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Avatar universal

Does this mean he has herpes.

So I recently started dating a guy who openly told me that his girlfriend previous to me had herpes.  Once he found out he said that he did not have sex with her while she had outbreaks.  They were engaged and he did not seem to concerned about it so he continued to sleep with her.  He recently went to get tested because he has never had a symptom.  The doctor told him he had developed antibodies.  Does this mean he has herpes?  I would assume so, but I am sort of hoping not.  I have not slept with him and am very paranoid to even do it using protection.  Help.
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Avatar universal
So after looking at his paper results myself all they say is IGG.....negative.  No numbers.  What does this mean?
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
I think you both are assuming that 1 - he was tested properly and 2 - his provider had any clue as to what the test results mean.  Time and time again we've seen folks come here who's provider is clueless about how to interpet the tests they are administering for herpes. Some think that unless you get a zero as a result then you need to tell your patients that they've been "exposed" to herpes. Others will tell them even if it's a clear positive hsv2 result that they've only been exposed if they haven't had obvious symptoms yet as far as they know.    I think it's far more beneficial to give someone the benefit of the doubt about test results until we've gotten a chance to see the actual results.  

grace
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Avatar universal
First off, I didn't get upset.  You didn't give me any answers about antibodies all you had to say is he is lying to me.  I have officially seen his results, and the reason that both HE AND I were so confused is because on the paper it says NEGATIVE NEGATIVE NEGATIVE.  He didn't actually SEE anything he was just initially told by his doctor.  That is why I am here.  Don't go insulting people.  It is a med help forum, I am here to ask questions and receive ANSWERS, not opinions.  If he has herpes we will deal with it, I know his ex had it.  I haven't done anything with him so right now my concern is not that, it is getting educated.  And I'm sorry if it offends you, but opinions about what he is or isn't telling me isn't educating at all.  
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Avatar universal
Yeah, and don't believe him if there is ANY White Out on the paper or hald of it was ripped off and chewed up by his Dog OR that he has been giving you a fake name all along and you are reading someone elses report :). He has herpes and it is NOT the end of the world!!!
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Avatar universal
well we all told you if he has antibodies then he has been exposed... do the simple addition... his ex had herpes.. his doctor said he "developed" antibodies. you only develope antibodies if the virus enters your system. so if the virus has entered his system and hes developed antibodies to it... what does that mean? dont get on a public forum and ask an open ended question which actually ASKS FOR OUR OPINIONS and then get upset when you get responses from people trying to help you that include opinions. My personal opinion is that you are being extremely naive about the entire situation and you already have a good idea that he has herpes after all the information you have provided to us, why else are you here? But the bottom line is you wont know until the blood test results are given.
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Avatar universal
I understand.  He got a copy of his results today and will give them to me tonight. He heard negative and that's all he got out of it.  I am trying to make him understand that it is not only important for me to understand what his results mean but him also.  So I will post them as soon as I can.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
I think either he misunderstood what his doctor was saying to him or his doctor didn't understand the test results.  I really can't clarify more if he's really infected or not until I know what his actual results are :(

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am looking for answers as to what things mean, not opnions of what you think he is or isn't doing.  He never had to tell me anything to begin with and I know he didn't understand his test results he just took his doctors word for it when he said, "Your negative." I appreciate the help here, but seriously i'm not asking for opnions on life.  I want to know what an antibody is, I didn't even know you could sleep with somebody and not contract herpes.  I am trying to get educated on HERPES, nothing more.
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Avatar universal
Oh Lord
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Avatar universal
he sounds like he is trying to tell you he has herpes.. and you can decide yourself how serious or not to take it, but if you get it you cant say that he didnt tell you... very very shady.
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Avatar universal
I have told him I would like a copy of his blood work.  He did say he had the herpes IGG test thing and that the doctor told him he was negative.  He said the antibodies means he had been exposed to it.  Is that what antibodies means?  
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
he needs to get a copy of his blood test results so you can post themhere or he can.  There's no such thing as just being exposed to herpes - you either have it or you don't. I really can't help him more with his results unless I'm able to know what they are.

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
look il start off with im no expert and i may be way off ( if i am dw the others will correct me).
When you have had something like a cold sore then that means you have been exposed to HSV-1, a strand of herpes. Gential herpes is more HSV-2, but each can be transferred to either the mouth or gentials.
If he had a cold sore and was tested for HSV-1 then anti-bodies would show up in the test.
You need to ask to get the Herpes Select IGG Test. This is because with something like a blood test it will only tell you if you have the antibodies for HSV. It wont be anymore specific then that.
AS i said i may be wrong but the best thing you could do is ask him to that test. It will give you both answers and you a little bit more peice of mind.
But still wear protection when you do decide to have sex. Protection is important.
hope i helped a little
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Avatar universal
So he said that he went to specifically get tested for herpes, and ended up being tested for all STD's.  He did have a blood test, but did not get a copy of it.  His doctor called him and said that he tested negative but showed antibodies which means exposure.  Please explain this to me.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
the military does not include herpes testing in its routine testing. Chances are good that he's never had a herpes blood test before.  

Also make sure you were actually tested for herpes when you were tested for "everything" a few weeks ago. Usually herpes testing is not included but they don't always tell you that.

grace
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much.

It is obviously not a very comfortable thing to talk about with somebody you don't know all that well but certainly very necessary if you plan on having sex with them.  I know it is embarrassing to him so I have avoided going into detail as of yet because we are not sleeping together.  I just want to be knowledgeable on the situation so I understand at least some of what he could possibly say to me.  He is in the military so I am sure they ran all kinds of tests on him.  I will ask him tonight in more detail and post his answers.  I get tested for everything every year, I was tested as recently as a few weeks ago.  I just didn't know it was possible to sleep with somebody without actually contracting it yourself.  I know in men often they don't show symptoms I certainly do not want to contract herpes or any other STD.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
It doesn't sound like he's being dishonest either to me - sounds like his doctor didn't properly explain things to him or that his doctor frankly didn't know what his test results meant.

The best thing to do is for him to get a copy of his blood test results and post them here - ie hsv1 igg 4. 8 and hsv2 igg 3. 2 or whatever they are - is all I need to see. Post them in this same thread so that your whole story is there for me to glance at :)

Have you ever had a herpes blood test yourself?

And yes to answer your question - it's possible to sleep with someone with herpes for even a lifetime and never  contract it.  It's really not that contagious as long as you know you are infected and can take simple precautions like avoiding sex during obvious genital symptoms.

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Well I don't feel like he is being dishonest, he could have never told me anything and I would have never known.  I am just curious if it is possible to have slept with somebody who has herpes and not contract it.  
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Avatar universal
His Dr. told him what? If he has antibodies to it then he has HSV. To be honest and this goes beyond the whole beyond this message board but if this guy is playing games with you with words, I wouldn't sleep with him. Tell him to get tested with a Herpes Select IGG Test and let the Dr. tell him what the results are and be there when he tells him. Saying he has antibodies makes no sense at all unless he is positive. I don't want to make this guy seem like a jerk or anything but he is either negative or positive, not both. Get the right answer and then move on with either learning about HSV and dealing with it or just move on if you don't feel he is being honest.
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