HSV 1 + HSV 2 +/-

[Devastated_stressed]

For the past 3 months I have been through hell and back.  In September I was diagnose with HSV 1 and HSV 2.  When my doctor told me I was positive for both she didn't give me any information on what I should do.  The only thing she told me is that I was positive and the person I was sexually involved with gave it to me.  I was devastated and I knew I had to tell the person I was messing with about it.  Not only did I tell him I blamed him.  When he finally got tested he told me he was negative and he didn't want nothing else to do with me.  All of this happened so quickly and I couldn't believe what was going on.  Since he said he was negative I wanted to get retested.  I asked for a copy of my lab results and it read:  
HSV 1  >4.6 H
HSV 2  >2.09 H

I started to research my results and I found out that I was definitely positive for HSV 1 and in the false positive range for HSV 2.  I really didn't care about my HSV 1 result my concern was my HSV 2 result. From my research I have learned that I should wait 4-8 weeks before I retest.  I recently was tested again and my results read:

HSV 1  >5.00 H  
HSV 2    0.05

I was happy but at the sametime I was angry.  My doctor should have told me that I had a false positive result and to retest in a couple of months instead of telling me I was positive.  She changed my life and had me go through so much stress and pain.  I can truly say that this was the worst trail I had to go through in my entire life.

I like to ask a few questions.   Can I be confident of my results or should I retest in another month?  I have been taking Valtrex for my suppression therapy could that affect my blood test results?  If I just have HSV 1, should I continue to take Valtrex daily?  

Thanks

[BillinAmerica]

i have seen over in the doctors forum that Valtrex cannot effect your lab result and he also talks about +hsv1 effecting the test (making yous hsv 2 +) i really think you dont have herpes and your fine it sucks your doctor is a Bia Bia. Did you even have any blisters/sores why were you even taking Valtrex?

[dp426]

I have been tested about 12 times for HSV and all of them have come back negative,I retest about every 7 months or so and this last time it came back positive I freaked and then learned that over 70 to 80% of the population in the U.S. has HSV1 and 1 out of 5 people have HSV 2, which most of them do not know they are positive for HSV 2 because they have no physical signs of the virus...  I have no signs of the virus expect a slight tingle from time to time which I was told is inconclusive... I just did another test about a week after the positive test and it came back negative and I have no physical signs of the virus so blood test are not 100% accurate ...I'm now going on test number 3 to see what happens so your not alone...

[gracefromHHP]

Unfortunately not many medical practioners are very familar with the herpes blood tests in general let alone aware of the potential for false positives :(    At this point I'd stop your suppressive therapy unless you were having frequent oral herpes ob's and wanted relief from them.  Your first hsv2 result was within the false positive range and your 2nd was clearly negative. It's not likely that you really do have hsv2 genitally but if you want peace of mind - wait a month or two and then either get a herpes western blot test done or if your doctor uses quest labs you want the herpes inhibition assay test #17170.  

sorry to hear that so much has went on thru all this :(  I'm glad though you have been educating yourself and following up on all this to get the answers you need to get.

[logo545]

I am so happy to read this information!  And I'm so pissed off to.  I started dating a guy that said he had hsv2 and after one month of unprotected sex.  I was so pissed off I went and got tested.  He claimed that he had it for 20 years, took supressive therapy and the chances of me getting it were like 5%.  So I got tested and only after one month my results (doc says) were positive.  I got tested last year and results were negative.  I broke up with him and have been devastated and bummed that I can never have sex with out a condum for the rest of my life now.  I was soooo pissed off!  And now your telling me there is a chance my doctor read the damn results wrong, and there is a range?  I've always had cold sores, hsv1 all my life as a child but now its been 4 months since I was tested hsv2 and I've had NO symptoms, what are the chances of getting it and NOT breaking out in the first 5 months? If I do have it (after I go get tested again tomorrow hello) then how long can you go and not experience any symptoms?  My doctor imediately gave me vatrex, I threw it in my drawer and cried for a week, never took any of it!  Maybe I ruined a relationship becuase my doctor read a test wrong??????

[gracefromHHP]

I will gladly take a look at your test results for you ( sounds like you are getting retested? ).  If you want to get a copy of your original test results I will gladly look at them for you too.

Yes it's unfortunate that so many medical practioners aren't up to date on interpreting the blood tests :(  In their defense they do have a lot to keep current on ( I can't do it all myself - ask me the vaccination schedule for kids and I"ll give you a TOTAL blank look...lol ).  

I'm just glad you've found someplace you can get better answers at for once and for all even if it is too late for the original relationship.

grace