Possible Herpes??

[Danie_D]

I'm a 22 year old female who recently had sex with someone new.  A couple days later I started to get a little itching around my vagina, which of course isn't anything out of the ordinary since I was always tight so it took time for it to heal back again.  A day or so after though, I started to get irritation and discharge, and since that day, it progressed to the point of me having to stay in bed because of the pain.  I know it's some sort of infection because of my high fever.  I went to my gyno and they had ruled it as bacterial vaginosis and just handed me antibiotics.  I still have not been getting any relief with the meds so I went to a new gyno for a second opinion and she took a culture, but she thinks it might be herpes.  Would she be able to tell from the culture, or is a blood test needed to definitely figure that out?  I'm just really scared, and in a lot of pain, and if I do have herpes, is there anyone out there that has it, or with experience that would be able to tell me more about this?  Do I need to change my diet, how many outbreaks are expected, do the outbreaks get worse than the initial etc?  Thank you so much

[Danie_D]

I sure did, I found that so helpful.  I want to do suppressive therapy, the only thing that's holding me back is the cost: $25 for 14 tablets...

[gracefromHHP]

lysine isn't effective for herpes. the provider who told you to take that, needs to seriously brush up on their herpes knowledge :(

how you treat your herpes is up to you. did you give the handbook a read yet?

[Danie_D]

Sorry about the delay in response!  The hurricane knocked out our power and internet for a while!  

Thanks for the response!  I'm sorry if I'm a little annoying, herpes is just really new to me and I'm still trying to accept the fact that I actually have it.  I have two different gyno's telling me two different things and it's so confusing.  My main concern is the possibility of spreading it to others (through sexual contact of course).  I haven't been involved in anything of the sort since I was first diagnosed.  I have the prescription of the generic of valtrex, and one gyno says to take one pill a day, where the other says to just take it when there's a breakout, and to take lysine everyday.  I've learnt that the possibility of a female infecting a male is pretty low, so would it be possible to take the generic of valtrex when there's only a breakout?  I don't know if you're actually supposed to answer that fully or if a doctor is needed for that decision, but I just was curious what others with HSV II do to protect others during that situation.  
This is of course after telling the other person what I have!  This question just has been on my mind for a while, and I was worried that if the time does come, what precautions to take.
I'm sorry this sounds so confusing and if I seem a bit annoying with all these questions!
-Danie_D

[petal130]

The lesion culture is proof positive that you have herpes. The blood test at that point only reaffirms it. The only reason to get it is it can be helpful in determining if it's a newly acquired infection. If you had the blood test back the end of July, and it was negative, you'd know it was newly acquired (from your BF who denies it). If you had been positive, you'd know it was a prior partner. The reason for this is it can take a few weeks to a few months for antibodies to be formed and hence detected in the blood test.

[bobrope45]

did you have a blood test that was positive for HSV2? or a culture that was positive for HSV2?

[Danie_D]

It was a lesion culture that came back positive, my 'partner' was an old friend and he refuses to be tested because he denies he has an std because he says he hasn't given the virus to anyone else.  
My question that was on the other post, is that is the lesion culture enough for an accurate diagnosis, or should I also have blood work done as well?

[gracefromHHP]

what testing came back as hsv2+?  Was it the lesion culture , blood work or both?

did your partner get tested yet?

[Danie_D]

I had gotten my lab results back a while ago which showed I had herpes, but just recently I found out my specific type is HSV II

[Danie_D]

What my second pcp has given me was a Lidocaine gel to help "numb" it a little, but honestly I feel no difference.  I am also taking both an antiviral and antibacterial medication, but I don't think it's anything that helps with herpes, but just to clear up the infection I think?  I will definitely be looking at that website too, I've been out of work because of the uncomfort and pain.  
Thanks!

[Danie_D]

I have all of the above when it comes to lesions, blisters and bumps; I also have sores.  The pain has been going on for about a week, with actual sores occurring about 4 days ago.  I took my culture test yesterday and was told it would take about a week until I get the results.  I am not assuming when my pcp has been stating it is herpes.  I am just trying to prepare myself.

[Mistakeguy789]

The challenge here is the fact your first provider didn't culture the area.  Due to the time that has passed a culture may not be very accurate at this point since it is passed the 48 hrs from when the symptoms appeared.  

Do you have any lesions, blisters, bumps, or anything like that?  

How long has the pain been going on?  How long has it been since you took the culture test?

I would have your partner get tested using a type speicific igg test if possible to know his own status.  That can shed a little light on you if he is tested after 12 weeks from his last sexual encounter (prior to yours that is).

If this is herpes your diet really isn't going to change.  Knowing what type of HSV in the genital location would give us an idea of how to help you.  HSV-2 genital has more outbreaks than HSV-1 genital.  So knowing the type is important here.  The inital outbreak is the worst one.  The future ones will be much less serve.  

Let's get answers before we assume things.