Aa
Trying to make since of it all
Back in 03’ I was told that I had HPV, & needed to have pre-cancerous cells removed from my uterus. After my procedure to remove the pre-cancerous cells, I kept complaining about pain, itching, & irritation around the outside of my vaginal area. Once or twice I saw a very small bump that looked like a small mole that never changed. It was removed, but I kept complaining, & they lasered my entire labia.
Since then, I havn’t seen anything, but I’ve had consistent irritation & pain & told my doctor about this. I even insisted that they do a Herpes test back in 05’, which came back negative, but a blood test wasn’t done.
3 yrs later, they found pre-cancerous cells again on my uterus & it was removed. Since then, I still have irritation & pain, but nothing that you can see.
Most recently, I've been in a steady long distance relationship for almost 2 yrs & we see each other 1x/month. The 1st yr, my boyfriend got a cold sore on his upper lip, & said he never had one in his life. Since that time he hasn't had another cold sore until 2 wks ago, right after he saw me.
I went to the doctor, but this time, I told me doctor to do a vaginal test for all STD's & to get a full blood screening. The results are below. My doctor's office has really been unhelpful & uninformative- I've been doing my own research. I had to request my entire medical file so that I could go to a new doctor. Please help me to understand these results.
Herpes I/II IGG AB
Herpes I IGG AB Result-Positive Units Flag Ref Range-Neg
Herpes II IGG AB Result-Positive Units Flag Ref Range-Neg
Herpes Simplex IGM
Herpes Simplex IGM Result-Positive Unites Flag Ref Range- @ NOTD
Significant Level of Detectable IgM AB to Herpes Simplex Virus. Indicative of Current or Recent Infection.
Do I need additional testing since I don’t have any actual #’s? I've never had any cold sores on my mouth and I have never had any visible genital herpes.
Since then, I havn’t seen anything, but I’ve had consistent irritation & pain & told my doctor about this. I even insisted that they do a Herpes test back in 05’, which came back negative, but a blood test wasn’t done.
3 yrs later, they found pre-cancerous cells again on my uterus & it was removed. Since then, I still have irritation & pain, but nothing that you can see.
Most recently, I've been in a steady long distance relationship for almost 2 yrs & we see each other 1x/month. The 1st yr, my boyfriend got a cold sore on his upper lip, & said he never had one in his life. Since that time he hasn't had another cold sore until 2 wks ago, right after he saw me.
I went to the doctor, but this time, I told me doctor to do a vaginal test for all STD's & to get a full blood screening. The results are below. My doctor's office has really been unhelpful & uninformative- I've been doing my own research. I had to request my entire medical file so that I could go to a new doctor. Please help me to understand these results.
Herpes I/II IGG AB
Herpes I IGG AB Result-Positive Units Flag Ref Range-Neg
Herpes II IGG AB Result-Positive Units Flag Ref Range-Neg
Herpes Simplex IGM
Herpes Simplex IGM Result-Positive Unites Flag Ref Range- @ NOTD
Significant Level of Detectable IgM AB to Herpes Simplex Virus. Indicative of Current or Recent Infection.
Do I need additional testing since I don’t have any actual #’s? I've never had any cold sores on my mouth and I have never had any visible genital herpes.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
OK, now things are more clear. You have HSV-2 and not HSV-1. Almost certainly your infection is genital, not oral--that is, you have genital herpes. From the blood test, there is no way to know how long you have been infected except that it's more than 6 weeks; it could be many years. The only way to guess at the duration is to think back at symptoms that might have been herpes, even if it wasn't diagnosed at the time. Everybody with genital HSV-2 has at least some asympomatic shedding of the virus. It is not possible to estimate how frequently shedding occurs in any particular person, however.
You should keep your awareness up for genital area sores or irritation. You might be having symptomatic outbreaks of herpes and not know it. If you get a genital itch, look to see if there is an open sore at the spot. Same for a bump or blister-like thing anywhere in the genital area. An anal area sores is possible. If you get vaginal discharge, have it checked out. Among people in your situation--no symptoms but positive blood test for HSV-2--up to two thirds eventually can recognize symptoms that previously didn't seem important. However, this depends a lot on how long you have been infected. If it has been more than 5-10 years, you might never notice anything.
It sounds like your partner might have oral herpes, assuming he knows what cold sores are. (They are not sores inside the mouth, like canker sores.) If he has oral herpes, the odds are strong that it is due to HSV-1 and he has had it since childhood. But there is a small chance he acquired oral HSV-2 infection by performing oral sex on you. His blood test result will help sort it out. Also, he could see a provider promptly if or when he has another outbreak (within 1-2 days of the start) so that the lesion can be tested for HSV including virus type.
While I try not to criticize forum users' doctors, yours clearly is not up to speed on genital herpes. Zinc or vitamins won't make a bit of difference in symptoms or transmission risk. And it may or may not be pointless to take an anti-herpes drug such as valaycyclovir. If your partner's blood test shows he does not have HSV-2, then taking the drug on a regular basis will reduce the chance he will become infected. However, that chance might be low anyway. And if his test shows he already has HSV-2, he won't catch it again, and treatment wouldn't make any difference.
