Herpes that won't go away ??

[herpescared69]

About 96 Days ago I had unprotected oral and vaginal intercourse with a woman I did not know. She had what looked like several infected cysts/boils on her lower back but i was too drunk to realize this was not a positive sign. I started to get small whitish gray raised bumps on my inner thighs within a couple weeks that increased in number and have never gone away. The dermatologist diagnosed these as folliculitis and definitely not warts.

42 days after the encounter I experienced prodromal, flu like symptoms with pain and tingling down my left leg, buttocks, thighs and lower back. I tested positive on the first day of the prodromal symptoms for hsv1 and hsv2. I have had cold sores my whole life but no known genital lesions in the past.

3 days after the prodrome started I had a rash breakout on my back and torso that the dermatologist diagnosed as erythema multiforme.  The rash has moved to different areas of my body, including chest, elbow, penis, hands but has never completely cleared up. My lips have also had varying degrees of swelling from the erythema that has not gone away. I also had lymphadenopathy in my armpits and inner legs. my lips and penis still have small cuts that will not heal.

I have had rashes in the areas between my legs and scrotum that have come and gone since the 42nd day but have never cleared up. Also, I have had rashes in the genital and *** creases that have come and gone. The rashes look more like folliculitis bumps, although one 3x5 mm area gets especially red and mildly painful and sends pain down my leg when it flares. it has flared there three separate times. Nothing has scabbed over like typical herpes sores.

I have felt low grade flu like symptoms with mild headache and sore throat and general ill feeling since the prodrome that waxes and wanes but will not go away.

I have been on 2 grams of acyclovir per day for pretty much the whole time, switching to valtrex once, but nothing will make this completely subside. I was also put on 2 courses of doxycycline for ten days each that didn't seem to do much..

I have seen 3 primary care doctors and two dermatologists that have diagnosed me with folliculitis of the genital area and all have said the rashes did not look like herpes. Nothing has been cultured because the doctors all claim there is no way to culture the folliculitis/rash areas. General blood and urine tests have all been normal multiple times.

I have tested negative for HIV at 92 days and twice previous. Prior to this encounter the skin in my genital area was always in great condition.

Is it possible this is continuous recurrent hsv2 ? All the doctors think this is impossible since I have been on acyclovir the whole time ? If not continuous herpes then what ?

[cal86]

Thanks man, now getting pain in my groin and small spots on my thigh, think this is it happening

[Marcus80]

Thanks for getting back. You've been really helpful. Glad to hear you got better and are doing good.

[herpescared69]

I'm not convinced you have HSV. No antibodies and no classic hsv lesions are signs you don't.

You are having a reaction to something. Virus, bacteria, who knows. You may never get an exact answer from your doctors. I would retest at 90 days and 6 months.

It is amazing your symptoms are exactly like mine. Yes, those spots on my lips look exactly like angular Chelitis too. I also have enlarged fordyce spots on my penis. It's not HPV.

I had the exact same symptoms on my hands and thought whitlow too. They never came back.

I may have had HSV for years and not known it and this was something different. Unless we have something not described yet I would Explore the EM and RA diagnoses.

Keep me informed and tell your doctor you are not the only one with these symptoms. Maybe go to a teaching hospital ? They listen better.

[cal86]

Thanks friend, I sure will, from all the posts I've read I'm sure it's HSV, I feel so sick and ill with burning everywhere, not sure anything else can do this. Anyway my MD told me the tiny white spots in my lips were fungal angular chelitis so I've been putting anti fungal cream on them. Hasn't made a difference so I don't think they are, I think they're somehow related to the HSV. Or fordyce spots which aren't supposed to be contagious but it's a bit if a coincidence they started straight after the encounter. I also got a lot more white spots up my penis like mini hair follicles, some hair has started growing out of these new follicles at the base, but some don't which makes me worried they're HPV. Also had a couple strange spots on my fingers that made me think I was developing whitlow. Skin on my hands has turned very dry and wrinkly. Might get blood test tomorrow which would be 11 weeks, does it make a difference to wait till 12 weeks?

[herpescared69]

That's interesting. I have the tiny white spots at the corner of my lips also.  left side only. No one can tell me what they are.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions. If you've been negative for HSV antibodies I wouldn't assume you have HSV. Maybe you had Chlamydia that started the reaction and your body cleared it.

Just keep seeing your doctors and keep getting tested until you come up with an answer and get better.  

Please let me know what you find out.

[cal86]

I have had the white hairy tongue since literally two days after, I freaked that it was HIV too but have tested negative, I've still got it and it's very sore. I've never read this as a symptom of HSV. I wonder if my body will naturally produce antibodies to fight it and it will improve naturally or if I need pharmaceutical help. Also had tiny white spots in my lips at the corners, quite painful.

I am the same, doctors tell me it's stress because of no obvious blister, I just want a concrete diagnosis