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Herpes? Too early to test even if symptoms are present?
Sorry for the continuous posts, but Im still confused...? 8 weeks and two days ago I had one unprotected sexual encounter. Woman/man vaginal intercourse, unprotected. It lasted 10 minutes, he did not finish because I made him stop. Two days later I went to the MD bad had a full std panel. Negative for everything except chlamydia. I know it was from him because the day after the encounter I started experiencing severe UTI symptoms. I took a gram of zithromax and followed up with one week of doxy. My re-test for chlamydia was negative. Since then I've learned that I tested entirely too early for HIV and HSV. Both baselines were negative!!! At 5 weeks I had and HIV rapid antibody screen which was negative!!!!! I am scheduled for another HIV rapid antibody in a few days which will be at my 8 week mark. Throughout all of this I have had of vaginal discharge, and was treated multiple times by my MD for both yeast and BV. That seems to be clearing itself up... My ongoing fear is of HSV, since knock on wood, the rest of my tests have been clear this far. I know that 16 weeks is 100% conclusive for HSV. But if I am at my 8 week mark, would it be beneficial at all to have another HSV drawn just for reassurance? Would it be indicative at all of what the 16 week test would say? I HAVE been having symptoms, but no outbreak. I've been experiencing sciatic type pain. It's a pain that originates in my left groin and sometimes goes to the back of my left thigh. It comes and goes daily. Sometimes it's only in my thigh, sometimes it's only in my groin. No back pain. No breakout. No ulcers of any style that me or my doctors can see. Just this odd hip and thigh pain. It isn't an intolerable pain... Just something that's there. It's been here for a few weeks. If I'm experiencing this as a result of herpes, wouldn't I have seen some sort of breakout? And if this pain is from HSV, would my blood work (IGG) be positive at this point? I'm ULTRA nervous about this, and so very confused!!!! Any advice, knowledge, words of encouragement is appreciated. 7 weeks and 5 days is such a long time to wait!!! Thanks again!
Put the breaks on right now!!!!! Seriously, indigestion is NOT herpes. NOT HERPES. Understand me? Herpes is a virus that irritates the skin via a nerve pathway. Indigestion is a whole different body system causing that symptom. That's the same as saying "my appendicitis is Herpes". No way, Jose. But I totally get your mindset. Take my advice and run with it. Trust me. Here is what you need to do... Wait 9 weeks post exposure and have an IGG. Wait 12 weeks post exposure and have an IGG. Wait 16 weeks post exposure and have an IGG. Then at 20+, call Terri's clinic and set up a WB. You will be having bloodwork done every 3-4 weeks, and if you're getting negative results, well, there is your "anxiety pill". You can do this. Stop blaming everything on HSV. Look, what if you do have it? What if? How do you plan on curing it? You find out you're positive, and then what? You think you have to walk around announcing it to the public? Well no... You'll do what everyone else with it does. You'll take daily suppressive meds and use condoms and be honest with sex partners. It's a skin condition, not HIV. It's not hepatitis or cancer. It's not a heart condition. It's a bunch of bumps that hurt that pop up on your hoo hah from time to time. Acne didn't kill you, HSV won't either. When I decided that, I decided to stop worrying about it. Follow my instructions and live your life. Don't waste 6 months on this BS like I did. Get tested and move on :)
OMG, thank you for this post nervouswait!!! I am absolutely, 100% in the same frame of mind you were in. It's crazy and I feel like it will never end. I feel like I'm having every symptom under the sun except for the painful sores. Just yesterday I had a headache and heartburn ... guess what I blamed it on? You got it, herpes!! Even though there is zero evidence that herpes causes heartburn! I'm having tailbone pain and I'm convinced it's the virus. Nevermind that I've had low back pain since a car accident I was in at 18 and that I broke my tailbone playing softball when I was young. Then I slipped down the stairs the other night and now the pain is worse. It couldn't possibly be from falling! I am a nervous wreck all .... the .... time. I'm trying to convince myself that it's all anxiety but then there is this little voice in my head saying "yeah right, you're just trying to convince yourself it's anxiety because it makes you feel better, these symptoms are all definitely herpes related." I'm just so scared. So so scared. I tested at 6.5 weeks post exposure and my HSV2 was negative, but HSV1 was positive. So now I'm worried that my HSV2 outbreaks are so mild I don't notice them because I have HSV1. It never ends. I need to try and leave my mirror at home and stay off these boards. I read and read and read hoping I find something that tells me I don't have this. I'm now almost 9 weeks post exposure and the next several weeks are going to be killer waiting for my next test. My doctor thinks I'm crazy. I call all the time regarding everything. I also have stopped shaving because I thought it would be a bad idea since surely I'd irritate the area and it would make my anxiety even worse, but, like you, now I have all this hair down there and that's irritating as well as it pulls and pinches and feels so foreign!!! Gah!
