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Herpes? and Anxiety
Dr,
18 days ago I had unprotected sex with a woman other than my girlfriend. She is a divorced 36 year old mother of two. I have since asked her of her status and she assured me she was clean and had been tested as of last fall.
The next evening I had a stomach and headache. Two days after the encounter a friend mentioned that I should get check for herpes and my mind spun out of control. I started to have to urinate frequently, (2x per hour) and I believed it burned when doing so. Seven days after the encounter I went to a local STD clinic and was tested for the basics. They said it was too early to test for HIV and Herpes and that it would take ten days for results. I went home and started goggling symptoms of herpes and concluded I had them all, although now I am not sure I did. The frequent urination seemed to become much worse on day 9 so I went to a local walk in clinic. He ran my urine and assured me I was 100% normal, however he gave me script for Cipro, “just in case” I had a bladder infection. He did not see any signs of herpes. The googling of symptoms got worse and now I had an uncontrollable need to check my genitals sometimes as much as 3x per hour.
I only see my girlfriend on the weekend and was able to avoid sex with her on days 12 and 13. On day 13 I noticed a weird shooting pain in my left leg and my whole pelvic region felt like it was on fire. It burned so bad I expected it to be red every time I looked at it, which now is quite often. I spent the day inspecting my pubic area to make sure nothing new was appearing. One day 14 I broke out into a rash in my pubic area. It was spread on the entire area. It seemed as though as the red spots were at the center on a hair but some of them had a head of white pus. Also, the urination seemed to have diminished. On day 15 the rash and the burning sensation was still there so I went to another walk in clinic. He said he “wasn't impressed” by the rash and didn't think I had anything to worry about but gave me a 7 day course of Valtrex “just in case.” He also gave me a script for .25 milligram Xanax because he said the burning sensation was all “in my head.” I did not take them; I am a recovering addict with 5 years clean. The burning feeling does seem to come and go depending on if I am thinking of my situation or not. It does not seem to be there when I first wake in the morning but does come on immediately once I start thinking of it. It also seems to come up higher than my belly button at some points. On day 16 the rash seemed to clear up but was still sore around the base of the hairs, no white puss. However, upon more inspections I found a white, seems to be puss filled, spot on the underside of my penis near all the sensitive skin near the head. I don’t think it hurts, although I’m not sure what does anymore, my glands in my legs aren't swollen but the left underside of my neck seems to be. I haven’t had a fever, (I bought a thermometer) and generally feel well, besides the constant anxiety and pressure in my chest. Today is day 17 and the burning sensation seems to be lessening, however the white spot is still there. It does not seem to be enlarging or breaking open. It looks longer than round and seems to be under the skin. I’ve made an appointment with my primary care for this evening. I think I need to talk with him about anxiety and schedule an appointment to take a HSV II test. Everyone tells me it’s in my head, but it feels so real. I can’t stop checking myself and looking online for symptoms. My questions are as follows:
1. Would the Valtrex clear the breakout up that quickly?
2. What are my chances of infecting my girlfriend if we have sex this weekend, which would be on day 20? We do not use condoms. I do not want to give her anything.
3. What is the quickest I can get tested for HSV II? I should also mention that I do get HSV I on my lips quite often ( 3x in the last 10 months)
4. Is this much anxiety a symptom of HSV II?
Thank you Dr,
Concerned
18 days ago I had unprotected sex with a woman other than my girlfriend. She is a divorced 36 year old mother of two. I have since asked her of her status and she assured me she was clean and had been tested as of last fall.
The next evening I had a stomach and headache. Two days after the encounter a friend mentioned that I should get check for herpes and my mind spun out of control. I started to have to urinate frequently, (2x per hour) and I believed it burned when doing so. Seven days after the encounter I went to a local STD clinic and was tested for the basics. They said it was too early to test for HIV and Herpes and that it would take ten days for results. I went home and started goggling symptoms of herpes and concluded I had them all, although now I am not sure I did. The frequent urination seemed to become much worse on day 9 so I went to a local walk in clinic. He ran my urine and assured me I was 100% normal, however he gave me script for Cipro, “just in case” I had a bladder infection. He did not see any signs of herpes. The googling of symptoms got worse and now I had an uncontrollable need to check my genitals sometimes as much as 3x per hour.
