For Grace Please--what's my next step?

[perplexed2009]

Grace:  I have posted in the Expert STD Forum a while back ago, so you can see my story there.  Basically, I am afraid I have contracted genital herpes Type 1.  I did take a HerpeSelect Igg test (Quest Labs) at exactly 12 weeks and was found negative for both Type 1 and 2 (no numeric value, just <.90 for both).  Dr. Handsfiled stated that he did not think I need further testing but after the Igg test, I felt I still had some symptoms:  uncomfortable, irritated, and sometimes minor tingling feeling on my penis tip.

So 15.5 weeks post exposure, I decided to pay for the Western Blot.  And the Western Blot came out negative also for Type 1 and Type 2.  To this day, I sometimes still feel the same uncomfortbale, irritated, and sometimes minor tingling feeling on my penis tip.

What should I do now?  Should I take the Western Blot again at 6 months or just be happy with my test results and move on?

Thanks.

[perplexed2009]

Grace:  Thanks again for your quick reply.  I guess I am the type of person who needs a definitive answer to everything.  But I guess in my case, there may not be one and I have to learn to accept this.

When I saw my PCP at 3 weeks post exposure, he mentioned that he thought I may have Chlamydia, Herpes, or HIV. I tested negative for Chalamydia and HIV and of course Herpes but discussion on this forum seem to indicate that Herpes blood testing could be unreliable in certain cases.  For example, the HerpeSelect Igg can miss 1 out of 10 Type 1 cases and testing too early can lead to false negatives.

So now my concern is whether I took the Igg test and the Western Blot tests within the appropriate time frames since I am still experiencing some "symptoms" which seem to fit herpes.  (I also forgot to mention that I sometimes feel lower back pain and pins/needles in my feet).

Thanks again for your insight and time.  I really appreciate it.

[gracefromHHP]

why can't you let go of herpes being the cause for these vague symptoms?

grace