Test result confusion

[chloe420]

I hope some one can help me with this.. I was recently  tested for Herpes, I was told by the Western Blot Test from my provider. She explained the results (which are pretty confusing) that the first test they do is a combined anti-body. That came up positive, then they did two separate tests for Hvs1 & Hvs2 ( I was told to signify which type I had) both of these tests came back negative. So my provide thinks that this is a "false positive" and wants to re-test in 3weeks. My exposure time is under 6months (early Jan.) My provider also explained that you can show no positive test results up to 6month for some people. I've also heard that not only can you get a "false positive" you can just as likely get a "false negative." I'm really confused and under A LOT of anxiety from this. I should mention that I do not get cold sores, so that rules out positive results from that. I was tested for everything UTI, Yeast, Bacterial & all other STD's, those were all negative. My prompt for these test were what I thought was a bladder infection (UTI). For 2 weeks I've been experiencing a burning sensation & tingle (mainly in the urethra area) when I pee, which I'm doing a lot of due to a 5cm cyst on my left ovary. I'm also experiencing pain in my calves and nausea. I was examined by my provider and she found no sores, lesions or anything else abnormal down there. HELP!! Iam going out of my mind with this :(
     Any one with advice or similar experience please speak up :)
                                    Chloe  

[gracefromHHP]

I'm really not sure you had a herpes WB blood test done to be honest. The WB is type specific and only returns with a + or a -.   They do not first do a combined herpes test with the WB .  If it really was a herpes WB you had done, it can't be done any sooner than 4 months after the last time you had sex prior to symptoms.

It would be unusual for herpes to be causing 2 weeks worth of symptoms when urinating and not any obvious lesions at this point since it would be a recurrence for you which typically don't last very long.  You should continue following up on this with your provider and/or an urologist or an urogynecologist.

grace

[chloe420]

Your possibly right that it wasn't the WB test, my provider sounded un-sure as to which test I had and I agree that it doesn't make much sense for me to be experience these sorts of symptoms and not have apparent visual signs, but I have been researching quite thoroughly and have found that the symptoms for Hsv-2 can vary person to person and some do not show visual signs at all, but do have some of the physical symptoms. And yes you can get it in your urethra, which makes sense if you were to contract it through oral sex with a carrier of Hsv-1.  The pain with urination, a tingly feeling all over my genitals, aches in my thighs, buttocks and legs, flu-like symptoms but no fever and no itching or real odd discharge. My provider said on Wednesday that she was almost certain that it was a "false Positive" that we got and we are going to re-test in another week, since the original test was over 2weeks ago. I do notice that the symptoms are more agitated when I drink caffeine.  I can't help but think that if the symptoms persist for another week or more and don't go away, that it couldn't be Hsv-2 and it is something more urologist geared.  I also can't help but think that it is Hvs-2 and I am in the very early stage of contraction rearing it's ugly head. I said earlier, it's just under 3 months and I could be late shower, some even go 6 months or longer before having symptoms. I know the mind can play some miserable tricks on a person and I hope that is what is going on here for me, if not my life is going to be simply DESTROYED :(
                Freaking out Chloe

[gracefromHHP]

the igm herpes test is a bad test overall and not one that we recommend having done here. Plenty of posts on it as to why as well as in the herpes health page there is a link to a specific post made by Dr HHH on it ( not at home to have my links handy to post it all easy for you ).  You should not have the igm test repeated- EVER.

And yes, I am very aware of the way herpes presents, including atypical presentations as well as herpes urethritis.  That said, you need to think other things besides herpes at this point.  Do not allow yourself to fixate on the "but it could be's" about herpes.  If you are going to retest, wait and do it in 2 months, not 2 weeks and then put it to bed. Meanwhile follow up on this with an urologist now, if it hasn't cleared in 2 weeks and your provider isn't able to figure out what is going on, it's time for further work up. I'm sure at this point you are annoyed as all get out by it all and ready to be rid of the pain of it all.

grace

[chloe420]

