please help me understand

I greatly appreciate your time and support people. Could you please explain

What does the following results mean ?
And what's the likelihood of me been infected ? Here is the story and the results
.
I've recently had a "protected" sex with a women who I believe (has/had) Herpes, during our intercourse the condom broke at the (last minute I would say of having sex.)     Few days later she (after we've being intimate) shared with me that she at some point in the past (July of last year 07) had Herpes.   She took medication, and still have antibodies.    She recently got tested a day after we had sex last, and the following results show... please take a look and explain to me. I have not gotten tested yet. Does that mean she has the virus ? Or just antibodies that had fought the virus at some point in the past.  Is it transmitted/contagious ?
We've had sex a total of 4 times after we've met, and the last time the condom broke during the last minute of having sex. All of those times I've used condoms with her.
Here are her results.....

HSV Type 2-Specific Ab, IgG
HSV 2 IgG, Type Spec
Negative 1.09
Reference Interval = 0.0 - 0.90
Result = 4.12
Flag = High,

[gracefromHHP]

You don't have herpes just once.  How was she originally diagnosed in july? did she have a lesion culture and typing? What were her original results?

I recommend you getting a baseline herpes blood test yourself so you have something to compare future results to.  The condom breaking isn't a huge risk.  I think you are worrying more about this than you need to to be honest but I also think from the sounds of things that your partner hasn't had an adequate work up done and doesn't understand her own herpes either.  I encourage you both to read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com to learn more about herpes and how to protect you.  She'll need to confirm her own status - starting with her original diagnosis back in july.  You can also have hsv1 genitally too which is why knowing more about her original work up is important.

grace

[WHITE8]

hi Grace, and thank you for your great opinions.

1. what's the highest results you've ever seen ?
2. are her results pretty high compared to others ? where is on on a scale from 1 to 10. ten is pretty bad.
3. what are the chances of me being infected with herpes ?
i made an appointment for tests, on Tuesday,

thank you

[WHITE8]

oh,to answer your questions
this woman will not share information with me, she doesn't even want to talk about it.  i've asked her to do all STDs test so  i can be sure she doesn't have or didn't pass anything else to me.  

[gracefromHHP]

Her result is I assume 4.12 - it's confusing how you posted it. that's why we only ask for the numeric results and not any scales.

The numeric result is just that - a number. It has no bearing on the severity of infection or how contagious someone is.  Someone who has a 2.2 hsv2 igg is just as contagious as someone with a 7. 3 hsv2 igg.  Hope that makes sense.

sex 4 times total with condoms is really low risk since you don't report her saying she had any symptoms.  It doesn't appear that she's been on suppressive therapy but you could ask if she'll answer.  At this point though I'm assuming from your post that the relationship is over or is it that she just doesn't want to talk about her herpes with you?

grace

[WHITE8]

we're still in touch, but because I've asked too many questions she wanted to avoid communication with me for the next few days.  i am trying to learn about her and what she has, i have just met her couple weeks ago and had sex total of 4 times (protected) The last time we had sex which is a week ago and our last, the condom broke and i have been freaking out since the.    i'm 31 y/o healthy and never had any STDs.  i am going for testing on Tuesday.  

[WHITE8]

she just called me, and we talked for couple minutes, i've asked her if there were an sores when we had sex, she says NO there were NOT, and she is certain.   Also she has taken some treatment,  This is the web site that she had emailed me where she got her treatment from..... http://www.****

[auntiejessi]

You need to leave the poor girl alone.  Just because she has it doesn't mean you do, and as Grace has said, your chances are quite low.

Since you are clearly bothered by this, why not check out the herpes section at ashastd.org or the herpes handbook at westoverheights.com and learn what you can before you test.

AJ

[waringblender]

I agree with AJ. It's not her fault you're an emotional mess. If you get this messed up having sex, you probably shouldn't be having it. Just masturbate for a while and forget about sex with other people until you get your emotional anxiety under control.

