How reliable are results based on symptoms?

[LuLu8108]

About 2 months ago I had unprotected sex with a partner who claims that he has never had any sort of infectious concern or symptoms.  I did not notice any symptoms immediately following- a week or so after I had a somewhat bothersome bump on the inner portion of my vagina that resembled either an ingrown hair or a pimple (I tend to get ingrown hairs farily often from waxing, so I just assumed this is what it was, although I'd never gotten one there before). The bump went away shortly thereafter, and he and I had unprotected sex again about 2 weeks ago; immediately after which I bled a little bit.  A few days later I noticed I was becoming itchy; during the day I did not tend to notice any itching, but around 9pm for about 5 days straight it was veryy itchy to the point where I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't help but scratch-- and hard!  I noticed the day or so that the itching had started that the inside of my vagina was a veryy pink color but did not notice any bumps or other iritation.  During this time I also noticed some rather frequent discharge and assumed this was a yeast infection (I use to get them when younger and felt the symptoms were fairly similar). As the vigorous scratching continued for a few days it began to become slightly sore, and about 3 days ago I noticed 3 tiny scabs had formed.  I hadn't noticed any blistering, etc. in this area before and just assumed this was the result of the scratching, but still thought I would go to the health clinic.  The doctor said she did not think it was a yeast infection because the inner area was no longer veryy pink, and she scratched off the scabs and had them tested for herpes.  (Not for a specific type of herpes, just herpes in general). I called back a day later and they had already gotten the results back-- the test results came back positive, however I find it very hard to believe this is the case.  I am scheduled to go back in for blood work in 7 weeks.  Is it possible that the test results were innacurate and yielded a false-positive result?  Could these symptoms be from something else, or should I assume that I do, in fact, have herpes?

[LuLu8108]

it doesnt even phase me anymore- its safe to say that i no longer have any secrets =) thanks for all the help grace!

[gracefromHHP]

Well this isn't related to herpes so perhaps this isn't the best forum for follow up on it :)

Sounds like you are having fatty stools.  The appointment with the GI doc wednesday is the best place to be discussing it :) If you are having fatty stools - you are gonna have gas too.  They go hand in hand.

Can you believe you just talked about your poopie with 50, 000 complete strangers today? LOL

grace

[LuLu8108]

my gyno gave me two 150MG tablets of Fluconazole for the yeast infection. since having visited her, i have noticed the ends of my stools (not the entire stool) have had a white color to them and possibly a fuzzy texture? i can't tell if the stool itself is white or if there is something white on the stool (it is definitely white, not just pale). i will notice this about every 2 times i have a BM. aside from this my stools have been rather normal. brown-light brown in color, and slightly looser than normal.  i also have noticed some slimy-like mucus either with the stool or when i wipe.

for a little over a week (so this began the night before i'd visited my gyno) i've been feeling slighty gassy/bloated and cramps in my lower abdomen, primarily on the ride side. they feel similar to menstrual cramps, however i've never known menstrual cramps to last for such a long time. i first noticed these symptoms about 6 hours after having eaten out at a restraunt. the meal was pretty rich, and i assumed it was all related, but the symptoms have persisted fairly consistently ever since.

occasionally i will find streaks of blood in my stool, but no signs of blood in my urine.  when this happens i sometimes wipe a very small amount of faint, bright-red blood off onto the toilet paper. this has been going on for almost a year; my doctor did an examination and said that he found a small fissure and that the blood in my stool was likely a result of that.

results from a blood test came back showing my liver was normal, but i am still waiting on results regarding hepatitis A and hepatitis B. the doctor also ordered a stool culture, but i have yet to be able to gather a specimen with the white "stuff" to have cultured, so i am still waiting on this. i have an appointment with a gastroenterologist on wednesday but i am still concerned in the mean time.

should i be concerne that this is more than just something i can pass through my system? after reading various online sources im nervous it may be something more serious and/or fatal.

THANKS!

