Am I Herpeless?

[Scurred101]

Doc,

I posted a question originally and you answered but I had a few final follow up questions. This is all from my brief 2 min unprotected vaginal sex followed by masturbation with a woman I met that night. March 3, 2006. Didn't shower till the next evening. I had every symptom it seemed like that suggested herpes except for the ACTUAL sores starting about 8-9 days after the possible exposure...Tingling in the tip of the penis for 3 days, burning in the genital area, very sore testicles, a little itching in the genital area, sharp pains in the abdomen area that came and went, etc. 2 weeks after possible exposure I also had a bad flu which I attributed to being infected with Herpes.  I asked the girl I slept with if she had anything and she said she was clean and didn't have any STDs but who knows if she was lying to me. She told me her ex cheated on her a bunch of times and she was tested for everything 6 months prior to us sleeping together and she didn't have anything. Asked her where she got tested and she said planned parenthood and all results took 2 weeks for her which seemed a little long to me. Clinician told me maybe it was yeast or fungal infection but she didn't think it was herpes. Went back to the clinic about 2 1/2 weeks aga with the same symptoms and a male clinician looked inside my urethra and thought maybe it was warts and applied I belive liquid nitrogen. I went to a urologist about 3 days later and he said he didn't see any irritation inside my urethra. The irritation in my urethra seemed to go away after about 10-14 days or so. He said the only thing it could possibly be was herpes because of the tingling so he wanted me to take another herpes blood test. Over the span of 3 weeks I've had 2 herpes blood tests from different doctors (planned parenthood 8/8/06 and urologist on 8/24/06)...I believe to both be HerpesSelect. The last was Quest Diagnostics lab which I'm pretty sure uses HerpesSelect. The first one was 5 months post exposure and the 2nd test was 5 3/4 months post exposure. Both tests came back positive for HSV1 (which I figured since I've had cold sores my whole life) and negative for HSV2. Now, I've heard that there can be false negatives for HSV2. PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! tell me that I can rely on the negative HSV2 results despite the recurrent symptoms. During this time of blood testing I had burning in the genital area for a few days followed by tingling in the tip of my penis for about 10 days. Urethra felt irritated and penis felt raw but still NO sores. I really want to put this problem out of my life that has troubled me for 6 months now. Are my results accurate? Am I indeed HSV2 negative or do I have to sit around and wait to see if I ever have a true outbreak? I read so much about the reliability of these tests and I honestly don't know what to think anymore. Why the same type of tingling that I had after the initial exposure. I don't know what to do anymore. So many different doctors have told me so many different things and you told me the tingling could have just been anxiety...See, the thing is the burning and the irritation in my urethra and the tingling where all very real...at this point, I just want to know that it's NOT HSV2. All I know is that I had every assymptomatic symptom in the book and I was VERY SURPRISED that both results came back negative for HSV2. What else could it possibly be? Please tell me it's not HSV2 doc. Sorry for wasting another question but I need to know whether or not I can actually trust my results so that I can FINALLY move on.

Thank you so much!!!

Want this to end!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I have nothing to add to my previous advice.  Your symptoms didn't suggest herpes to start, and the blood tests prove you don't have it.  I have told you my best guess as to the explanation for your symptoms.  Discuss the likelihood of an emotional origin with your health care provider(s); or just suck it up, live with it, and move on.  Good bye.

HHH, MD

[monkeyflower]

Are you sure you didn't read about false positives for HSV2? If you have HSV1, a relatively low positive HSV2 result (I think Dr. Handsfield has said below 3), might not be a positive result at all.

Anyway, you've had TWO negative tests, so you can let it go for sure. You don't have HSV2. If you can't move on, seek counseling.

[ncworriedone]

Dr. HHH, I don't know if im allowed to do this, please let me know if I shouldn't.