[WHITE8]

thanks to you both for sharing, but i must respond to this....here

wow, how you say it's NOT her fault !!!!!!!!!   call me wrong on this one too, is int it her responsibility to share what diseases she has before she pulls down her underwear?   if it was the other way around and i have the disease, i would be completely at fault RIGHT ?!?  you won't by saying that it is not my fault the way you're defending her.   The girl got tested twice in 4 years and the last time she's got complete tests for STDs was 2 years ago, this should tell you something that she is irresponsible and she is willing to give whatever diseases she has to anyone and she will not even care.  However on the other hand i am the responsible one here who gets tests done every 5 months, and you're calling me paranoid and i should leave her alone, PLZ......  
thank you for sharing, god bless. i'm out of here.

[gracefromHHP]

whoa, whoa, whoa!! everyone back to their corners!! Please keep in mind that when reading online instead of talking face to face to someone it's not as easy as it seems.

  First of all - I think you'll find that the vast majority of people you know - aren't getting tested even yearly for std's let alone as frequenly as you are.  Most folks just don't do it. Doesn't mean it's right - it just means it's the general practice of most folks. Also unfortunately many folks think that when a woman goes for her yearly pap that that's all it takes ( which it takes more ) or they abide by the ole you'd know it if you had one.  If you really want to be sure of a partner's std status you need to ask them to go get tested and share results with you to see them with your own eyes.  Otherwise there is going to be implied risk with sex don't you think?

  Do I think it was wrong of her to not tell you that she knew she had herpes before you started being intimate together? Yes I do but I've come to that opinion the hard way myself. Learned that it's far easier to be upfront about it than it is to wait and talk about it after the fact.  That said - it's incredibly hard sometimes to bring up the topic of std's in general let alone tell someone that you have one that will be with you for a lifetime - perhaps in your anger at this whole situation you can be a little empathetic towards that part of it all too . And I know - that's far easier said than done.    As I've already said to you - I think this gal just really doesn't know a lot about her herpes in general.  They've edited out the website you mentioned ( thank you med help mods for just editing the website and not removing the entire post!!! ) but whatever it is - it didn't "cure" her herpes.  I think she needs to take more responsibility and get herself some learning about herpes!!!!  I don't think you are the one to do it for her - she'll need to realize that it's her responsibility to do this.  Perhaps if you have her email - forward her the 2 links Jess put in her post and see if perhaps that will get her reading and wanting to learn more?

   It's up to you where you want to go at this point with it all.  Are you still interested in continuing a relationship with her or do you think it's over at this point?

grace

[WHITE8]

thank you for the feedback, and my apologies for getting all worked up here, but i hope you understand that I'm not on here to blame or point fingers, what's done is done, everyone at some point is kind of responsible. (if you wanna look at it that way.) that's how i see it.

To answer your question, yes i am interested in seeing her again, and i've talked to her, but there goes the trust because she never told me about it, will i ever trust her fully  ?? especially when we're in the beginning of our relationship. these are RED flags, i'm just waiting for her complete STDs results back, and i hope she does not have anything else.

i'm on here only and only for one thing, which is to know how low or how high is the risk of catching herpes from her. also to know what these results MEAN.   She says this number basically indicates that antibodies are higher than normal in her blood. it does not mean the virus is active.  IS SHE CORRECT  ?!?

here are her results:
HSV 2 IgG, Type Spec     4.12     High

she experienced her first symptoms in July of 07, since then she's been healthy (she says!) AND no other symptoms appeared on her body.  No signs on her body at the time when the condom broke.

This is what she took back in August of 07 after experience symptoms.  it's called Biogetica.  Basically it's a line of products that teaches the body to look for dormant virus and eradicate it fully. she says her virus is dormant.

BTW: i've read the entire herpes handbook, and i've forwarded that to her by email along with bunch of websites that i've been checking.

thank you again for your support and the great opinions you're providing here on this site.  

[gracefromHHP]

She is + for hsv2.  What that means is periodically the virus is active and able to be transmitted to a partner. When she has active lesions then she knows that's a time the virus is active.  In between active lesions the virus is also active periodically but there's no way to know when and for how often.  On average the virus is active a total of 15% of days. That means out of 100 days - the virus is active 15 of them.  The rate that the virus is active differs from person to person and it has little to do with how many obvious lesions she is having.  Still what this means is - she's absolutely not contagious a heck of a lot more than when she is contagious.  