Anyway, thanks for posting this and allowing me to vent about what I am going through too. I am going to try and take a page out of your book and try and calm my mind. We'll see how it goes.
Congrats on your results! Super glad someone out there got their life back. Good luck to you!!
Anyway, thanks for posting this and allowing me to vent about what I am going through too. I am going to try and take a page out of your book and try and calm my mind. We'll see how it goes.
Congrats on your results! Super glad someone out there got their life back. Good luck to you!!
Typo...there was supposed to be a ? behind the "still don't trust it" bit. DO trust your 16 week IGG, but if you don't, go have the WB done.
Party on my stoop that I wasn't invited to? Haha! Hi guys...and my dear Tim! First, Tim, sorry ive ignored you for the past 18 hours. Ill get to you later on that. Okay, kklap and markfromohio, let me first say that the first thing the two of you need to do (it's almost impossible) is IGNORE YOUR SYMPTOMS AND STOP WORRYING until AT LEAST 16 weeks have passed for the two of you. Get off this board reading stuff. It will only scare you. Do not go to Dr. Google. Do not break out the pocket mirror (I'm guilty of this) and inspect your bits and pieces. All those things will scare you. That's all. They will only increase your worry and your anxiety. They will not be helpful to you in the least. Trust me. If you have a specific question about a specific symptom, such as a blister or an ulcer or a discharge, come to me or Tim or Grace or fleetwood or catinbarefeet or life360. Or better, call the university of Washington and speak with a clinician at the virology clinic (206-520-4340). It's a free service and they are very helpful!!! I called more than once and they were fantastic. They are real docs just waiting to help. Or even better than that, call Terri Warren's clinic and set up a phone appointment and speak to a medical professional there and set up your WB (503) 226-6678. I spoke with Dr. Tolbee and she was more than amazing. Request her if you have to. But do NOT think that every twitch is herpes. Check this out...I shave down below. Have for as long as I can remember. Well, one day I decided to stop shaving because I didn't want to get one of those non-existent blisters, which I was just so sure I was going to get, and accidentally shave it off. No kidding you. That was my logic. "What if I have an outbreak and accidentally shave over it?". That was a real thought in my "herpes anxiety mind", so I stopped shaving. Then about a week later I got this odd rectal irritation feeling thing. Never had it before, so of course it's herpes, right? This went on for a month. Then I shaved again and guess what? It stopped. Why? Because it was nothing more than pubic hair that I hadn't felt in 15+ years because I've either shaved or waxed that long. So for a month I thought it was anal herpes. It was hair. That was month number 4 of this craziness. That's also when I just gave up. I had been to 3 different docs who all tried to put me on crazy pills because they said my symptoms were anxiety. After the anal herpes mindset, I gave up with this crap and just stopped. No more medhelp, no more Tim (that was the hardest), no more google, no more inspecting with a mirror, nada. Then magically, my symptoms went away. I was inching into week #21, so I called Terri's clinic, set up a WB, and ta-daaaaaa! NEGATIVE!!!!! It was all anxiety. My point behind all this writing is that Tim is exactly right with what he said. Just go get an IGG at 16+ weeks. Still don't trust it! Wait till 20 and have a WB. The last week of my life has been like a vacation. I've been off work for a week, I know I don't have herpes, I'm finally sure in my mind, my anxiety is gone. Guys, I've worked my rear end off in my yard raking leaves and cleaning 3 acres. Thats no vacation. My whole body is sore from yard work...But the vacation part is in my mind. I'm at peace finally, and ONLY because of the emotional support I received from Tim and the WB and finally believing my results. I've called friends and family this week and talked, really talked, just like I used to. I am going to see my mom next week and will be able to really look her in the face again for the first time in 6 months. I'm whole again. PLEASE read this and listen to it. Please. I'm asking the two of you to buddy up. Exchange numbers and talk to each other about this, like Tim and I did, and NOT to search the net for answers. I've given you a list of info. Use it. Markfromohio, test at 9 weeks IGG. You're results are greater than 70% accurate. Your symptoms are most likely anxiety. My sciatic stuff is still there, but I'm pretty positive it's my back. I strained it just before the exposure. Anxiety can cause sciatia because of the tense muscles in your lower back. I've asked an MD. It's true... Kklap you can test IGG at 9+ weeks. I wouldn't waste the time or cash before then. But certainly test again at 16+. Honestly, I recommend waiting 20 weeks and doing the WB for you both. Abstain from sex until then. Good luck guys. This is an awful ride, but you'll make it. :)
With WB it's recommended you wait at least 16 weeks. IgG is better for early detection
When is the earliest one could get the WB test??? Sounds like this is the way to go without the waiting, unless it's still recommended to wait 12-16 weeks.
