HSV-1?

[WorriedChicago]

About a year and a half ago, I was intimate with a friend of mine, both orally and vaginally (I'm female.)  Within 7 days, I developed very sensitive patches of skin on my forearms and the base of my spine.  I thought I had the flu-soon the lymph nodes in my neck swelled, my gums swelled, and it became nearly impossible for me to eat or drink anything without taking a massive amount of ibuprofen.  Meanwhile, I had developed lesions in my mouth that appeared to be cold sores.  I went to the emergency room when I became so dehydrated I couldn't sleep (my heart was pounding "out of my chest.")  I also developed small sores on my fingers.  The doctor diagnosed HSV-1 and prescribed an anti-viral and an anti-bacterial (there appeared to be a secondary infection of my gums, perhaps an abscess.) My symptoms cleared up in a few days, and I've only had a few recurrences of the oral lesions since then (usually small bumps appearing on or near my lips on the inside of my mouth-very rarely full-blown ulcers)  The sores on my fingers usually show up again within about 4-7 days of these oral sores.

My concern is that the sensitive patches appear more often than the cold sores do, no longer in my arms, but mostly on the back right side of my torso.  It hurts for clothes to brush up against these patches, but there appears to be nothing "wrong" with the skin there.  I also get restless leg syndrome symptoms and feel exhausted in correlation with these patches of irritation.  I feel very strongly that these three things are connected.  Also worth noting, though I don't know if it's related or not, I've had severe pain in my right foot that is aggravated by long bouts of standing brought on by my job as a museum curator.

The doctor who diagnosed me with HSV-1 ran no tests, simply looked in my mouth and listened to my symptoms.  Do these symptoms seem to be in line with a proper diagnosis, or is there a chance I have something more serious?  I don't have insurance currently, so this is my first stop before dropping a ton of money on a re-diagnosis of something I'll just have to live with.

[gracefromHHP]

it's nothing std related. so many other things it can be from infections to allergies and even several syndromes. it'll take further work up to get to the bottom of it all.

[WorriedChicago]

Thank you for your advice.  Out of curiosity, and I'm certainly not asking for a diagnosis here, but do these symptoms sound like anything you're familiar with?  I've run a few searches, but the answers are varied.

I plan on having proper tests run this week, just looking for any and all input.  

[gracefromHHP]

you were done a disservice by not having any testing done :(


at this point you need to be seen every time you have symptoms and if they suspect herpes, they should swab them to confirm.  This really sounds like something non-herpes going on.

grace

ps I've asked the  mods to move this to the herpes forum.

[WorriedChicago]

Also, I forgot to mention.

During one particularly stressful weekend last January, I had similar sensitive "nervy" feelings that started in my spine, slowly migrated out to my limbs, and resulted in the most severe migraine of my life.  These sensations lasted for about 2 days before they completely disappeared.  I've not had an episode as severe since.