The treatment she used is totally bogus. It has no effect on her herpes, ob's or how often the virus is shedding. Her infection isn't dormant because of using it.  She was totally hoodwinked by the makers of that product :(   If you are going to continue a relationship with her I recommend she gets on daily suppressive therapy and you use condoms until you are sure where this is going.  Those 2 precautions ( as well as avoiding sex whenever she has obvious lesions or anything going on down yonder ) will on average reduce your risk to 1% each year of contracting hsv2 from her.  That's the same risk as her getting pregnant while being on the pill if you didn't use condoms to help put it in perspective.  

I certainly understand how at the moment you feel like your trust in her is broken.  It is hard in the begining to put yourself out there for someone new and let yourself be vulnerable.  Hopefully as you two work thru this both of you will build trust in each other and be able to talk about things.  If she seems like she gets defensive when you bring up the whole herpes thing - let her know that you aren't being accusative but that you want to be informed as much as possible.  

As I said before - your risk is still overall very low at this point that you contracted hsv2 from her. Just avoiding sex whenever she has obvious lesions is on average a 4% risk each year. You really don't even have to do the math to see that it's very little risk per sex act.   It's up to you if you even feel the need for testing if you are going to continue on in this relationship.  Personally at this point I wouldn't even bother. should you notice obvious symptoms then get yourself a type specific herpes igg blood test. Otherwise just test yearly or so or if the relationship ends then test about 3-4 months after the last time you had sex to see what your status is before moving onto a new relationship.  

Feel free to ask any other questions you might have or vent as needed :)

grace

[WHITE8]

thank you so much, you are awesome :-)

[WHITE8]

Grace,
i've found  2 very small red spots (the size of a dot ----> "." )  behind the head of my penis.   Also my whole body is experiencing minor itches (almost everywhere on my body) i scratch but very minor.   Are these early signs of Herpes ? or is it a psychological affect ?

i went to the doctor to check for herpes, the doctor says to come back when i'm experiencing symptoms.  i did however get tested for all other types of STD except herpes.

what do you think causes these itches ?and what are these 2 red dots on the back of my penis ?

i'd like to add that, i workout and use public swimming pool, and jacuzzi which has cloarax, and other cleaning solutions mix with the water.
  
thank you    

[gracefromHHP]

All over body itching isn't due to genital herpes.

Spot that little aren't likely to be due to herpes either.

My skin is dry and itchy just thinking about all that chlorine!!!

grace

[scared_half_to_death]

You should try to take your mind of off it a bit.

1. Try to decide whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with her.
2. Make sure that you tested so that you know your own status.
3. Try not to "feel the herpes". I personally liken it to the sensation you get when you hear a mosquito. Darn..."I feel the mosquito" everywhere now...if you get my drift.

[waringblender]

Interesting that there's a comment in this thread about swimming pools following another thread about swimming pools. Is it the power of suggestion at work here? Or just OCD in general?

Two small red dots (".") are not herpes. You are overreacting. Maybe you need to think about whether the relationship you are in is worth pursuing. You seem overly concerned about your sexual health, and this can't be good for your partner. I can't imagine it would contribute in any way to making you a good lover, either.  Consider extracting yourself from this thing sexually if you have this much anxiety around symptoms that, on balance, appear to be magnified and out of proportion to the risk you had.

[WHITE8]

thank you ALL for your inputs, certainly put me at ease when i read them...however i still have few questions left to ask ...

my partner got all STDs and all are negative except HSV 2
AND the number dropped from 4.12  to  3.80

1)now, i'm trying to make sense out of that number, what is that number?
2) what is the difference between Antibodies and the virus Herpes itself ?
3) when the test results show  3.80  Does this mean you have antibodies?  or the virus itself running in your blood ?    
4) when and how can you be certain that you have the Virus itself ?

i'm little confused because my partner says, she does not have the virus.   how can you not have the virus but show positive on document tests ?? will you please answer all questions.

thank you for your time

[waringblender]

1)now, i'm trying to make sense out of that number, what is that number? It tells you whether you are positive or negative. There are ranges for the numbers.

