Herpes or Hemmorrhoid?

[concernedspouse418]

About a week ago, I had brief unprotected anal sex with another male. He penetrated my anus for about 2-3 seconds, but it was so painful I had to stop. About 3 days later, I felt a little discomfort in my rectum. I felt a small bump with my finger just inside my rectum. Over a period of 24 hours, the discomfort increased. I never felt any itching or extreme pain- just mild discomfort (like the pressure one feels from a hemorrhoid). The discomfort subsided in about 36 hours, and I no longer feel it now (very minor, if at all).

I went to an STD clinic yesterday, but I was too early for testing. The doctor did, however, inspect the inside of my rectum. He said the bump did not look/feel to be a traditional herpes or hpv lesion, but there are no guarantees with that early prognosis. He thought the bump might just be a polyp and didn’t offer any further explanation.

Could the rough penetrative sex have caused a polyp or hemorrhoid to become inflamed? I thought herpes/hpv lesions were extremely painful and that they would last considerably longer and eventually scab over. I’m going to go back for testing in two weeks, but I’d really love to know if this is a minor form of herpes/hpv or just an irritated hemorrhoid. . .

[gracefromHHP]

no it doesn't mean you have some antibodies - it's the way the test is done and you never get a zero on it because of the way it's done.

[concernedspouse418]

Thanks, Grace. I know I'm worrying needlessly (because there's nothing I can do about it now). That HSV2 level means that I do have some antibodies, though, right? If I didn't have the virus, antibodies wouldn't be present (at least, not in that high a volume), right?

[gracefromHHP]

you are worrying needlessly.

[concernedspouse418]

Hey Grace-
I went in for my 4 month testing and should have the results next week. In the meantime, I have the results from my last two rounds of testing:

HSV 1/2 IGG HERPESELECT

1 Month Post-Exposure:
HSV1: 0.07 (0.00-0.89 INDEX)
HSV2: 0.59 (0.00-0.89 INDEX)

3 Month Post-Exposure:
HSV1: 0.11 (0.00-0.89 INDEX)
HSV2: 0.54 (0.00-0.89 INDEX)

Both scores seem to have fluctuated a bit. Can anything be inferred by the fact that my HSV2 is considerably higher than my HSV1 (although it is still in the negative range)?

[gracefromHHP]

the vast majority of folks test accurately at the 4 month mark.

[concernedspouse418]

I still have some hope that this isn't herpes. I go back and forth, though. I'm optimistic when there isn't any funny business going on. It's just that all this weird stuff started happening after I was involved with this guy, and I never had any issues before that. I have always been in perfect health (work out 6 days a week) and then I start having bumps and sores and whatnot.

Grace, if I'm off the acyclovir and get retested at 4 months, would I be guaranteed a definitive result one way or the other? I've read a few people's posts who say they've been tested at 3, 6, and 9 months! How long does it typically take to create antibodies?