I want to emphasize that she is now completely symptom free.
It was never HSV. It was probably anxiety all along.
It was never HSV. It was probably anxiety all along.
Nervouswait is a friend of mine (met on this board). She just took the Western Blot at 25 weeks post exposure and it came back negative!! She has never had a postive HSV2 test.. just a combination of symptoms that began shortly after the exposure in October and persisted for months.
She decided to try to ignore her symptoms a few weeks ago and stops coming to this board altogether.
She now reports that she hasn't felt ANY symptoms for the past 3 weeks and thinks it may have been in her head. Or that her anxiety was causing normal pains/aches to become exacerbated.
Either way, there you have it. She had the pains, the aches, the itches and just found out that at 6 months, she is clear via Western Blot.
Hope that gives you some peace. If she ever read this, I think she'd agree.
She decided to try to ignore her symptoms a few weeks ago and stops coming to this board altogether.
She now reports that she hasn't felt ANY symptoms for the past 3 weeks and thinks it may have been in her head. Or that her anxiety was causing normal pains/aches to become exacerbated.
Either way, there you have it. She had the pains, the aches, the itches and just found out that at 6 months, she is clear via Western Blot.
Hope that gives you some peace. If she ever read this, I think she'd agree.
I've had the EXACT same sciatica symptoms from my recent scare. Negative at 3 weeks and 6 weeks, testing tomorrow for 9 weeks.
No blisters, just strange pain in the buttocks, lower back and general tingling. This never happend prior to the protected exposure.
There must be something more to this?
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome? A non HSV virus? Anxiety?
So many others report the same symptoms yet test negative...
No blisters, just strange pain in the buttocks, lower back and general tingling. This never happend prior to the protected exposure.
There must be something more to this?
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome? A non HSV virus? Anxiety?
So many others report the same symptoms yet test negative...
Aw, Nervouswait, Wonderful news. I am happy for you. Take this as a lesson, and do not put yourself at risk again. Make sure to always have them use protection. Good luck!!!
Update to those who have been reading this...
9 weeks: HSV2 <.09 NEGATIVE
HIV NEGATIVE
15 weeks 3 days: HSV1 3.5 POSITIVE (but I have cold sores and as a matter of fact had a bad one on my lip the day I had it drawn).
HSV2. <.91 NEGATIVE
9 weeks: HSV2 <.09 NEGATIVE
HIV NEGATIVE
15 weeks 3 days: HSV1 3.5 POSITIVE (but I have cold sores and as a matter of fact had a bad one on my lip the day I had it drawn).
HSV2. <.91 NEGATIVE
Thanks guys! Yes, I have been tested for EVERYTHING. HIV twice. ***My third HIV test is tomorrow. Ill be doing a Clearview Rapid HIV 1/2 antibody test using whole blood which will be drawn from a vein (my request) not a finger stick.*** Anyway... Day 3 post encounter...Was positive for chlamydia. I knew within two days that something was wrong. The second morning after the encounter I had urinary symptoms. No burning or urgency, it was more like my bladder wouldn't empty entirely. And my urine was darker than normal. So the third morning post encounter I was at the doctors office. Was positive for chlamydia. I knew I had either that or gonhorrea. Never had a discharge until about a week later. Then it was just a really skin irritating DC. Went back to MD and they saw yeast and clue cells in the DC... Vaginitis and yeast. As long as I'm on the meds for it, the flagyl and diflucan, I was fine. But after I completed treatment, it came back. Went back to MD, clue cells and yeast again. After three treatments it FINALLY subsided. This has been an 8 week ordeal. The sciatic pain started as soon as I read on the Internet that it could happen with HSV. That's been going on for 8 weeks, too. No ulcers. No lesions. No tears or bumps or rashes. Just that irritating discharge. It's white as doesn't have a smell. And i feel 100% normal after showers when my skin is clean down there. Needless to say, Ive been doing lots of washing!!!!! Also, during all this I ended up with a bladder infection. My doctor did a vaginal exam with her hand and when she palates my bladder I almost came off the table. So all the abdominal pain I was having was related to that. Once I fixed the bladder, the abdominal pain stopped. I'm 8 weeks and 2 days into it as of today. Tuesday will be 9 weeks. I'm contemplating having another HSV/HIV drawn this upcoming Tuesday just for a little reassurance. And then going back in 7 weeks for my conclusive. I'm not on any meds at this point, so the results shouldn't be altered due to that.
I'm afraid the virus takes no time at all to transmit. I really don't think you want to dwell on the idea of statistical chances - they're not much help.
