Please help

[george121]

Hi.  I'm really losing it here.  I have read, re-read, and read again everything I can to try to get some answers. I am completely in circles now, and it has become confusing to me to organize all of this info regarding herpes.

Here are the details: 8 weeks ago, first time condom protected receptive anal/oral, condom protected insertive anal with ts csw.  Not long. Huge mistake, last time I will ever do this as I have someone else I will do anything to protect, both physical and mental health so I am trying to be discrete and learn and move on.  Not the most ethical, but If I can march on down the road and the guilt is only on me, so be it.

I had full panel std's done at 6 weeks for precaution. All negative. The one I am worried about is HSV2. I know I have HSV1. Here is what I believe I have gathered from searching the forum for cases like this, but I need someone to help fill in the blanks for me.

This one-time occurrence is low risk.  So low that dr HHH would not hesitate to continue unprotected intercourse with S O. Condoms DO give you protection from HSV2, add to that the fact that I don't know if the person had it, shedding times, most exposures don't lead to infection, etc, equals very low risk. Possibly lower risk than chance of false positive?

I had the igg immunoblot test at 6 weeks. Not long enough, but 70-75% of people would have tested positive by this time? Possibly higher? Either way, most clinics would not have recommended testing in the absence of lesions.

And many people report that they did get herpes even though condom was used.  And in the forums Drs and others keep saying condom protected sex is safe or safer sex.  Are they taking into account HSV2? Or discounting it because it is "just a skin irritation?" And perhaps not an important std?

Also, I don't know if I had lesions, an initial outbreak and missed it, etc.  I've read in a bunch of places that because of the hsv1 I may have not noticed it.  I wasn't necessarily focused on that as I was more concerned about HIV, hep, and I had every type of "feeling" possible all over my body.  Likely stress related. How possible would it be for me to miss an outbreak on my rectum? I kind of figured the whole time that if I did have an OB I would have noticed it when wiping.  I definitely have not had an OB on my penis, bit I'm not worried about that because I can see it.  I now feel like every little thing is an OB.

Also, because of the hsv1, what does it really do to testing times?  I am planning on getting tested again at 9 weeks (90%?), almost there.  I don't think I can go until 12 weeks without something in between, and perhaps I could rest easy after the 9 week test.  And is it 12 weeks? Or do I have to wait until 16 because of the hsv1?

I am also worried about false positives.  There is no biokit to be found anywhere, and the wb seems to be a bear to get.

I am so desperate just to hear from someone.  I am confused, frustrated, depressed and mostly scared for the people this could affect. Where was this 8 weeks ago? Can I get back to my normal life now(unprotected sex with SO)? Or continue to test?

Sorry for writing a book.
Thank you

[Life360_Dave]

Youve been given all the information that can be given from this site about your case. You can move on as testing at 16 weeks would be conclusive but now your worried about the 5% miss rate. So just test again to put this last worry behind you. Continuing to post the same questions is not going to change what youve already been given.
The ordeal is only continuing in you mind due to anxiety. And we cant help you with that here.
Please move on and let us know your next test result.

[george121]

I can't believe its been 18 weeks now and this ordeal continues. I thought I would be able to get some closure by now, and I was hoping for more of an assessment and opinion of my situation.

I'm just looking for a second opinion, hoping for some confidence that I can move on.  When I had my 16 week negative test I would have completely moved on, but then these symptoms started. The timing is horrific, there was nothing leading up to 16 week test that resembled herpes.  If you have any comments regarding my symptoms, the timing of my symptoms, the possibility that a dr at an std clinic could mistake hemorrhoids for herpes, the difference in symptoms between the two, I'd really love to hear them.

[Life360_Dave]

If you feel you fell into the 5% then have another test. This is about all we can do in advise for now. Do let us know you results.

[george121]

The 5% room for error is freaking me out.

What about my symptoms?  What do they sound like?

How confident can I feel that I don't have herpes?

[Life360_Dave]

16 weeks would be conclusive. These tests are 95% accuate

[george121]

HowardH

Can you please comment? I am looking for another opinion. A brief recap:

18 weeks ago I had receptive, protected anal. Only time I have ever done that. It was a one time occurrence outside my regular partner.

I had all testing done at the appropriate times. I have hsv1. I've never had a cold-sore that I can remember, but I test positive. I have tested for hsv2 5 times, with the last one at 16 weeks, all negative.

I thought I was good to go as I haven't had any symptoms the entire time.  The only thing I have had was occasional pin-prick sensations throughout my rectal area. The sensations never really lasted more that a day or two at a time, but came back frequently enough that I believe that it could not be constant outbreaks. There were never any sores with it.

Fast forward to week 16 and I had those same sensations again, but there was some intermittent pain that went along with it.  Not terrible pain but it was there and it seemed to be originating within my rectum, and it seemed to go from non-existent in the morning to more noticeable as the day went on. No pain when on toilet, none when sleeping, or walking around.  I went to an std clinic and was diagnosed with hemorrhoids.  The dr said that there were no sores present, that she would have seen them and they would hurt an incredible amount when passing stool.

