False Positive? Advice and Soapbox...

[preza]

Here's some quick history.  In the past few years, since being divorced and dating again, I have had an STD screening about every 6 months for everything...even that painful swab they jab up your penis.  I have never tested positive for anything.  I dated a women for a few months who was positive for HSV 2 but took Valtrex daily.  After a month of sex, I was tested during my yearly physical and was negative.  6 weeks after our last sexual contact, I tested positive for HSV 2 w/ IGG of 1.5 and was told that anything over 1.1 menas you are infected.  So, all this time I have assumed I have herpes.  I even joined a herpes dating site.  As I did more research, lots of sources said that a low positive could be a Herpeselect false positive.  So I waited until the 16 week mark after last exposure and was tested again, but this time with the Biokit test.  I had to drive nearly 4 hours to get to a clinic that used the Biokit.  I was negative with this test.


QUESTION:  So, a 1.5 with Herpeselect at 6 weeks and a clear negative with Biokit at 16 weeks.  Do I have to get the Western Blot test now to know for sure?  I never had any symptoms of an outbreak.  No bumps/sores of any kind.  My insurance won't pay for the WB test.  Will another Herpeselect be over 1.1 again and say "positive" on the lab result?  Do I wait and pay for the Biokit test again in a couple months?  It was cheap, but the WB is expensive.  


RANT:  So, as far as state records go, I added one more number to the herpes 2 count, even though I probably am not infected after all.  Are all these statistics about the population of HSV 2 people screwed up from all these possible low-positive IGG numbers that might be false negatives???  Could it be intentional that there is apparently zero concern by the health/medical community concerning this issue with the Herpeselect test?  It inflates statistics and generates tons for the pharm companies.  How many people are on Valtrex and whatnot who don't need to be?  How many people test positive with a low IGG, aren't really infected, but meets people on herpes dating sites, get infected for real, and then think, oh wow--my first outbreak just took months and months to finally hit!!!  I'm angry because the medical community offered me no disclaimer about the issue with Herpeselect that I have found numerous places online.  I almost just assumed I had herpes and put myself in a dating pool of only herpes infected women.  

[gracefromHHP]

it's not likely you really do have hsv2. Your risk of contracting it from your former partner was only 2%/year without using condoms and her being on daily suppressive therapy.  Your positive igg was a very low positive and the odds of it being accurate at that point were rather low.  

if you need the peace of mind, you can retest but odds are you in your favor that you don't have hsv2.

grace

[Mistakeguy789]

Biokit at 4 months is pretty accurate.  When the chance of HSV-2 is present it is usually recommended you either do the biokit or you do WB.  Biokit is pretty darn accurate.

[preza]

Thank you for your response.  So you think I should take security in the Biokit's negative result, or is there a chance that it was a false negative?  I was assuming 16 weeks should be long enough to get accurate results, but I'm new to all of this.  


About the swab, lol.  I have had that done by three different docs.  One told me that the swab was much more accurate than peeing in a cup, so I figured the discomfort (you sticking how much of that thing up there???) was worth the piece of mind of accurate results.  But, maybe they were just saying that too.  

[gracefromHHP]

ouch - still getting tested with urethral swabs?  Honestly you can just pee in a cup now instead, get your clinic to test you another way!  no need for more testing for you.  

The false positive issue with the herpeselect is much lower than it used to be. they did tweak it a bit a few years ago and it did help.  All tests have false positive/false negative rates, just quest has been very open about the herpeselect's issues unlike other tests. Hiv tesing has the same issues and so does syphilis/chlamydia/gonorrhea testing. Your provider would never diagnose you as having cancer based on one test, same goes with herpes testing and many std tests.  

Most states do not track hsv infections.

the studies where we get the rates of infection from actually do not use the herpeselect either (NHANES ).  they use a non-commcercially available herpes test. Many of the other research studies use the WB. Many of them use 2 tests to confirm infection too. this really isn't  falsely inflated rates of hsv2 infection that the drug companies perpetuate to sell more drugs .

grace

[preza]

Might I also mention that in my state EVERY clinic used the Herpeselect test and that test ONLY to detect herpes.  The states surrounding me only had one or two clinics in the whole state that offered the Biokit...all the others used Herpeselect.  Maybe thousands of these people who have herpes but no symptoms actually don't have herpes???