2) what is the difference between Antibodies and the virus Herpes itself ? Antibodies help fight the virus and appear when the virus enters your body. Antibodies are in your blood; the virus is not. When they test your blood, they are testing for the presence of antibodies.

3) when the test results show  3.80  does this mean you have antibodies?  Yes.
or the virus itself running in your blood ?     The virus doesn't "run in your blood." If antibodies are present in your blood, the virus is present in your body.

4) when and how can you be certain that you have the Virus itself ? When you have a culture taken of a lesion that is positive, or you have a blood test with the number falling within a certain range. Or both.

Your girlfriend has HSV2. That means the virus is present in her body whether she has symptoms or not. It means she could be contagious at some times, but she can use precautions to be less contagious if her partners don't have it. What is YOUR status? Depending on what you have or don't have, you and this woman can make decisions about how you want to proceed. Christ in a sidecar, it's not rocket science.

[WHITE8]

hi waringblender and thank you,

so for number 3 above.........  when we had sex and the condom broke, few days after she got tested and her results show 4.12  does this mean the virus is contagious back then, does this higher the chances of contracting it from her.  the condom broke the last minute,  how do i know if the virus was shedding when the condom broke ? although the she tested 3 days later (results 4.12)  does this mean i have it too now.  i got tested for all STDS, but my Dr said to not test for Herpes unless i have symptoms.

how would i know if she passed it on to me ? and if she was contagious at the time when the condom broke...

thank you

[gracefromHHP]

Your gf is woefully under educated about her herpes unfortunately. She is contagious and her numeric results on her blood tests mean nothing as far as how contagious she is at any given time.  There wasn't even any reason for her to repeat her blood tests for hsv2 though perhaps they were just a part of a routine std screening that she didn't tell them to opt out of to save a few bucks - who knows.

the treatment she used has no effect at all on her herpes.  She should still be talking about this with partners prior to being intimate with them. She should still be taking full precautions.  There's no such thing as having the virus and not being able to transmit it periodically.  No idea why she keeps insisting that. She needs to be getting better quality information about her herpes.

As for yourself - it's a matter of bad luck as much as anything. She didn't have any obvious lesions at the times you had sex. The risk is very low over all.  You need to stop obsessing about this because you are just making your anxiety about your low risk go even higher.  Talk to her about her going on daily suppressive therapy to help lower your risk. Use condoms as you have been.  You won't get your risk any lower than that.  If you know you still can't handle that small risk - then it's time to end this relationship and move on.

grace

[WHITE8]

grace,
i've been experiencing stinging and itching all over my body especially my penis inside and out, What is it? i know you've mentioned that these signs are not Herpes.    but what could it be?  i know it's not psychological because i feel it !!!   it makes me itch and it stings, i stopped going into public swimming pools and Jacuzzi for three weeks now, still experiencing same thing after the condom broke.   is there such a disease that causes itching and stinging ?

thank you

  

[gracefromHHP]

you need to follow up on this with your doctor. you might even have a bacterial skin infection from the pool or something.

grace

[WHITE8]

grace,
i forgot to mention this in my last postings, that i've had cold-like symptoms for the past couple weeks after my last intercourse/condom broke. no coughing, but i did have minor fever, running nose kind of congested.

i did get tested for most STDs but my doctor suggested that i should not get tested for Herpes unless i have symptoms.  so i think i'll go to a different doctor for herpes tests.
any idea ?

[waringblender]

If you need a herpes test to put your mind at ease, wait 3 months from the time you had sex. That is all you can do. Really.

You sound emotionally needy at this point, and it's really unbecoming, to say the least. Go to a doctor if you have symptoms that bother you.

[gracefromHHP]

You are obsessing about this. You are looking for reasons why you HAVE to have contracted herpes.  You are forgetting that you are always going to be far, far more likely NOT to contract hsv2 than you will be to get it. Stop looking for symptoms. Stop looking at your johnson all the time too. It's time for a new hobby dahlin'. Your current hobby of convincing yourself you have herpes just isn't a productive one and is just increasing your anxiety about it all.  

grace

[WHITE8]

i will retest in few months.

Many thanks for the great opinions.