I am trying to get some closure on this, and the confidence to move on based on the testing, dr visit, etc.  

Can you please comment on this? It would mean a lot to me.

Is my 16 week test conclusive?
Do these symptoms sound more like hemorrhoids? Or herpes?
If I somehow missed an initial outbreak, it definitely would have been  much less noticeable than this, is it possible?

Can I go back to unprotected sex with my partner?

[george121]

Bump

[george121]

Life,
I tested negative at 16 weeks, 5 negative tests over the last few months, actually.

I went to a Dr who diagnosed them as hemorrhoids. I wasn't having any swollen lymph nodes either.

It may be irrational but I am having trouble moving past this. On a pain scale, if I had herpes inside my rectum, the pain would be pretty bad, right? Plus I'd feel it often, not just when I'm sitting down, right? Because I don't really feel any pain when I am walking around.

Do you think I should accept that I don't have herpes and move on? If I didn't all of a sudden get these symptoms at 17 weeks, I would have moved on for good based on the 16 week negative test.

Please comment.
Thanks

[george121]

I tested negative at 16 weeks and a dr said they were hemorrhoids, didn't see any herpes.

I'm just concerned that maybe herpes sores were missed. I've been feeling a bit of pain and I read internal hemorrhoid a don't really hurt. I also read they bleed, and I haven't really had any blood.

I guess i should take the 16 week negative and dr's assessment of no herpes and move on, but it is tough to for me to do.

[Life360_Dave]

1. yes and no you wond seroconvert
2. lumps inside your anus can be hemhorrids but have a doc check.
3.yes
4. youd have pain throught the roof with open sores coming in contact with fecal material.
5. Herpes are not common inside the rectum but hemms are. Herpes sores dont bleed and hemms do.
This is about al the help we can give you here and would advise seeing a doctor for other concerns,
Do let us know your final results.

[george121]

thanks for the comment. I'm scared so perhaps a bit irrational, but to boil it down to specific questions:

1) can i trust 16 week test? Is there a possibility I wouldn't seroconvert by 16 weeks, or not produce the proper protein for the test?
2) does it sound like hemorrhoids?
3) would homorrhoids include the sharp pin prick like sensations around the rectal area? For like a week?
4) what would herpes in the rectum feel like?
5) how can I tell the difference between herpes and hemorrhoids?

[Life360_Dave]

8 weeks would be a good indicator and 16 weeks would be conclusive.

[george121]

Bump

[george121]

Please read above. I'm desperate. It posted before I could write all of my questions so I don't know if it was even written understandably    

If this turns out to be herpes, I would be that one in a million case. Single relatively brief exposure, condom protected, no noticeable outbreak before now, tested negative all the way to 16 weeks.

Can I believe the 16 week test in spite of these symptoms?
What should I do?
What could this be?
If it is hemorrhoids, would I get this shooting, pricking like sensations?  
My fear is that those sensations were the virus making its way to the skin, and the bump is the sore now.

Thank you so much for your help.

[george121]

Fleetwood, or anyone else, I thought that would be it, but I really need your help. Just to cross the T's and dot the i's I went for my 16 week test It came back negative.

I thought I was done, I was literally in tears.

But now I've got other things going on. I started having symptoms around my anal area this past week (week 17).  I've gotten them a bunch over the last 16 weeks, always going away fairly quickly, especially after I tested negative. Now, however, in week 17 I've had a bunch of terrible symptoms. I don't know what the "tingling" is supposed to feel like, but for a few days I have had what I would call "pricking-like" sensations all around my scrotum area and anus. They would be completely random but feel like if you had soap go over an open sore. I did some intense, constant checking and never saw a thing. It's possible that I might not have been able to see anything, but I was really checking. Plus, anytime I ran my hand over the areas, or wiped in the bathroom, I felt absolutely nothing. There has never been a sore on my skin. But now I checked inside and I can feel 2 small lumps just inside my anus. I know I have had one of them for a long time, but the other one I can't remember. As the week went on, the prickling sensations have somewhat subsided, and it seems that any discomfort is coming from the bump inside my anus. It is not terribly painful most of the time, even when poking at it, but I think because of my heightened state, it can be fairly painful at times. It doesn't hurt when I walk or anything like that. And not really in the morning. I didn't have the prickling feeling in the morning either. It would get worse as the day went on. But I know it is there, and every once in a while I get a stinging sensation from my anus

So that's where I'm at now. I thought I'd be done and ready to move on, and this comes along.

1- what do you think this could be? I haven't had anything like this for 16 weeks. I felt the prickling like sensations at times over the last 16 weeks, but they'd happen much more often than I believe an outbreak would occur. I don't believe I would have missed an initial outbreak, especially if it would have been worse than this.