If you've had fever blisters/cold sores, then you certainly have oral herpes, most likely from HSV-1. Some studies have found that Type 1 antibodies can provide some protection against HSV-2 acquisition. However, the sole figure I've seen was 40% protection. There's still that 60% possibility out there. However, according to the studies, it's likely that if one has the antibodies to HSV-1, any subsequent acquisition of HSV-2 will likely result in a milder response in the body - less severe outbreaks to be exact.
Hang in there - try to manage your stress until you can re-test.
If you've had fever blisters/cold sores, then you certainly have oral herpes, most likely from HSV-1. Some studies have found that Type 1 antibodies can provide some protection against HSV-2 acquisition. However, the sole figure I've seen was 40% protection. There's still that 60% possibility out there. However, according to the studies, it's likely that if one has the antibodies to HSV-1, any subsequent acquisition of HSV-2 will likely result in a milder response in the body - less severe outbreaks to be exact.
Hang in there - try to manage your stress until you can re-test.
...also, what are my actual chances of getting this stuff? One time encounter, less than 10 minutes, he didn't "finish", he had no obvious ulcers on his mouth or down below. Also, I get fever blisters from time to time when it gets really cold or when I get sunburned, or more rarely, they just appear. I've read that there is some protection with that? I've never been tested for HSV-1. I never knew I needed to if it is just a fever blister. I've always been smart not to kiss or have oral sex if I had a fever blister. Idk. This is all just too much. I will NEVER do this again... Never :(((
Would my UTI symptoms have started 48 hours later, after the encounter? Thats when they started, which prompted me to get tested. I did have a UTI. The discharge was positive to Chlamydia, BV, and yeast. It's cleared up now, for the most part. Luckily I've had no outbreaks of any kind. None. Zero. Not even a scratch... Trust me, I've been checking multiple times a day. But I also know that not all people even have outbreaks... That's what's so scary. And this sciatic pain stuff... I don't ever remember having that before now. Its been going on for weeks now. 4-5 maybe? Maybe longer. Like I said, it isnt "pain". Its just something I feel. I got multiple shots of rocephin over the last few weeks...maybe the sciatic stuff is due to the injections? Who knows. 16 weeks... I have 7 weeks and 5 days left. It will creep by. Creep. Thanks so much for the input!
I'm very sorry to have opposing information. Your symptoms do point to a possibility that you may have contracted the virus. UTI symptoms, vaginal discharge, and later nerve pain are all possible symptoms of HSV infection. However without a positive test result, there is no reason to immediately think that these symptoms are not due to other things.
Your doctor really should have done a PCR swab when you first presented symptoms. In fact you might ask if he did. If your discharge was swabbed and came up negative, it's highly likely that you really are negative for HSV.
Unfortunately I do not believe another test at eight weeks will be as useful as a follow up test after 16 weeks, The standard. Required for the IgG to return an accurate result. It is also the amount of time we are assured enough antibodies have generated to trigger a positive result.
At that point, you could ask for another type specific IgG, or go straight to the Western blot, which is 99% accurate, the gold standard for testing, and administered by the top notch medical personnel at the Virology Research Center at theUniversity of Washington. Good uck to you!
Your doctor really should have done a PCR swab when you first presented symptoms. In fact you might ask if he did. If your discharge was swabbed and came up negative, it's highly likely that you really are negative for HSV.
Unfortunately I do not believe another test at eight weeks will be as useful as a follow up test after 16 weeks, The standard. Required for the IgG to return an accurate result. It is also the amount of time we are assured enough antibodies have generated to trigger a positive result.
At that point, you could ask for another type specific IgG, or go straight to the Western blot, which is 99% accurate, the gold standard for testing, and administered by the top notch medical personnel at the Virology Research Center at theUniversity of Washington. Good uck to you!
Thank you so very much, Life360!!!!! Ill go to the doctor Tuesday for more blood work. And maybe go back in February for my 16 week conclusive. Thank you all so much for all you do in this forum. Before this I never knew anything of this sort even existed. Nice to know that there is support out there when you need it! Everyone, please feel free to add any comments. If nothing else, the reassurance is so comforting.
Hi your hsv symptoms dont appear herpes related. These would be considered prodrome and is a sign of a coming outbreak. And is more for those who already had an outbreak. There are cases of body aches with no sore developing and is called and aborted outbreak and should not last most the a few days but your describing constant prodrome which is not consistant with herpes infection. You can test at 8 weeks and the results would be a good indicator for showing developing antibodies.
And let me also add, once the chlamydia returned positive I informed this guy. Told him to go get checked. He told me all his stuff was negative, except the chlamydia, of course. I questioned him about HSV and he said he'd never experienced any type of breakout. But he wasn't sure if he had ever actually been tested for HSV. We've stopped all communication at this point, so I am not sure if he was ever tested since the encounter or what his results were. So it's all on me now... But at the time of encounter I can say I didn't notice any lesions, ulcers, or any type bump anywhere... Thanks again!!!
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
