer 2

Chlamydia can progress to pelvic inflammatory disease (which may then lead to infertility) as quickly as three weeks, but usually it takes a several MONTHS.

However, because chlamydia seldom presents symptoms, most people with the infection don't know they have it, therefore don't know to get checked out and treated, so they stay infected for months at a time. That's how so many women wind up infertile.

When was your last pelvic exam? You should be getting those every year, with a Pap smear. A typical pelvic exam by your primary care physician or gynecologist can determine whether there has been damage to your reproductive tract.

When you get PID from unchecked chlamydia, scar tissue forms in your uterus and Fallopian tubes. These scar tissue wads either block the path of eggs, or they make it impossible for eggs to implant. That's how the infertility works.

So I would recommend:
1. Twice-annual STD screen
2. Annual pelvic exam with Pap smear (Paps don't check for STDs!!!)