Herpes/Mono

Hi. I'm hoping I can get some answers. About a month ago, I started getting fevers. I had no other symptoms other than having the fevers and I was really tired. These fevers went on for about a week and I finally went to the dr. He told me that it was a virus of some kind and that I had developed a UTI. He gave me meds for the UTI but nothing for this "virus". A couple days later, I noticed that it started hurting "down there" and I just thought I had gotten a yeast infection from the antibiotic for my UTI. It got to the point to where it hurt to walk and I could feel sores Down there. I ended up going to the ER and she told me it was Herpes. A few minutes later, she came back and told me that I had mono. I was point on all sorts of meds and in a couple days I was all cleared up down there and about a week later, I got my appetite back and have my strength back. My question is, could I have been misdiagnosed with Herpes? I have only been with one guy and he says that he got blood work done and is negative for any stds. But he's the only one I've been with so how do I have it? Could he of had mono and I didn't know it, do oral sex on me and that could be what caused sores and for it to hurt down there?

[gracefromHHP]

you can get genital rashes with mono infections.  that said, you still need to cover your bases properly and make sure you don't also have genital herpes.  did they test you for yeast and bacterial infections vaginally when you were seen?

make sure that your partner had herpes igg blood testing done when last std tested. it's not a part of routine std testing.

have you ever had herpes igg blood testing done? did they do any testing on your genital lesions when you were seen to test for herpes?

grace

[gracefromHHP]

you can get genital rashes with mono infections.  that said, you still need to cover your bases properly and make sure you don't also have genital herpes.  did they test you for yeast and bacterial infections vaginally when you were seen?

make sure that your partner had herpes igg blood testing done when last std tested. it's not a part of routine std testing.

have you ever had herpes igg blood testing done? did they do any testing on your genital lesions when you were seen to test for herpes?

grace

[Needhelp4825]

Hi Grace. When I went to the ER, she told me that I had one of the worst herpes outbreaks she's ever seen. I have blisters and was swollen and could barely walk. I just had the Herpes blood test done and it came back negative for both types. I also had mono at the same time she diagnosed me with Herpes. My dr said that even though the blood test came back negative, that it was too soon (after having mono, which I'm fine now) to assume I was misdiagnosed with having herpes and that I need to come back to be retested in 2 months when my body has had time to build antibodies back up. What do you think my chances are that I was misdiagnosed? My dr said that he thinks it was too bad of an outbreak to be just a genital rash caused by mono.

[gracefromHHP]

get your partner tested now to know their status to see if you even need to repeat herpes testing later on.

it's too bad the provider in the ER didn't do a lesion culture on your symptoms :(

[Needhelp4825]

We unfortunately aren't together anymore and he claims that he got tested and he doesn't have it. He's the only man I've ever been with. I have an apt with my gyn in two months. Hopefully by then, I can get some answers. I just feel like I am getting my hopes up.

[gracefromHHP]

well if he won't show you paper work to know that he had proper testing, indeed you need to seek out type specific herpes igg blood testing 3 months after you last had sex.

should you get a return of symptoms before then, be seen promptly for further evaluation. if they suspect herpes, they should do a lesion culture and typing at that time.

[Needhelp4825]

Hi Grace. I went on and got copies of my medical record. The blood test I got done says HSV 1/2 AB (IGM), results both NEGATIVE. I have gotten fever blisters before so shouldn't type 1 say positive? That is what makes me think I got this test done too soon after having Mono. I also got the results back from my ER visit and it looks like they did do a culture but I don't understand it. It says CHLAM and Gonor are negative. Where it says Herpes it says L(*H).  When I look under L, it says Herpes Simplex Virus Culture, source: not supplied, result: it's blank and then says isolated. Not sure what the *H means. The next page is my mono results and it says positive and the flag is a *H. I don't understand what it's saying.

[Needhelp4825]

The Herpes blood test they gave me says igm, not igg and I don't have numbers. Did they do the wrong blood test?

[Needhelp4825]

I guess what I don't understand is that the blood test I had both came back negative. But if I have had fever blisters before, wouldn't I have HSV 1? I'm 32 and have had maybe 4 fever blisters in my lifetime.

[castello80]

IgM blood tests are completely useless in diagnosing herpes. To diagnose properly for herpes through blood you need to get a type specific IgG HSV test for both HSV-1 and HSV-2. Your history of cold sores or fever blisters indicates that it's extremely likely that HSV-1 will be positive. In regards to the culture information on your release forms, you need to follow up with your physician. If a culture was done then the results are usually available within 2-7 days, so if you don't hear from them within that time then give them a call.

[Needhelp4825]

My results from came culture came back but my regular doctor couldn't read it. It's hard to understand the report. He doesn't deal with STD's very often so I made an appointment with my GYN in April, that way it's also 3 months of time to gain antibodies back. Ill just have to wait until then. Thanks for your reply!

