need some help

[Hypochonman]

I had protected sex with a new partner that i do not know and the condom broke. we stopped right after i saw it. (i know it might not have mattered)  I did an 8 panel test 6 weeks later and came back negative, except

Herpes Simplex Virus Type II IgG Test (HerpeSelect)  test came back exactly 1.1.  I a retesting in 2 months and probably one more time for HIV and HSV 2 another month after that.  The doctor consult told me i was positive over the phone yesterday and did not give any indication of hope that maybe i got a shot at not having it and was giving advice to prevent outbreaks. He also did not tell me to retest.  He said i appear to have had it for 'some time'
Then, i was granted access to my records and i saw that 1.1 is equivocal/low positive.

I have read that low positives on (Medhelp) are sometimes false positives and to retest in the 12-16 week range post exposure.  My question is why do they retest?  Is it expected that i will get a stronger positive result as more time passes or is it truly difficult to say or is normal for test results swing back and forth? I have read on here of people claiming the they regressed from 1.35 to .91 over time.

[gracefromHHP]

I'm glad you followed through on the additional testing to get the answers you needed :)

congrats on being negative!

grace

[Hypochonman]

okay, so i took the 8 panel test again because i already paid for it and the doctor talked to me and said that my hsv 2 herepselect test was now 1.25 (16 weeks after exposure).  thanks to you folks, i knew that it was 85% likely that i did not have hsv 2, so i opted for the WB test (5 months after exp.).  i tested negative for WB.  i had prior herpeselect tests in the past that were neg.  like it has been said before, it will bound around all over the spectrum from time to time within negative and low positive.

i guess they sell more valtrex this way because my doctor didn't even aknowledge tell me about WB and i wasn't going to argue with him...i had this place.  he was like, you have it, take precaution.  for any of you out there, get the WB  done.  the herpeselect is not reliable at all as far as low positive readings are concerned.

[Hypochonman]

I am trying to contact that partner and check it out.  From continued reading on MedHelp, the newest research shows that  a negative HSV -1 and positive HSV -2 of 1.1 or higher does indicate HSV 2.

I will likely test again at a different clinic next week and if i'm still in the gray area, i will get the western blot done.
Thank you petal130!

[petal130]

A one time encounter is low risk. Has your partner been tested to know their own herpes status?

Grace will most likely comment on your test results, but 1.1 equivocal I believe is as good as negative.