Two part question

[ShannonB84]

I'll try to shorten the story as much as possible.  I was diagnosed with herpes 1 and 2 over the phone about 4 years ago and haven't had sex since.  I'm pretty sure I do have some type of herpes since I've had recurrent outbreaks of some sort since then.  They come fairly often, about once a month, even four years after the initial outbreak.  Is this because I have both 1 and 2? I've never had an outbreak on my face or lips so does this mean that I have both genitally?  What type of test would I have to take to determine what types I have and more specifically, where? Knowing this would help me determine how often I shed asymptomatically right? This is what I've read on the web.  Also, when I was initially tested my ex and the woman with whom he cheated on me said they tested negative for herpes but positive for gonorrhea.  Are they lying or is it possible I was misdiagnosed? (I know I got it from him because he's the second person I've slept with, and the first I only had sex with twice, protected both times).  

The second part of my question is where do I go to get emotional support for this disease (not family members and friends).  When the doctor told me they were very cold and dismissive but the pychological affects of this disease have been devastating for me.  I've had significant hair loss due to stress and am prone to crying fits.  I'm clearly unable to go on dealing with this on my own anymore but where do I go for help?  

[ShannonB84]

Thanks Grace, while I honestly don't remember the names of the clinics I went to, and now live in a different state, I've decided to get tested again at Planned Parenthood next Wednesday, July 13th.  I will post the results as soon as I have them.  I'm sure they'll be positive but it would take a lot of detective work to find the name of the place I got tested before.  And thanks for your insights on helpful reading. I'll get back to you with results in a few weeks.

[gracefromHHP]

call the clinic and ask them to read you the results of the herpes testing you had 4 years ago or ask them to mail you the results. I can much better help you with this once I see your test results - e.g. hsv1 igg 5.3 and hsv2 igg 3.4 or whatever they are.

in our read before posting post on the forum, we have links to the herpes handbook and the patient counseling video there. both are terrific places to start to learn more about herpes in general. Also terri warren's book "the good news about the bad news" is absolutely terrific and goes much more into the psychological side of herpes than her free handbook does. Terri is our herpes expert here on medhelp and is terrific!

grace

[ShannonB84]

to be honest I'm not sure. I was actually never given numerical results.  They called me over the phone and said I had type 1 and 2 and that was the extent of it.  Should I get tested again to get exact results? If so what type of test do you recommend?

[franklinandbash]

I am not qualified to read your results, but if you could post what kind of testing you had with the numerical results I know that it would help Grace(moderator). Thanks for your post.