[gracefromHHP]

if it says herpes was isolated from your culture, then it came back + for herpes and they didn't order it typed. Have your provider give them a call, see if they still the sample in their lab to add on a typing to get a faster idea of what type it is.  

Otherwise you can follow up with a hsv2 igg 3 months post encounter ( since you already know you have hsv1 ) just to confirm your status and type. Should you have a recurrence before then, call your gyn's office and see if you can get in that day or the next for a lesion culture and typing. Be firm about needing a same day appointment when you call!

[Needhelp4825]

It's been a month since my ER visit so I doubt they still have it. I have an appt April 15th with my GYN and it will talk to her about the type specific igg test. Thank you so much for all of your help! I appreciate it.

[gracefromHHP]

typically they freeze them and keep them for awhile so it is worthwhile having your provider give the hospital lab a call.

[Needhelp4825]

Grace, so I will call my dr today. If my partner at the time had a fever blister or anything like that at the time but did not have genital herpes, and he performed oral sex on me, could I contract hsv 1 but NOT hsv? I myself, also had a fever blister at the time this all happened.

[gracefromHHP]

when you have hsv1 orally, it gives you significant protection from contracting hsv1 genitally. It's not 100% but it's up there.  It's more likely to be hsv2 than hsv1 genitally.

[Needhelp4825]

Ok. Thanks Grace.

[Needhelp4825]

Good news. They still had my culture and are going to type test it. They said it can take up to 12 days. I guess I'll finally get some answers soon.

[gracefromHHP]

glad they had it :)

[Needhelp4825]

Still waiting on my type test results to come back from my culture but I have a question....

What is the difference between genital Hsv 1 and genital Hsv 2?

[gracefromHHP]

mostly just how often the shed and how often they reoccur. the herpes handbook goes into more details for more reading.

[Needhelp4825]

Ok. I've read the handbook but ill look at it again.

I guess im just confused. I know that I have HSV 1 because ive gotten fever blisters on my mouth before. When I get my results back from my culture and they are typing it, if it comes back HSV 1 positive(which I assume I already have because of having fever blisters on my mouth), is that because I have genital hsv1 or just because I have had them on my mouth before?

I just need to know what I need to do after I get the results so I know how to deal with any future partners.

[gracefromHHP]

What results came back hsv 1+?

[Needhelp4825]

Nothing yet but wouldn't I already be hsv 1+ though because of having fever blisters? My culture was of down below.

[gracefromHHP]

yes if you have a history of cold sores, your hsv1 igg blood testing results should reflect that.

[Needhelp4825]

Well, Grace after waiting almost 2 weeks, I found out today that the type test was added on to my culture test and they threw my culture away.

[gracefromHHP]

so I"m still confused - they typed your lesion culture and it was hsv1+ or your blood test was hsv1+ and they didn't type your culture?

[Needhelp4825]

I haven't had an igg type blood test yet because it hasn't been 3 months. I have an appt with my gyn April 19th and I plan on asking for one. When I was in the ER January 25th, they did a test on my culture but it wasn't typed. It just said "isolated" as far as I could tell. It wasn't specific. I asked 2 weeks ago if they would type it and my dr ordered the test and they still had my culture and said it would take 12 days. Here it is two weeks later, and now they tell me that the test wasn't done because my culture specimen is no longer available. I just want to know what I have so I can move on and deal with this. It hasn't been easy. I feel like all I do is wait...and I'm not sure what I am waiting for.

Is it true that if I have HSV 1 because of previous fever blisters on my mouth, that I can't get genital HSV 1 but I can HSV2?

[gracefromHHP]

thank you for clarifying all that for me - now I finally  understand :)

correct, if you have hsv1 orally, not likely to contract it genitally later on.

certainly follow up with igg blood testing at the proper time and go from there to know your type.  should you get a return of genital symptoms before then, be seen within 48 hours for a repeat lesion culture and make sure they order it typed.  Odds are this is hsv2 since you already have hsv1 orally.

keep asking questions :)

[Needhelp4825]

Ok. I will get my igg test next month.

Lets say that by some miracle, my igg test results come back positive for hsv1 but negative for hsv2...would it be safe to say that this wasn't genital herpes I got but something else?

Just seeing my options.

Thank you so much Grace.

[Needhelp4825]

Bumpity bump :)

[gracefromHHP]

false negatives are the issues with lesion cultures, not false positives.  it's really unfortunate that they didn't type your culture...sigh.

[Needhelp4825]

Hi Grace. Today was finally the day, after waiting 3 months, that I finally got my type specific igg blood test this morning. Ill know for sure in three days!