[gracefromHHP]

Usually it's bv that is the issue for triggering ob's ( and increasing shedding ) than yeast is but for some women, anytime they get something going on down yonder it triggers an ob. Only time will tell for you.

If you tend to get yeast infections often I recommend looking into femdophilus by jarrow ( google it ).  It has been proven in many studies now to replace the "good" bacteria in the urogenital tract in females unlike yogurt and many other lactobacillus preparations marketed towards females that really only replace the "good" bacteria in the bowels and not in the urogenital tract.

grace

[zippyiam]

Lulu

You can also go to Planned Parenthood to get blood work done - they will keep the results private and depending on your income... it won't cost an arm and a leg and you can get it done immediately.  It's worth a trip and you can also get other std tests done just in case.

[LuLu8108]

do yeast infections also tend to be the cause of outbreaks, say because of the change in ph of the vagina? or does it mainly work the other way around? if i am someone who is likely to get yeast infections it would be helpful to know if i should expect outbreaks to occur with them so that i can have always have a valtrex perscription on hand.

thanks for all the help, grace. rock on.

[gracefromHHP]

type does matter and she's sadly under educated on genital herpes if she thinks it doesn't.  you really should get a typing done at some point because it would be a damn shame if you had hsv1 genitally and assumed it was hsv2 and ended up contracting hsv2 later when you could've potentially avoided it.

The initial genital herpes ob can alter the ph of the vagina enough for yeast and bacteria to easily over grow.  

grace

[LuLu8108]

i had a gyno appointment this morning and she told me i had one of the worst yeast infections she'd seen in awhile and did not understand how another doctor could have passed it up.

i think i remember reading on some post that youd said out breaks and yeast infections tend to come hand in hand. if im remembering what i read accurately, can u ellaborate on that a little more? does this mean that a yeast infection can cause an outbreak to happen?

she also said today that the type doesnt matter and wasn't going to test me to see. she gave me a perscription for my yeast infection (bless her heart) and a valtrex perscription that she said to keep on hand and take for 5 days once i noticed symptoms starting. does this seem reasonable?

[gracefromHHP]

" If you are only hsv1+ in 7 weeks, you'd still have to repeat the test again 2 months later since you wouldn't know if it's a previous hsv1 infection or if it truly was hsv1 genitally. "

What this means is - the majority of folks who get tested for herpes will test + for hsv1 whether they can recall obvious cold sores previously or not.  If you don't get baseline testing done now and in 7 weeks you do get tested and it's only hsv1+, we have no way of knowing if it's a previous hsv1 infection you didn't even know you had or if it's reflecting that this is hsv1 genitally now.  

Getting checked for vaginitis is the best plan right now due to your itching and discharge.

grace

[LuLu8108]

thank you again for all of your help, grace.

can you please re-word the last statement in your previous post where you said "since you wouldnt know if it's a previous hsv1 infection or if it truly was hsv1 genitally"......im not exactly sure what you mean.

i am in the process of getting in contact with a different doctor because i am not pleased with the way this doctor has been assisting me. still waiting to hear back about setting up an appointment but am hoping to be seen this week.

my lesions have completely healed (they seemed to come and go within 3 days) but i have been noticing recurrent itching and now very liquid-like discharge. this morning following some itching i found that my entire vaginal area had become swollen and puffy looking.

i hope that i can get in to see the doctor tomorrow. does this sound like its still related to that previous outbreak or more so to an accompanied yeast and/or vaginitis infection?

thank you

[gracefromHHP]

You need to go back tomorrow and get checked out again. yeast and/or bacterial vaginitis with a newly acquired herpes infection is not unusual. I would not suggest guessing or self treating.   I also recommend you get a baseline herpes igg blood test now and then repeat it in 4 months.  Waiting for 7 weeks to get the blood test is  a little early and getting a baseline now and then repeating it will help you narrow down if it's hsv1 genitally or not.  If you are only hsv1+ in 7 weeks, you'd still have to repeat the test again 2 months later since you wouldn't know if it's a previous hsv1 infection or if it truly was hsv1 genitally.