I only see my girlfriend on the weekend and was able to avoid sex with her on days 12 and 13. On day 13 I noticed a weird shooting pain in my left leg and my whole pelvic region felt like it was on fire. It burned so bad I expected it to be red every time I looked at it, which now is quite often. I spent the day inspecting my pubic area to make sure nothing new was appearing. One day 14 I broke out into a rash in my pubic area. It was spread on the entire area. It seemed as though as the red spots were at the center on a hair but some of them had a head of white pus. Also, the urination seemed to have diminished. On day 15 the rash and the burning sensation was still there so I went to another walk in clinic. He said he “wasn't impressed” by the rash and didn't think I had anything to worry about but gave me a 7 day course of Valtrex “just in case.” He also gave me a script for .25 milligram Xanax because he said the burning sensation was all “in my head.” I did not take them; I am a recovering addict with 5 years clean. The burning feeling does seem to come and go depending on if I am thinking of my situation or not. It does not seem to be there when I first wake in the morning but does come on immediately once I start thinking of it. It also seems to come up higher than my belly button at some points. On day 16 the rash seemed to clear up but was still sore around the base of the hairs, no white puss. However, upon more inspections I found a white, seems to be puss filled, spot on the underside of my penis near all the sensitive skin near the head. I don’t think it hurts, although I’m not sure what does anymore, my glands in my legs aren't swollen but the left underside of my neck seems to be. I haven’t had a fever, (I bought a thermometer) and generally feel well, besides the constant anxiety and pressure in my chest. Today is day 17 and the burning sensation seems to be lessening, however the white spot is still there. It does not seem to be enlarging or breaking open. It looks longer than round and seems to be under the skin. I’ve made an appointment with my primary care for this evening. I think I need to talk with him about anxiety and schedule an appointment to take a HSV II test. Everyone tells me it’s in my head, but it feels so real. I can’t stop checking myself and looking online for symptoms. My questions are as follows:
1. Would the Valtrex clear the breakout up that quickly?
2. What are my chances of infecting my girlfriend if we have sex this weekend, which would be on day 20? We do not use condoms. I do not want to give her anything.
3. What is the quickest I can get tested for HSV II? I should also mention that I do get HSV I on my lips quite often ( 3x in the last 10 months)
4. Is this much anxiety a symptom of HSV II?
Thank you Dr,
Concerned
Well, Primary care doctor said the burning sensation may have been caused by the Cipro or the excessive complusion to check the area. He did not believe the white spot to be a breakout because it came outside of 14 days and is only a single spot, again he thought it to be more realated to the checking of the area. This all put my mind at ease for last night, however today has been filled with the same amount of anxiety. I m not sure i believe the doctor since he seemed a little outdated on the subject. He told me i would test posistive for herpes with any test since i already have HSV1. Seems odd.
The pus filled spot is not tender, doesnt hurt and hasnt enlarged nor moved closer to the surface of the skin, If it was herpes should it have burst by now? This is day 3 of it being there. It is only one spot and is more of a longer shape than a round.
I dont know what to think anymore, any info is grealty appreciated..oh and my doctor gave me a non narcotic anxiety medication because he "had to treat the sysyptoms in my head".
dugh
The pus filled spot is not tender, doesnt hurt and hasnt enlarged nor moved closer to the surface of the skin, If it was herpes should it have burst by now? This is day 3 of it being there. It is only one spot and is more of a longer shape than a round.
I dont know what to think anymore, any info is grealty appreciated..oh and my doctor gave me a non narcotic anxiety medication because he "had to treat the sysyptoms in my head".
dugh
Thank you fleetwood20, I am starting to believe this to be the case slowly. I will wait the necessary time to get the proper results from the test, until then I will be as safe as possible. Today is the best I have felt, I believe it directly relates to how much time I spend searching the internet and checking myself for symptoms. I also believe a lot of the anxiety lies in the regret and shame from my actions.
I will keep my appointment today so I can discuss proper anxiety management with my doctor. I have let this get so out of control in my head that my position in my company is suffering.
I will check back with results. Thank you again.
Dugh
I will keep my appointment today so I can discuss proper anxiety management with my doctor. I have let this get so out of control in my head that my position in my company is suffering.
I will check back with results. Thank you again.
Dugh
The symptoms you describe are not particularly related to herpes at all. Urination frequency for example is not related to herpes.
Your symptoms do sound anxiety related. This doesn't mean they are in your head. It means you stressing muscles in the area that can impact nerves and cause all sorts of burns and tingles.
I don't see any reason to suspect herpes. However with HSV1, you can be infected and not know it all. To be 100% sure you don't have HSV2 there is no alternative but for an IgG test at 16 weeks. The odds of you having been infected were extremely small if at all possible in the first instance.
Your symptoms do sound anxiety related. This doesn't mean they are in your head. It means you stressing muscles in the area that can impact nerves and cause all sorts of burns and tingles.
I don't see any reason to suspect herpes. However with HSV1, you can be infected and not know it all. To be 100% sure you don't have HSV2 there is no alternative but for an IgG test at 16 weeks. The odds of you having been infected were extremely small if at all possible in the first instance.
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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.
