herpes 2 recent diagnosis

Hello.

I 37 year old male and have been with the same woman for 17 years, I have recently been diagnosed with herpes2. I had severe burning upon urination. Went to the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. I was also given a swab test of my penis. I continued on antibiotics for a week with no change. I was then called 6 days after swab test and told I had herpes 2.The news was shocking to me and my wife. I have not been with anybody else since I was 19. My wife was told to get a herpes specific blood test as was I. Hers came back postive for herpes1 but negative for herpes2. Mine came back negative for both. Wife swears she has never been with anybody else. I have not been withanyone else either. Our sex life does include oral sex with each other. Were confused and stressing over this.

[confused951]

TTT

[petal130]

You know it didn't come from your wife based on her test results. I assume you had sexual partners prior to her? You can have herpes for years and not know it.

[confused951]

I was informed that if it was in my system but dormant it would still show in a blood test. please tell me this is not true. My wife and I have been going through alot of grief!

[worriedandrestless]

Yes, it is true. Once you have formed antibodies, they will remain  indefinitely. There is no such thing as "exposed to herpes"...you have it of you don’t. If you are positive...you are infectious. If a blood test is positive, you have herpes...that is if a test has been confirmed as a positive.

[worriedandrestless]

Which test did they do on you? Look up herpeselect igg type specific blood test (95% effective..very good) and western blot (gold standard for HSV confirmation....>99% effective in confirming infection)

[confused951]

Were both going to talk to dr on friday. Not sure which blood test they gave me, I do know that my culture came back positive.

[Verysaddude]

If the swab came back positive and the blood test are negative for both of you, then this could suggest a recent infection. So either the swab is incorrect somehow, or the blood test for both of you is incorrect (both unlikely)..or..If you have not been with anyone since 19, then you need to have a discussion with her about if she has...Sorry man.

[confused951]

I had quite a few partners before we got married. And Yes my swab test was positive. Her blood test positive for herpes1 negative for herpes2. Mine negative for both. We already had a talk and I basically accused her. She of course completly denies and assures me she would tell me if she had done something at this point. Herpes sucks, not enough info, wrong info, tests can be false what a bunch of ********. Im not sure what blood tests we were given but were both going to talk to doctor on fri.

[Verysaddude]

Yeah, herpes is tough because its very tricky. But if you had herpes before you got married, your blood test would have been postive by now. You swab was positive for Herpes 2 right? because if its genital herpes 1, then you could have gotten it from her herpes 1 and she could have had that since being a child...

[gracefromHHP]

Are you sure your lesion culture was hsv2+ and not just hsv +? If you aren't sure, call the clinic and ask ( or ask the doc friday when you go for your appointment ).

What exactly did they swab when they swabbed you?

grace

[confused951]

Im not 100% sure the swab was HSV2 i assumed it was cause the nurse called me and told me I had genital herpes. I new to this whole herpes thing, I asked what this comes from and she said only one thing intercourse. I called the office today after reading your post(grace), and asked her if the culture was hsv1 or hsv2 and she told me positive for genital herpes and I asked her to tell me what type and her response was you cannot get hsv1 on the genitals. Now im starting to think the nurse doesn't know what shes talking about. I see what the doc has to say tommorow. Oh my swab test was from inside my penis- urethra?

[petal130]

The nurse is absolutely wrong. Oral HSV1 can be transmitted via oral sex to the genitals. I have genital HSV1 exactly from that scenario. That would make this puzzle all come together for you if it in fact is genital HSV1. Depending on how long ago it was done, call the lab and request that they "type" it (as they should have by CDC guidelines!!)

[confused951]

Well we both went to the doc. She was really trying to get me to admit to doing something. I told her i wish i could it would be a lot easier on me. I then told doc I want to see test results and she showed me the culture results and it just says positive for herpes but does not say what type. The lab is Quest Diagnosticsby the way. I told her I need to know what type and she said (now this is the doctor) you can only get one type of herpes on the penis hsv2, I said I'm no doctor, but your wrong.  I told her I wanted her to contact the lab and tell me what type of herpes is the culture positive for. I can't beleive this crap, me and my wife are pointing fingers, were going crazy, this sucks!!!!

[gracefromHHP]

It is frustrating when your provider doesn't even know the basics of genital herpes :(   Hopefully the lab can type the culture for you. if not, the best you can do is to haev another blood test done in a few months.

grace