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Western Blot HELP!!!

Hello all,
I recently tested positive for herpes type 2. My antibody value was a 2.27, Herpeselect igg. I have been celibate for YEARS and am skeptical of this diagnosis because I have NEVER had any symptoms. I've contacted the University of Washington and requested a Western blot kit and want to know what should I do next (after I receive it). I've read that Quest Diagnostics can do the test. I've also read that I should go through my health care provider. (I'd rather not considering I felt they were extremely judgmental and "matter of fact".) What are the next steps once I receive my kit in the mail? I want to get this confirmation process over with as soon as possible, as this is REALLY stressing me out. I need to know if was a false positive or a real diagnosis so I can get on with my life. Thanks in advance.
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101028 tn?1419603004
You need to have your provider order the blood to be drawn for you for the test. You can also call your local quest lab to see if you can just have them draw it, spin it down and send it off for you too. Some will, some won't. ask what charges they will charge you too.  

grace

Helpful - 0
1390055 tn?1365615055
Hi Eyespy007.

Let me refer you to a threads petal130 made me aware of:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Confusing-Igg-Test-Results/show/771141

Now, I'm not entirely sure what method of testing was done on your HerpeSelect, but assuming it was ELISA or EIA, from what I have read, only 35% of people who read out in the 1.1 to 3.5 range are actually positive for HSV-2. Any results below a 3.5 need a confirmatory test.

If your health care provider is by any means "judging" you, thinking you need physiological help, or not giving you the proper care you NEED, then they DO NOT deserve to have you as their patient, and I would recommend you switch away from their practice to a new one. A health care provider is supposed to care for the patient, not judge them. I've been through this already this week, as the outpatient clinic that tested me thought I was completely insane when I told them that my screen was a possible false positive, and my previous primary care physician I followed up with back in may did not run any confirmatory testing, even though he knew it was a screen. Let's just say that both won't be hearing or seeing me ever again, unless it were a cold day in hell.

Show your health care provider a printout of THIS webpage:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1276011/

It says in the page:
"Confirmatory testing increased the specificity markedly among sera with Focus EIA values between 1.1 and 3.5: only 35% of low positive (index values 1.1–3.5) Focus HSV-2 ELISA results confirmed as positive by Biokit and WB compared with 92% of those with index values >3.5."

Note: ELISA and EIA are regarded as the same.

The page basically says what I have said: 35% of those with the less than 3.5 range are actually positive. I myself have had an HSV-1 and HSV-2 ELISA test come back and I have had a low range HSV-2 as well (1.72), and I'm still waiting for results to confirm if I actually have it or not.

False positives usually happen due to "cross-reaction" in the HSV ELISA tests, because these methods confuse the HSV-1 virus as the HSV-2 virus if the HSV-1 is present, and it can spit back false positive results on your HSV-2 test.

So, you can't say you have Herpes type 2 JUST YET, you need to conduct further testing to know for sure.

I hope this helped!
Helpful - 0
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