2- I am concerned that maybe I didn't seroconvert by 16 weeks, or that I would be one of the ones not picked up by a herpesselect igg. Because I DO test positive for hsv1 on it test, would that be evidence that I do make the protein that would be picked up on the igg test, or are they entirely different situations.

[Fleetwood20]

Yep that's it my friend. You are clear for HSV2.

No more testing do you require.

[george121]

Hopefully this will be the last question. I went and tested at 13 weeks and it was negative. I am now at 16 weeks. I can't get that number out of my head. Should I test again at 16 weeks or accept 13 weeks negative test as final?

Thank you

[george121]

Should I test again? It would be 13 weeks.

Would having a head cold be an issue when testing?

I thought the 11 week test would give me enough of an answer, but I keep going back and forth in my mind. I keep getting sensations in my rectal area too. They come and go, not really painful. I'm trying to convince myself they are anxiety, but again, I'm having a hard time convincing myself. I'm at 13 weeks. Should I use 11 week test as conclusive, or test at 13 week?

[Fleetwood20]

Looks all good to me. The chances of seroconverting from here are miniscule... and that's assuming you were infected in the first place!

[george121]

i keep having the random sensations in my rectal area and groin, but haven't been able to find any sores of any kind. None at all. And the feeling seem to come and go. Am I to believe that if I was having a herpes outbreak it would be more painful and would not come and go but remain more constant? And would I have sores if it was real pain?

I guess I'm trying to decide if this is in my mind or not. I've read every post I can find surrounding this and they all seem to lead to it being such a small, tiny chance at this point that I should try to move on.

So far my testing:
6 week herpeselect immunoblot: negative
8 week diasorin igg: negative, <.2
11 week herpeselect elisa: negative, <.9

I've read Terri Warren say that it is very rare that someone would test positive past 10 weeks unless antivirals are present, and I haven't been taking anything.
I've also read that it would be very rare that someone would test positive after a negative at 11 weeks.

Can you give me some of your thoughts on how confident I should feel at this point?

[johnny20]

Fleetwood do you have an opinion on my igg score question.  I would be grateful for your response.  Thanks

[Fleetwood20]

By now, an outbreak would be considered a recurrent. It would likely be a single small raised red patch with small bumps and blisters.

It is also highly likely the infection entry site would be involved, which can't be your penis.

[george121]

Can you please look at this post and give me your opinion on the following?  I was actually starting to believe in the odds, etc, but I woke up today and after showering this morning noticed that I have a fairly large red patch on foreskin. It was blotchy and completely flat.  Stupidly, I put hydrocortisone cream on it and it seemed to inflame it. I quickly showered and it seemed to die down. But 12 hours later it is still red. Seems to be a little better,  But it has not changed much.  In the middle of the day it honestly looked like it was on its way to clearing up.  At no time did it cause pain or anything, just discoloration.  Does this seem like a herpes sore?  I'm assuming that if this was a herpes sore, I would feel it, right?

I did go to a Dr to look at it. The dr looked at it but didn't really give me much of an opinion other than it doesn't have the classic look of a herpes rash, and then went on to order blood test.  He said it might be fungal, but that's it all I got. He didn't tell me it wasn't. He said he had 3 other cases come in today, I guess to let me know he sees this a bit.  Then he went for the blood tests.

I stopped them from drawing blood because I wanted to ask a few questions, re type of test, etc.  they were going to order me igm and I was adamant that it was not to be ordered.  I feel confident that it is going to be an IGg test, but it is being done throug bioreference labs.  I asked the dr and he said yes, herpes elect igg.  But I called bioreference labs and asked them and the person couldn't give me an answer other than it uses a multiplex flow immunoassay.  She literally had no idea what I was talking about wheni asked what brand of test was being used.

Can you please let me know if this test is any decent?

Btw, it will only be 8 weeks at this point but I was going to test again in a few days anyway.

[george121]

Thank you!  I can't tell you how much this helps me. I found a few more posts similar to my situation that have helped my psyche as well.

I need your help getting something else out of my mind. I have a tiny spot behind my knee.  For 2 days I felt some twinge pain behind my knee very infrequently as I was driving. When I looked yesterday I saw this little spot sitting there.  It is flush with the skin, smooth. No pain unless I press on it. It feels like there is some more to it under the skin. I've been putting neosporin on it and it seems to be healing, albeit slowly. I've heard that people get herpes sores behind their knee, and other weird places. Is this possible in my case or should I forget about it?

Do you think I need more testing, from a medical standpoint? Like, if I was in a clinic? For my own sanity, I will continue with testing, but just wondering.  How confident should I be to have unprotected sex with SO at this point? (I know, tough to answer such a personal question, but I figured I'd ask).

You mentioned 16 weeks conclusive. Who am I to question it, but dr HHh says many times, 12 is enough, possibly even less than that. I know there are special cases, always special cases, but if such a huge majority of people have hsv1, wouldn't it be such an incredibly small amount of people that would have to go past 12 weeks to test?  Possibly many of those people are taking therapy or have something else going on?

Thanks again! You are a godsend!