I suggest you keep looking for a provider who understands herpes well. You could contact the American Social Health Association's Herpes Resource Center (see www.ashastd.org and follow the links), both for personal prevention advice and to find a herpes knowledgeable provider in your area.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You should keep your awareness up for genital area sores or irritation. You might be having symptomatic outbreaks of herpes and not know it. If you get a genital itch, look to see if there is an open sore at the spot. Same for a bump or blister-like thing anywhere in the genital area. An anal area sores is possible. If you get vaginal discharge, have it checked out. Among people in your situation--no symptoms but positive blood test for HSV-2--up to two thirds eventually can recognize symptoms that previously didn't seem important. However, this depends a lot on how long you have been infected. If it has been more than 5-10 years, you might never notice anything.
It sounds like your partner might have oral herpes, assuming he knows what cold sores are. (They are not sores inside the mouth, like canker sores.) If he has oral herpes, the odds are strong that it is due to HSV-1 and he has had it since childhood. But there is a small chance he acquired oral HSV-2 infection by performing oral sex on you. His blood test result will help sort it out. Also, he could see a provider promptly if or when he has another outbreak (within 1-2 days of the start) so that the lesion can be tested for HSV including virus type.
While I try not to criticize forum users' doctors, yours clearly is not up to speed on genital herpes. Zinc or vitamins won't make a bit of difference in symptoms or transmission risk. And it may or may not be pointless to take an anti-herpes drug such as valaycyclovir. If your partner's blood test shows he does not have HSV-2, then taking the drug on a regular basis will reduce the chance he will become infected. However, that chance might be low anyway. And if his test shows he already has HSV-2, he won't catch it again, and treatment wouldn't make any difference.
I suggest you keep looking for a provider who understands herpes well. You could contact the American Social Health Association's Herpes Resource Center (see www.ashastd.org and follow the links), both for personal prevention advice and to find a herpes knowledgeable provider in your area.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I went ahead and went to a new doctor and got hte HerpeSelect test. Here are my results:
HSV1 .26 Negative
HSV2 9.39 Positive
Does this mean that I have had HSV2 for a long time or recent or can that even be determined? I've never had any kind of cold sores on my mouth, or no genital herpes lesions ever? My doctor said to take zinc, vitamin c, & multivitamins and said that it is pointless taking medication if I haven't had any outbreaks, is this true? She said I might not ever have a breakout since I haven't see any at this point. Is it true that people can have HSV but never have an outbreak? My partner has to get tested, but he has had 2 cold sores on his mouth within a one year time frame, do you think that is possibly HSV2, could I have had viral shedding and given his the cold sore?
HSV1 .26 Negative
HSV2 9.39 Positive
Does this mean that I have had HSV2 for a long time or recent or can that even be determined? I've never had any kind of cold sores on my mouth, or no genital herpes lesions ever? My doctor said to take zinc, vitamin c, & multivitamins and said that it is pointless taking medication if I haven't had any outbreaks, is this true? She said I might not ever have a breakout since I haven't see any at this point. Is it true that people can have HSV but never have an outbreak? My partner has to get tested, but he has had 2 cold sores on his mouth within a one year time frame, do you think that is possibly HSV2, could I have had viral shedding and given his the cold sore?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You could ask your doc to send the specimen to one of the 2 major national labs, which have affiliates in almost all medical communities - LabCorp or Quest. Both of those routineline do the Focus HerpeSelect test, which is the most widely used and one of the most reliable. Specifically ask your doc to not request the HSV IgM test.
Unfortunately, I don't have any numerical results and I don't know which exact test was done after speaking with the lab directly. I am going to go to another doctor to have additional blood work and tests.
Do you know of the tests that are available, are there any that are more accurate or reliable than others? Do patients have any input on which should be done or is it the physician's descretion of what test should be performed?
Do you know of the tests that are available, are there any that are more accurate or reliable than others? Do patients have any input on which should be done or is it the physician's descretion of what test should be performed?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes, please add the numerical results for the IgG tests--and, if available, the specific test done by the lab (e.g., the Focus test, brand name HerpeSelect, or the Trinity Biotech test, brand name Captia).
The IgM result is not helpful. IgM testing provides no useful information and the apparent positive result likely is meaningless; only the IgG results are going to be useful in assessing your situation. (There is a long story, which I won't repeat now, why IgM testing still is ordered by docs and performed by some laboratories, despite being essentially useless in adults.)
If you are infecte with HSV-1, HSV-2, or both, those results have nothing to do with your past HPV infection(s) and probably not with any of the symptoms you describe. But come on back for more discussion when you have the details on your test results.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
The IgM result is not helpful. IgM testing provides no useful information and the apparent positive result likely is meaningless; only the IgG results are going to be useful in assessing your situation. (There is a long story, which I won't repeat now, why IgM testing still is ordered by docs and performed by some laboratories, despite being essentially useless in adults.)
If you are infecte with HSV-1, HSV-2, or both, those results have nothing to do with your past HPV infection(s) and probably not with any of the symptoms you describe. But come on back for more discussion when you have the details on your test results.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I think that I am going to call my lab to see if they can give me the actual numbers like I noticed other people did on this website.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
