Patient Story: Snezana

Welcome to another instalment of Better2Know’s Patient Stories.

At Better2Know, we believe that sharing personal experiences can help break down the stigma many people feel around getting tested for STIs. We’ve gathered stories from people who have gotten tested to inspire and encourage others to take this important step for their sexual health.

Certain names and details in these stories have been altered for privacy.

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“I never thought I’d be OK talking about this. At least, I assumed. I don’t know.”

When we first spoke to Snezana over a video call, she seemed slightly uncomfortable, hesitant, ready to shut her laptop and curl up on the couch with her phone. Instead, she pauses and continues, taking a deep breath and letting out a big huff.

“I guess you’re going to ask me a lot of questions. Let’s get on with it.”

Your sexual health is important. Take care of it by booking a test at a clinic near you today.

Snezana is 26 years old and works for an energy company in Inverness. On the video call, her curly hair has been pulled back into a tight ponytail, wearing a fleece that appears to be more than twenty years old. She sips aggressively from a large cup of tea in the shape and colour of a wooden barrel, and when she sets it down, she sets it down carefully, so as not to make too much noise.

Snezana’s family moved to the UK from Lithuania in 2005 and settled in Scotland. When she was 18, she went to university in Rouen, France, on an exchange program to study engineering. She fully expected to spend the rest of her education there.

“I remember thinking that summer, this is going to be a great time. I’ll finish my degree, maybe I’ll stay in France, move to Paris. I didn’t have a plan, but it all looked very clear in my head.”

But her final year was in 2020.

“All that went out the window,” she said.

When COVID hit, Snezana had to return home and continue her studies online, which was very disappointing for her. She graduated from her program and had to be sent her degree in the post.  

“My mother really wanted to see me on stage getting it. I think she wanted me to get it more than I did.”

During the second lockdown, Snezana had trouble finding work. Tensions in her house ran high because of the isolation, and she tried to find any excuse to escape.

Fortunately, during the lockdown, she reconnected with a friend from high school in Inverness over Facebook, a young man she called Magnus. After dozens of WhatsApp messages and a few Zoom calls, they decided to break the COVID bubble rules and meet in a local park. From then on, Snezana and Magnus rendezvoused twice a week for almost a month until Magnus was reported to the police by his brother.

Magnus and Snezana still kept in touch, but the guilt of breaking the rules caught up with her.

“But I think it was just the situation. COVID. Everyone was worried about getting sick. I saw an ad online for testing, and it made me wonder. I had no reason to think I had anything. But I thought, why not?”

“I just thought it was too much to think about, too much to deal with. Then we got caught. So, yeah. Not ideal.”

When we asked if anything had happened during their meetups, Snezana was cagey and didn’t go into any details.

“But I think it was just the situation. COVID. Everyone was worried about getting sick. I saw an ad online for testing, and it made me wonder. I had no reason to think I had anything. But I thought, why not?”

Snezana said that if she was going to get tested, she wanted to go all in. She bought from a private provider that would test for almost a dozen different conditions.

“Better safe than sorry. I wanted to make sure.”

Snezana ordered a home testing kit through the post, but when it arrived, she had some problems.

“I have Renaud’s syndrome. It’s where blood doesn’t flow easily to your hands, especially when you’re cold, and I remember it was very cold when I got the test. I opened the package and got everything out. I did the urine sample, but then I had to collect the blood. The instructions said to use the lance on the end of my finger, and to collect the blood from there, but when I tried it, I just couldn’t get anything out. I tried running my hands under hot water and warming them with a hair dryer, but it just didn’t work. I got fed up and binned it.”

Fortunately, the lockdowns lifted in the UK in the late summer of 2021, and when they did, Snezana felt more comfortable booking an STI test at a local clinic.

“It was just easier. I went in and they did everything for me. The nurse took my blood sample, and I also got a swab. Peed into a cup, everything. It was great. I got the results the next week.”

The test came back positive for a Ureaplasma infection. Luckily, she didn’t need to take any medication – just some lifestyle changes.

“My doctor told me to eat more yoghurt and to shower more often. That was a little embarrassing. But it worked. It went away after a few weeks.”

Even though she didn’t have a serious infection, Snezana was happy she got tested.

“I was just happy it wasn’t something I got when I was seeing Magnus. Or maybe it was. But either way, it’s gone now.”

When asked what she’d tell other people who are thinking of getting tested, Snezana was adamant:

“There are just so many options and ways to do it now that there’s not really an excuse. To me, if you can get tested and you don’t, you’re just a crazy person. Crazy crazy.”

Don’t leave it to chance. Book a test at a sexual health clinic near you.

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