[Needhelp4825]

I got my type specific igg blood test back today. I am positive for HSV 1 with a 4.85 and was negative for HSV. What does this mean exactly Grace?  It's still considered an STD and I can give it to someone else with skin on skin contact if I'm having an outbreak, correct?

I have fever blisters on my mouth before. How did I get HSV genitally? The only guy I have ever done anything with claims he is disease free.

Please help.

[Needhelp4825]

*negative for HSV2

[gracefromHHP]

even though having hsv1 orally first gives you significant protection against contracting hsv1 genitally, it's not 100%.  

at this point, I'd wait and repeat your hsv2 igg in another month or two just to err on the side of caution in case your previous hsv1 infection is slowing down seroconversion.   should you get a return of genital symptoms, be seen within 48 hours of their appearance for repeat lesion culture and typing too.    


what an ordeal this has been eh?

[Needhelp4825]

Yes, a huge ordeal. Could I have given myself herpes down there? I did have mono at the same time and a fever blister on my mouth a couple days before I felt anything going on down there. Like if I touched the sore on my mouth and then touched down there?

[gracefromHHP]

nope, didn't give it to yourself.  not at all easy to do.

you have your actual lesion culture results at home right? if so, any chance you can take a picture of them to post under the photo part of your profile for me to look at? rereading your whole story this morning made me wonder if I needed to look at that. just make sure in what you post, you haven't included any person info like medical record number or name etc.  

[Needhelp4825]

Grace, I uploaded it under photos. Thank you.

[Needhelp4825]

I just think it's weird that I had a fever blister on my mouth at the same time. The Mono just completely wiped me out. I've also been taking Valtrex 1gm daily every since I came home from the ER.

[gracefromHHP]

good grief - no wonder your provider was having a hard time figuring out what your results are. that's a really odd way to report all those values.  thank you for taking the time to post that.  I wasn't sure rereading your posts if your provider had read it all properly or not.

mono when you are not a teenager will wipe you out :(

follow up with the hsv2 igg again just to be sure or wait until you have a recurrence genitally and get it cultured - either is fine. until then I'd assume you do have bad luck and contracted hsv1 genitally.  

[Needhelp4825]

I'm just not educated enough. If I am HSV2 -, how did I get genital HSV 1? Did my ex bf give it to me through oral if he had a fever blister at the time? I don't think he did but I'm not sure. Regardless, I will get re-tested in 3 months. Im not dealing with this very well. I'm severely depressed. I know that I should be happy that its just Herpes and not HIV or something worse. It's just hard because I'm in the "why me" stage. I have only been with one guy my entire life and this is what I got. It just scares me to death to start dating again.

[gracefromHHP]

you don't need an obvious cold sore present to transmit hsv1 . it's still active in between obvious cold sores/fever blisters.

when you are ready to start dating again, just ask a partner to get full std testing and share results with each other. that way there's no doubting who was tested for what and it takes the worry out of most std's if it's a committed monogamous relationship. you can't cover the hpv bases but it helps with everything else. hsv1 genitally hardly sheds at all and your hsv1 oral infection would be the issue, not a hsv1 genital infection.

[Needhelp4825]

I guess that's it. Thank you Grace for all of your help. I appreciate it.

[Needhelp4825]

A couple questions..

If I have oral and genital HSV 1, is oral sex ok on me if the guy has had cold sores before? But he can get genital HSV1 if I do oral on him correct?

What about genital HSV1 and sex? If I have genital HSV1, I can give him genital HSV1 correct if a condom is not used?

I am trying to get my information correct so I know what to tell future partners. I'm a little uneducated.

[gracefromHHP]

having hsv1 orally gives someone significant protection against contracting hsv1 genitally later on.  just avoiding sex/oral sex when symptoms are present is usually all it takes.  if a partner has hsv1 orally, your hsv1 infection is basically a non-issue for the most part. make sense?

[Needhelp4825]

It does make sense. I was Oral HSV1 positive years ago and recently contracted HSV 1 genitally.  So if a partner is already HSV1 positive, genitally or orally, sex isn.t a big deal? I'm afraid I'm going to spread something to someone. Am I making this more of a big deal than it is?

[gracefromHHP]

I know when you end up being the exception to the rule, it gets hard to believe it when someone tells you that you don't have to worry about it with a partner....lol.  just keep reminding yourself how special you are  and that not many folks get to be that way :)

[Needhelp4825]

I know it could be a lot worse. I've spent the last three months depressed and unhappy and just constantly sad. It's time for me to move on and try to be happy. When I found out that I was + for genital HSV1, I thought my life was over. I was afraid to have "the talk" in the future and it got to the point to where I didn't want to go out and meet any new guys because I felt like once they found out, they'd split and I've been through enough these last few months. Thank you for everything Grace..for just listening to my story and being there.