grace

[LuLu8108]

hi grace-

my doctor said that the test that had been done for me was free (its through a university hospital clinic and since i am a full time student it is covered in my fees) but if i want it to be typed, that would required a bill which would be sent home to my parents because of the way the system works.

she said that the best thing i should do is just wait the 7 weeks and come back to draw blood. this frustrates me.

she said she thinks its HSV-1 based on my symptoms (but also didnt ask if i had received oral from him), but if this out break is from contracting hsv from my new partner, he has never performed oral sex on me, so i assume its HSV-2, and in that case id want to start taking medicine asap.

my doctor is also going out of town for a week so now i cant even speak with her again for 10 days.

my lesions have healed but i am still a little itchy and still experiencing some discharge that is now more "flaky" than liquidy. ...i still think whatever is happening/just happened to me is a yeast infection. im just so confused.

[gracefromHHP]

The lesion culture itself is already going to show up - getting it typed won't make a difference on the bill.  Be sure to ask the clinic how they handle situations like this where you are on your parents insurance and don't want them to be aware that you had herpes testing done. They should have a policy in place for this.  

No there is no way to find out if it's hsv2 or hsv1 without laboratory testing.  

grace

[LuLu8108]

thanks, grace.

i know i sound stubborn.... but another reason i can not have her get the lesion culture typed is because of billing information- it would be sent directly to my parents and i don't want either of them to find out.

is there a way to speculate whether its HSV-1 or HSV-2 until i am able to have blood drawn??  At least for a piece of mind to help me get along....???

[gracefromHHP]

  If your lesion culture was + for herpes then that means that herpes was detected. They won't detect herpes if there isn't any there so that means that this is an active lesion you have going on - even if you have 30 other things going on down yonder all at the same time.  

It's only a few extra bucks to get a lesion culture typed.  It'll cost a lot more to get a type specific herpes igg blood test now to try to figure out if it's a newly acquired infection or not and then repeat it in a few months if it is a new infection to determine type.

I wouldn't assume this is a newly acquired infection - about 50% of presumed new infections aren't.  It very well could be all those other symptoms you've had before were herpes too , it's hard to tell.

grace

[LuLu8108]

also, if this sound most like a primary outbreak and due to recent sexual contact.. if my current partner did NOT preform oral sex on me, can i assume in the mean time, that this is HSV-2 and not HSV-1?  Could genital HSV-1 be transmitted by kissing since it's known as "oral" or does this not seem likely?

my previous partner did perform oral sex on me, however that was back in February (nearly 6 months ago) and i don't remember experiencing any previous symptoms, although its possible (yet unlikely) that he had HSV.

[LuLu8108]

Thanks for the response.

Due to health insurance/confidentiality issues at the moment I have not asked that she order the culture to be typed (although yes, this would be ideal).

is there a likelihood of it being one type of HSV over the other?  Are the symptoms more likely to be HSV-1 or HSV-2??

are these symptoms likely of a yeast infection as well?  for example, is it possible that i was infact infected with HSV at one or point or another in my life (explaining why the test results came back positive) and the current symptoms are not the result of a HSV outbreak but rather irritation from the yeast infection?

THANK YOU!

[gracefromHHP]

A lesion culture isn't apt to be wrong. The cultures look for actual herpes virus so they are more likely to be falsely negative than falsely positive.  I would assume you have genital herpes.

I encourage you to call the clinic today and ask them if the culture was typed. if it wasn't INSIST that they call the lab they use and order it to be typed. No reason to wait up to 4 months to find out what type you have when you can have answers within a day or so.  Knowing your type is important.

Meanwhile I encourage you to watch the patient counseling video and read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com. They will help a lot to help you learn more about herpes and deal with the IDEA of having herpes ( which for most folks is far harder to deal with than actually living with the virus is ).  Hang in there - it's a big shock right now I"m sure but once you learn more about it all it should be easier to deal with.

grace