Very asymtomatic herpes or rare bacterial infection?

[JJ310]

Hi guys. This may be a little long but I REALLY need your guys' help because I'm officially going crazy. I have been having systemic symptoms for 1.67 years and have yet to get an answer from any doctors telling me what's wrong. Almost 2 years ago, I had a one night mutual oral sex encounter with a girl who gets tested regularly and was declared negative a month or so we got together according to her. Here is a basic timeline of what I have gone through since that night.

Day after exposure: tingling in lips and hot flashes

1-3 days post-exposure: more tingling lips, stuffy right ear/ear ache, more feeling of hotness--no fever, sore throat, etc.

4-5 days post-exposure: really hot and burning legs: buttocks, outer thighs, inner thighs, scrotum, quads. A little redness on the scrotum but no lesions, blisters, sores or pimples.

1 week post-exposure: break out of red pimples all over my upper and lateral regions of my back. Took prescribed bactrim and the pimples lost their redness and disappeared 1-2 days later I believe. Did a baseline HSV IgG test: HSV-1, 0.06 and HSV-2, 0.08 (Quest diagnostics).

1.5-2 months post-exposure: another IgG test: HSV-2, negative. Test was administered through public health office and value was not given.

~4 months post-exposure: HSV-2, 0.06 (Planned Parenthood).

10-11 months post-exposure: HSV-1, 0.24 and HSV-2, 0.48 (Planned Parenthood)--NO antivirals taken ever.

That's it for the official HSV test results. In addition, I have had the following symptoms until today:

1.) Very dry/chapped lips in the morning--tiny singular red dot (blood vessel bursts?) on inside of bottom lip about 3 times since exposure. Dots were painless, flat, and one was able to be scraped away with my nail.

2.) Red pimple like bumps on my entire chest, shoulders, upper back and lateral regions of back. These red bumps appear within hours sometimes and the redness will disappear within hours or a day as well as the pimples. Bumps do not hurt.

3.) Pimples/boils on buttocks and inner thigh (most predominantly the RIGHT side). During a stretch of a month a while ago, I had one boil appear on my right inner thigh in the least hairy region but most friction region about once a week. The boils would disappear and leave black/purple "bruises."

Dermatologist looked at 2 of the boils and declared it not MRSA or anything viral.

However, I started eating pomegranate a lot right after the tirade of boils appearing on my right inner thigh and have yet to receive another boil in that region until today (about 1 month or so now).

4.) Almost constant burning/icy-hot sensation on my buttocks and outer thighs. 99% of the time, those sensations are there when I'm wearing jeans/pants. But when I'm wearing just boxers or sitting on the toilet, the feeling is completely gone.

5.) Bloated stomach--I'm in great shape but it seems like I have a keg at times because my stomach is almost always bloated.

6.) Very low to non-existent libido since exposure. Testosterone was checked and level is normal.

7.) Major erectile dysfunction that I didn't have before that night. I can barely sustain an erection for more than 10 seconds without manual stimulation.

8.) and lastly about 3X, I've noticed a single very very tiny zit on my penis around the circumcision scar. Wouldn't see it if I weren't semi-erect. When I squeeze the little dot, a string of cheesy white cream comes out and the zit/bump suddenly (almost) disappears. No redness, no pain. Just the white cheesy substance that is squeezed out in a stringy fashion.

It's been almost 2 years that I've had these problems and they are almost every day issues. I've only had a total of 2 months MAYBE without any symptoms. The doctors have said its not anything and that its just all psychosomatic. It is not and I'm on the verge of killing myself because I can't even figure out what's wrong with me.

I've been to an ID specialist, urologist, dermatologist, PCP, and neurologist. None had an answer to my symptoms. PLEASE HELP :(

[gracefromHHP]

most people do not have food triggers for herpes. the  lysine /arginine theory was disproven over 20 years ago.

really no reason to think herpes at all.

[JJ310]

Thanks for the response Grace! Also, I've had the burning sensation in my buttocks and hamstrings after eating certain foods like coffee and walnuts which has worried me the most about the probable Herpes diagnosis. Like if I eat a couple (4-5) walnuts for lunch today, I'll start getting burning sensation about 5 hours later that evening.

It could be unrelated but I don't know. Does that seem like a reasonable cause and effect for Herpes? for a food to produce symptoms that quickly?

Do you know of any chronic bacterial or intestinal issues that develop such symptoms? Thanks!

[gracefromHHP]

you have no reason to think you have hsv2 genitally. not many folks have hsv2 orally and those who do, rarely shed the virus to transmit it to a partner. your oral symptoms don't sound herpes related at all either to think that you contracted hsv2 orally. also hsv2 orally rarely reoccurs to cause problems.


none of your symptoms sound like hsv1 related either - orally or genitally.

none of your symptoms sound std related either. sounds more like multiple skin infections. continue to follow up with a dermatologist as needed.

grace

[JJ310]

Forgot to ask if it was possible to have VERY slow HSV seroconversion. There was an obviously big increase from the 4 month exposure mark to the 10-11 month exposure mark in my titer values. I have read on here that an increase like that is normal and nothing strange. Could it be possible that I actually managed to produce enough antibodies a year after exposure?