Very confused?

In October 2010 I posted on here asking about a cut I had on my vagina and bumps I was beginning to notice. I went to the doctor and they did a test for HSV2. Not the blood test but an actual culture from the sores. My boyfriend got tested at the same time I did and his test came out negative for hsv2 but positive for hsv1. For at least one year before my outbreak I had only had sex with my boyfriend and one other guy. The other guy also got tested and came out negative around this same time. Confused, I then went and got my blood tested and it also came out negative. From what I've heard this means I must have contracted HSV2 some time in the previous 3-5 months since the antibodies werent showing in my blood yet. A few months down the road, about 4 to be exact, both my boyfriend and the other guy got tested again. Obviously I was waiting to find out which one of them it was but to my surprise it was neither of them. They both tested negative.

So now it's been a few months and I haven't had any outbreaks or any signs of anything but I do notice a difference in my vagina. The skin on the lips isn't smooth like it was before, instead it feels bumpy when I rub my hand over it and I can actually see little bits of skin that are barely visible unless youre looking hard. Basically, from what I've read and seen online it looks to me like I have HPV not HSV2. Id say there is one that looks like a skin tag that you'd have on another place on your body on my vagina and a few like it on my butt...it is exactly what HPV (genital warts) looks like if you google pictures. Now, both of these things happened to me around the same time. They definitely seem to be related but I am so confused and I am really hoping I don't have both which I feel is very unlikely since this all happened all of the sudden out of nowhere and I hadn't recently had sex with any new partners.

Also, just a little more confusing information. At the same time I had my outbreak my boyfriend had an infected cuticle which looked suspiciously like a whitlow from herpes. The dr. gave him antibiotics and it went away and she said she didn't know if it was from his HSV1 or just an infection. He claims that this should prove it wasnt him since if it was an outbreak, at the same time as mine, his blood would have definitely had antibodies in it by the 2nd time he was tested. Finally, my roommate and close friend has HSV2 orally. I have genital HSV2. I obviously haven't had any sexual relationship with her and I cant think of many ways anything from her mouth could have possibly touched my genitals but I'm starting to doubt myself because I have no idea who gave this to me... if i was even diagnosed correctly.

So my questions are:

is it possible to get hsv2 from my roommate if i wore her pants or something like that, even if she ONLY has oral HSV2---i've heard this is impossible?

-is it possible that one of the two guys who have tested negative still have it and just aren't showing up for it yet?

-is it possible that a culture from my vagina, not a blood test, can have a false positive or that HPV could be mistaken for HSV2?

-is there any way a hsv1 whitlow could have caused genital hsv2?

-can herpes leave permanent scars or bumps like I've described? even months after an outbreak. They are painless and almost invisible but definitely were not there before all of this.

Please help me! I know I need to go back to the doctor and I will eventually but I've been 100 times already and nobody seems to have any straight answers about herpes.. its like nobody really knows how it works or what the truth is. Thank you!!!

[gracefromHHP]

can you call and see what the exact results of your lesion culture were that you had done? Make sure that it was actually typed as being hsv2+ and not just hsv+ and assumed that it was hsv2 since it was genital.  thanks!  also if you can get the results of your last herpes igg blood test too to post - e.g. hsv1 igg 4.3 and hsv2 igg .34 or whatever it was, that also would be helpful for me to see.

you can't get herpes from wearing someone else's clothing.

grace

[Anon6547321]

I called and I'm waiting for the nurse to call me back. I was under the impression that a culture was just positive or negative and it was very accurate. Is there a certain number I should ask for and is it possible for it to be wrong? It was HSV2 I know that for sure. Thank you so much for the information. I'll let you know when I get the igg and exact culture results.

[gracefromHHP]

the lesion culture will only be + or - and it should've been typed to know if it's hsv1 or hsv2.

your blood test results will have numbers.

[Anon6547321]

They said the culture was for type 2 and it was positive and my igg was 0.19. Does that number tell you anything?

[gracefromHHP]

well that is a negative igg. have you repeated your blood test at all since your culture?

[Anon6547321]

No I haven't and the culture and the blood test were done about 2 or 3 weeks apart from each other. Do you think its a good idea to get tested again?

[gracefromHHP]

it would be helpful. perhaps one of your prior partners is in the small percentage  that won't test accurately on the blood tests or you are or perhaps even your culture was wrong too. might take a bit to figure it all out.

[Anon6547321]

I will definitely go back and get retested now. I was told the culture was never wrong, but you're saying that its a possibility? Also I've never heard that there were people who don't test accurately on the blood tests? Thanks so much for your help!

[gracefromHHP]

depends on what sort of culture they did.  

[Anon6547321]

So, If I go back now after having only a positive culture and get tested and my blood is negative is it safe to say the diagnosis was incorrect since its been about 6 months? I know there is something wrong but I really think I have HPV and not HSV. Also, is there a blood test for HPV ...or how does testing for that work?

[gracefromHHP]

at this point I recommend paying to post to Terri Warren, our herpes expert here on medhelp. She can better help you figure out your next step. You should also call and ask what kind of lesion culture was done too - find out if it was a viral culture, DFA, PCR or something else they did.

[Anon6547321]

Thank you for all your help!