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Herpes that won't go away ??
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 ?
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 ?
Hi thanks for the tip, I haven't experienced much joint pain and have been urine sampled for chlamydia four times all of which were negative so fingers crossed I'm okay there, it's more the sore muscle aches, burning in buttocks, left leg, face, mouth and even arms and hands, had quite a lot of muscle twitching in my chest and face too. Extreme fatigue is worst. Do still feel fatigue or are you back to normal?
Are you having joint pain ? Are you having eye sensitivity/redness ?
Were you tested or treated for chlamydia ?
When I was at my worst, about 90 days post exposure, I was extremely fatigued also. I had major joint pain in my knees, lower back, Achilles, toes, knuckles, as well as psoriasis like lesions on my elbows and knees. I was unable to sleep as well. Working was very difficult at this time.
The Prednisone saved me. I was on 40 mg a day for a month, then tapered to nothing over the next 2 months. Being on Pred sucked, caused major anxiety, but it worked for me.
Were you tested or treated for chlamydia ?
When I was at my worst, about 90 days post exposure, I was extremely fatigued also. I had major joint pain in my knees, lower back, Achilles, toes, knuckles, as well as psoriasis like lesions on my elbows and knees. I was unable to sleep as well. Working was very difficult at this time.
The Prednisone saved me. I was on 40 mg a day for a month, then tapered to nothing over the next 2 months. Being on Pred sucked, caused major anxiety, but it worked for me.
Thanks very much for the update, I'm very glad you're improving, it gives me hope. 80 days following the exposure, every day is painful, extremely tiring, burning feelings everywhere come and go, can't sleep, very difficult. I don't know if this is typical but not sure how much more I can take
Marcus and Golf,
Sorry to hear you are both going through this. I am doing much better now.
After countless doctor visits and many tests my doctors believe I had Erythema Multiforme and a Reactive Arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome). They are not sure what caused the reactive arthritis but one doctor thinks I may have had chlamydia, even though I never tested positive for it. He thinks my body may have cleared it before the tests. I believe it all could have been from the HSV2.
My skin has pretty much cleared up now and the tingling has almost gone away and I am on no meds. I was on High dose prednisone, acyclovir, doxycycline, fluoxetine, hydrocodone, BP meds and Lorazepam for all my mental and physical symptoms at one point. I thought my life was over.
The only issue I have now is some irritable bowel and mild skin irritation that comes and goes. I think this will get better with time as my body gets used to the virus.
This kind of reaction is rare but I think some people's immune systems are prone to have an over-reaction when a foreign substance like HSV2 enters their body. Although a lot of the posts I read on here make me think this type of autoimmune reaction is happening to more people than are diagnosed.
I would see a rheumatologist to consider reactive arthritis and a dermatologist to consider Erythema Multiforme. Good luck !
Sorry to hear you are both going through this. I am doing much better now.
After countless doctor visits and many tests my doctors believe I had Erythema Multiforme and a Reactive Arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome). They are not sure what caused the reactive arthritis but one doctor thinks I may have had chlamydia, even though I never tested positive for it. He thinks my body may have cleared it before the tests. I believe it all could have been from the HSV2.
My skin has pretty much cleared up now and the tingling has almost gone away and I am on no meds. I was on High dose prednisone, acyclovir, doxycycline, fluoxetine, hydrocodone, BP meds and Lorazepam for all my mental and physical symptoms at one point. I thought my life was over.
The only issue I have now is some irritable bowel and mild skin irritation that comes and goes. I think this will get better with time as my body gets used to the virus.
This kind of reaction is rare but I think some people's immune systems are prone to have an over-reaction when a foreign substance like HSV2 enters their body. Although a lot of the posts I read on here make me think this type of autoimmune reaction is happening to more people than are diagnosed.
I would see a rheumatologist to consider reactive arthritis and a dermatologist to consider Erythema Multiforme. Good luck !
I've also had lots of really strange spots all over my body since a risky encounter 10 weeks ago, along with pain and tingling in buttocks, down leg, in lips and face, arms and feet. Also constant ill feeling with major fatigue. I've had no classic blisters but the odd pimple on my penis, stinging in my glans and red blotchiness there too. The spots on my body are like individual vesicles, spread out on my arms and legs, they arrive in frequently but stay for a couple of weeks. Also had tingling in feet and hands. Does this sound like what you have experienced from an HSV2 infection? I have tested negative igg at 8 weeks
Thanks
Thanks
I was reading your post and it sounds almost identical to what I'm going through right now. Had hsv2 for 5 years or so with occasional ob's but for the past 2 and half months been having unusual and constant symptoms same as you describe. I was on the maintenance dose of acyclovir prior, then eventually just stopped as I figured it wasn't helping and I even started to suspect the rash was a side effect that had developed. Been off the acyclovir for a month now and still have this rash and what seems like single spot ob's every few days.
Can you tell me how you got on?
Can you tell me how you got on?
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
