how long can it be before any symptoms

How did this happen to me!!!  I am desperate for answers!!!  I just found out that I have herpes.  I went to the doc. with what I thought was a bad yeast infection.  I have been married (and faithful) for the past 10 years.  My husband says he has not cheated.  How can this be true?  Is it possible to have it for 11 years before a major outbreak?  I have had a couple of yeast infections before but nothing as bad as this.  I also had yearly pap tests and two babies in the last 10 years.

[waringblender]

How were you diagnosed?

[71102]

The doctor took a sample from one of the sores and sent it off for testing, then called me a few days later with the results.

[gracefromHHP]

It's quite possible that what you thought were yeast infections before weren't and you've had this all along or it's also possible that your partner has herpes and never realized it and transmitted it to you recently.  Both of you will need type specific herpes igg blood tests to see what your statuses are.

Meanwhile I encourage both you and your partner to read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com for more information on herpes so you can learn more.

When they called you with your herpes results - did they say just herpes or hsv1 or hsv2?

grace

[71102]

Thank you for the information!  The doctor didn't say whether it was hsv1 or hsv2.  I did ask her if there was any other way I could have gotten it other than sexual intercourse, and she said no.  About the two previous yeast infections, they were very mild compared to this and lasted only a short time.  Do you still think it could have been herpes?  I read somewhere that the first outbreak was always the worst.  Do you think this is always true?

[gracefromHHP]

no it's not always true which is why study after study has shown that over 90% of those infected with genital herpes have no idea until tested. It's far more common to be infected and not know it than it is to get whooper of ob's that you can' thelp but notice are herpes from the gitgo.

grace

[waringblender]

Your scenario is common on this forum. You're not the only one who was diagnosed "out of the blue" without any symptoms. Stories like yours make me feel like those statistics about 90% of people not knowing they have it must have some validity. :(

[gracefromHHP]

http://www.gsk.com/press_archive/press2003/press_07282003.htm   this press release is one of my favorites. It's a summary of what has been nicknamed the "but I don't see genital herpes in my practice" study.  The reason it was done was because so many practioners said - well previous studies on the prevalence of genital herpes are flawed because they are done at std clinics and of course the type of folks who are going to THOSE sort of clinics are going to have herpes because of their behaviors and I don't have THOSE types of folks in my clinic population for the most part. So what they did was plan a study that took place in middle to upper class type neighborhood regular ole clinics ( not std clinics - obgyn clinics, family practice clinics, internal medicine clinics etc - you know where regular folks go for things other than just std treatments ).   This study backed that yes indeed the same numbers hold true for rates of infection as in the general population. This study was that 88% of folks had no idea that they had hsv2 until tested.   Over the years I"ve seen the numbers vary from 60% up to 96% in studies had no idea until tested so no matter what number you throw out - it's still the majority of folks have no idea they have hsv2.  Everyone assumes that if you had it you'd know it and have frequently reoccuring and very obvious and painful blisters that even a 1st year medical student would know was herpes but the reality is - it's frequently misdiagnosed by medical practioners and is often just rather vague in its presentation - itching, redness, irritation etc.  It's one of the reasons why I support routine hsv testing - if more folks realized just how common it is - it would really help in getting folks to stop fearing the word HERPES.

grace