I just want to let scurred101 and others like him know that despite the fact that all of your symptoms seem real they can come from anxiety.  I am in a similar situation as you-six months ago was exposed to hsv2, found out, and began stressing over it and reading on the internet, and next thing I knew I had everything i read about.  Especially the tingling in my penis-it was so intense it overwhelmed me.  I stopped being able to sleep and began behaving irrationally-going from doctor to doctor telling them I was sure I had herpes, only to be told no you're wrong.  I didn't believe them so I found Dr. HHH, who to my surprise agreed with the doctors and pointed out anxiety.  I went to my pcp and discussed it with him he gave something for anxiety.  I didn't really expect it to work, but after a couple of weeks most of my symptoms dissipated.  I sitll had the tingling though.  Finally the tingling began to fade away only occuring at night, and now its gone entirely I haven't felt it for weeks, and beleive me after 3 months of 24/7/7 tingling, no tingling feels great.  I also forgot to mention that I had herpesect tests done 4 times with the last one being taken at 16 weeks-all were negative and yet I knew they were wrong.  After taking my meds though, I realized that the chances of all those doctors, Dr. HHH and 4 blood tests being wrong were pretty minute.  I still worry sometimes to this day-but I know i don't actually have herpes and I thank God for that, but even if I do so what, I still have to go on living-your mental health is far more important than whether or not you have herpes, which you don't, so please talk to your doctor about your anxiety and let them help you get passed this.

[Scurred101]

Ncworriedone,

Thank you for the kind response. I guess I just wanted to hear the doctor say I for sure don't have herpes...which I guess in a way he did, but a little more blunt. Oh well. What I want to know is...if you know you don't have herpes why do you say you still at times think you might have it? Are you at the point of just forgetting about it or do you still get symptoms? I just want to know the hard core facts about the chances of 2 negative blood tests after 5 months. Can I just move on and accept my negative results? Sounds like it's up to me. It would just be so much easier if I knew the chances of my results being false negative.

Thanks again.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Don't you get it?  There is NO chance your test results are false positive.  None, zero, zilch, nada, nichevo. The odds simply are too long when you add up all the facts.  Why in heaven's name are you continually looking for the worst interpretation of the situation when all evidence (and I mean ALL evidence, including your symptoms which DO NOT suggest herpes) points the other way??? Just accept the good news that you don't have herpes and move on.  Seek counseling if you cannot.

HHH, MD

[ncworriedone]

No I don't really have symptoms anymore, I'm just very attuned to the slightest sensation in my genitals, but now it is up to me to get passed that, and it is hard, there are good days and bad days, but at this point there are more good ones than bad.  It is up to you now to believe that you don't have herpes, I can't explain why the thought still lingers, I just know that it gets easier and easier to ignore once you believe you're okay.  If nothing else consider this, do you really think that your doctor(s) and Dr. HHH would tell you you don't have herpes if they had even a shred of doubt, what would they gain from that, more herpes patients?  At any rate I know it doesn't really matter what I say as your going to find a way to convince yourself that you are a rare exception, trust me I know, I was a master of it for several months.  Good luck, talk to your doctor.

[Scurred101]

ncworriedone,

thanks again for responding...i'm sure i'll get over this when it's all said and done. I guess I understand the whole anxiety thing causing the tingling and what not. The only thing is when the itching and burning in the genital area started along with the tingling I was not even stressing out about it. I put this stuff out of my mind. So, that's what made me so worried. This just popped up all of sudden without me even thinking about it you know. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about and how I feel. It's hard to just "let it go" when every feeling and every symptom is so real and you just DON'T KNOW what the heck is causing it. I'm gonna have to just forget about it I guess and hope that nothing is wrong with me you know.

[Scurred101]

Hey Doc,

Well, I appreciate your confidence that I don't have genital herpes. I'm doing everything I can to convince myself that I don't have it...I really am. It just seems like everytime I start feeling good about myself I read something else or I feel something else going on with my body. Like today, for instance, I was reading that those who have previous oral HSV1 antibodies (like myself since I've always had oral herpes) take longer to develop HSV2 antobodies/seroconvert thus making it harder and longer to pick up the antobodies in the Herpeselect test. Is this true? I really hope it's not true. It said that because of this it could take up to ONE YEAR to actually develop antibodies that could be picked up on the test. If this is the case I'll obviously have to retest at a later time right or wait to see if any blisters develop? Does anyone know anything about this? It doesn't make sence to me. Wouldn't your body develop antibodies quicker because it's already familiar with the disease? I'm definitely no doctor so I wouldn't know. Your expertise and knowledge is again greatly appreciated doc.

Thanks again,

Scurred

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It remains irrational for herpes to even be on your mind.  Your symptoms do not remotely suggest that diagnosis and never did.  You would be equally justified in assuming you have porphyria, lupus, LGV, hemophilia, or amebiasis.  "Something else" may indeed be "going on in your body".  Who knows??  Maybe you are reacting to the demotion of Pluto to a dwarf planet, for all I know.   BUT YOU SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE HERPES.

Seek counseling.

You may not continue to post your irrational concerns on this forum.

HHH, MD