Oh, you know it.. I'm just sick of stressing out and feeling like I'm getting a death sentence soon. I've never been so aware of every little ache or pang in my body and of course every website I visit has my symptoms as Hsv-2 :( Most of my pain is in my urethra area and there is pain before passing urine, but it's short lived and the stream comes out just fine, sometimes I think that I'm done and then 1min. later I feel as if I have to pee again with pressure. I started to think that I may have cause some damage to my clitoris area over two weeks ago while masturbating with the bath tub faucet? I prefer to do this because I feel that I get cleaner down there by allowing the water in direct contact, saying this I remember that there was some pain from letting the water run to long over the area after climax was achieved. Can you damage or cause stress to your urethra or clitoris from doing so?? I don't remember feeling pain in urination immediately but two days later, I had a lot of caffeine and the peeing & burning symptoms showed up. I'm really starting to wonder if this is what's going on?? I didn't have any tingling or burning prior to this, basically the symptoms presented themselves out of no where in one night.. Is that possible? Everything else I read says, that there are symptoms before the symptoms.
     What I am completely shocked about is how little people in this world are educated or warned and even tested for such an epidemic of a disease :( Just because it doesn't kill you, does mean that you should be warned and tested about it.. Thanks for your responses :)
                                             Chloe  

[gracefromHHP]

It could be any number of things going on causing this. You can even have a viral urinary tract infection that can take weeks to clear up on its own :(   Continued follow up is in your best interest.

grace

[chloe420]

I'm gonna follow your advise about the follow up, but there are new symptoms that I am experiencing that were not there before :( There is a tingle or icy hot burning sensation now in the backs of my buttocks and legs and has persisted for 2 days now as well as the rest of the symptoms I explained earlier, pain during the start of urination, general sensitivity in my genitals, but still no lesions or blisters. These symptoms began March 14th and have not really gone away.. There are days that are not that bad, but the all the same the symptoms are still there and now with the new leg & buttock pain, I am fairly sure that I have Hsv-2. Can a "breakout" last almost a month and not show lesions? I'm still reading the forums and past forums, I stumbled across one of a lady who stated the same exact symptoms as what I am now experiencing. My question is can you still test negative even when you are experiencing symptoms? maybe because when I first tested I was in the very early stages of a "breakout"? I would like to test again and earlier then what you suggested...My thought is that now that I am obviously having a break out I would mostly likely get a positive test? My husband and I have had sex a few times since I was exposed and I was not showing any symptoms as well as using a condom each time, I do believe that he did preform oral sex on me during these times, so I'm concerned that he could have gotten Hsv-1 and possibly Hsv-2. He had a blood test ran this week and we haven'tt gotten he results yet. I'm not sure where our relationship going to be after  all this. If he's negative and I'm positive, I'm pretty sure that we're gonna be done. If he's positive as well as me, maybe we'll end up staying together. I'm not counting on getting a  negative result and I refuse to mentally psych myself into believing that I don't have this life-long disease.
                  GOd, my life *****
                                         Chloe

[gracefromHHP]

If you have new symptoms, see your provider today for follow up.

grace

[chloe420]

I already called and requested an oral treatment. I'm waiting for my provider to call back and ok a oral treatment at my pharmacy. I go in today for the second blood test, which will take a week for results. What I need now is something to calm down the symptoms and anything that keep me from going crazy right now. Is there a counselor that I can talk to over the phone? would my Dr.'s clinic have something like this?? I really need to speak to someone live, rather than sit here all by myself flipping out!
                   Thanks for your quick response
                                       Chloe

[gracefromHHP]

I don't recommend just calling them - I recommend going and being seen and properly examined.

You can ask your clinic for a referal to a counselor - they might have a list of ones that otehrs have recommended.

grace

[chloe420]

I was not able to be seen by my provider and my new symptoms are not visual. It's a tingling or icy hot sensation in the backs of my thighs & buttocks, which is very similar to the feeling in my genitals and is now going on 3 days. I re-check myself downstairs and found no lesions ( are they suppose to be painful if you have one? or are some none painful?).  However, my provider did call in a script for Valtrex and I started it yesterday. My provider wants me to re-test in 2 weeks. My last test was March 17, so I'll re-test April 17. My possible contact time would have been early January, and that is really only 3months. It seems a bit early for the anti-bodies to be present? no? I don't know.. anyway, they didn't offer any kind of counseling and I tried the Asahad hotline and sat on hold for a very long time to be told that there were no counselors available to speak to.. :( I'm just trying really hard to absorb all this and accept that I have this disease, unless by some miracle they come back with a negative result and have found some OTHER reason "why" I've been having all these symptoms, I've pretty much made up my mind that I have Hsv-2. Oh it's just a wonderful life, isn't it?
                           Chloe