Herpes back pain

Hi i have been diagnosed with NGU (recurrent after 2 treatments in 2 months) and i have been suffering a upper back pain around my left shoulder blade and it is really concerning me. I was wondering for the people that get the back pain symptom, how does it feel? is it constant pain? how long? can you please describe it?

thank you

[gracefromHHP]

have you gotten your test results back yet?

did this pain start after your recent gardasil shot and is it in the same arm?

grace

[oil220]

hi,
no i havent gotten my test results back yet. i will probably get them on monday or tuesday. no the pain started several weeks ago, i'd say maybe 3-4 weeks, before i had any other symptom of any kind.
do you have any information of how the pain feels? mine feels like a charlie-horse but it is not constant pain.
the last time i had sex was the middle of july, how accurate do you think my results will be?

thank you

[gracefromHHP]

this doesn't sound herpes related at all.

[oil220]

Hi Grace,
I received my test results this morning and they were positive for HSV-2 (10 weeks after exposure). It was an IGG test and the number given to me was 1.37. I am devastated, I was being optimistic because i have been to a urologist,planned parenthood,county std clinic as well as my physician and none of them told me they even thought this was Herpes.
I havent had an outbreak or lesions.
Would do you recommend i do next?

thank you

[gracefromHHP]

that is a low positive and has a very high chance of being a false positive. since you had sex last in july, wait until november and get a herpes WB blood test to confirm your status. You have to wait at least 16 weeks post encounter for the WB to be most accurate.

[oil220]

Hi Grace I took an additional test (herpes select igg) and will get my results next thursday; just to see the difference in numbers. In the mean time, since it has been over two months already and i havent had an outbreak,can i conclude that i am simply asymptomatic?
does the low number explain when i havent had an outbreak or simply recent exposure?
is higher the number, the more contagious (shedding)?
and finally does the number usually increase over time?

sorry for the many questions, i just want to understand better

thank you

[petal130]

First and foremost, as Grace stated, you have to wait the 16 weeks for accuracy, even with a Western Blot. Another IgG now is pretty worthless both for the timing and if a low positive again.

You're asking questions as though you have herpes; you don't know that at this point without proper testing.

Here is Dr. Handsfield's explanation of a low positive.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Confusing-Igg-Test-Results/show/771141%C2%A0%C2%A0is

[gracefromHHP]

absolutely no significance to any changes in this newer test if there are any. it's still too early for testing as Petal already pointed out.

[oil220]

Hi guys,
I retook the test before i had received my positive result, only reason was because i had an appointment with a different doctor who insisted that Herpes select would be my best option since i had no idea what test my other doctor used.

But you guys are correct and i will retest again at the end of the month regardless of the result i will receive this week.

Please, I would still like to know the answers to the questions i asked if you know the answer. I would also like to know what actually causes a false positive?

[gracefromHHP]

we don't know exactly what causes false positives though we know having hsv1 does increase the risk of it occurring.

[oil220]

hi grace,
i received the test result with the Herpes select IGG and it was positive at 1.22 .
I asked the doctor to order a western blot so i can retake the test at the end of the month, he said that his lab does not have it but recommended to do a PCR test instead. Do you think that is good enough or should i go to another doctor for a western blot?

[gracefromHHP]

pcr blood testing is not helpful for diagnosing herpes. your provider needs to update his knowledge on herpes blood testing.  

[sunshine0108]

i went to doctor to day and was advised i have herpes 2 doctor told me it was sexually transmitted but i really didnt know what questions to ask about the text he said i have antibodies already what questions should i asked

[oil220]

Hi Grace, just thought I'd share with you that after 3 low positive HerpesSelect tests, I was NEGATIVE on the Western Blot !!!!!!!!!!
:)

[gracefromHHP]

just make sure it was a herpes WB you had done. from the sounds of your prior posts, I'd be double checking just to make sure.

but congrats!!  glad you finally have answers!  do you mind posting in the low positives post that is ongoing on this board about your experience for others to read? I'll bump it back up so it's easy to find..

[oil220]

Yes, I will be getting a copy of the results this weekend, but there nurses did specify it was for HSV1 & HSV2

I posted my story in the post:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/low-positives---confirmatory-results/show/1097724

Thanks again Grace !