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Sciatica?
I am now 15 weeks post exposure. Was not able to get a blood test after 8 weeks. Tested negative prior to that.
My only symptom now is terrible pain that I could only describe as sciatic based off what I see online.
- constantly changing pain in my butt, inner and outer thighs, and my big toe on the right foot.
- constant pinching feeling in groin
- lower and mid back pain (can be mild or so painful, for example needing to lie down after a 5 minute run)
How likely is herpes to cause these symptoms (which have lasted three weeks now), without causing lesions?
The last possible "lesion" was 2 months ago
My only symptom now is terrible pain that I could only describe as sciatic based off what I see online.
- constantly changing pain in my butt, inner and outer thighs, and my big toe on the right foot.
- constant pinching feeling in groin
- lower and mid back pain (can be mild or so painful, for example needing to lie down after a 5 minute run)
How likely is herpes to cause these symptoms (which have lasted three weeks now), without causing lesions?
The last possible "lesion" was 2 months ago
Ya, your pain does NOT sound connected to HSV2. Ease up on the snow-boarding! Ha.
Doesn't mean your original rash symptoms weren't HSV2. But your doctor might well be correct that it's folliculitis--who knows. You'll only know for sure if you get recurrences of the rash and can ultimately get a swab.
Doesn't mean your original rash symptoms weren't HSV2. But your doctor might well be correct that it's folliculitis--who knows. You'll only know for sure if you get recurrences of the rash and can ultimately get a swab.
Well that's even more interesting to hear, because the pain was significantly worse during and after running and snowboarding on two different occasions.
Could you please comment on my post. No symptoms as of post 10 weeks.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Herpes-and-equivocal-results-Help/show/2379129
thank you.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Herpes-and-equivocal-results-Help/show/2379129
thank you.
I'll add that if your sciatic pain is aggravated by activity, it is even less likely to be HSV2 related. The nerve pain caused by HSV2 is a result of the virus traveling down nerve endings, resulting in inflammation and sensitivity. I've never read about a connection between HSV2 nerve pain being aggravated by exercise. That sounds like a slipped disc or some other spinal inflammation. In fact, exercise seems to reduce HSV2 inflammation, according to some studies.
Well, if you can say yes to the following, then I think there is a high chance you were exposed to HSV2, no matter what your doctor says, because most doctors can't recognise the range of symtpoms that come with HSV2 except hte classic giant red, weeping blisters:
Did you experience all of these symptoms AT THE SAME TIME, within A WEEK OR TWO OF A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER:
- swollen glands in your groin,
- a rash in your groin
- red bumps on the shaft your penis
- fever
Note most people who exhibit symptoms of HSV2 after infection, eventually see some sort of recurrence in the form of another rash or red spots in or around the same area.
You're not being very descriptive, so of course it's hard to tell. A rash in the groin can come with shaving too, if you shave your pubic area, which most men seem to do these days.
But two doctors have told me my "rash" was folliculitis, when I know with certainty it is not. I think doctors get very weary of paranoid people over-reacting to every bump anywhere near their dick, which most of the time is probably nothing. However, most doctors also discount and misdiagnose atypical symptoms of HSV2 about 75% of the time, and that fact is borne out by a serious medical study.
You also say you have had "weird" symptoms. So not sure what those are.
But if you think you really were exposed to HSV2, shooting pains in your butt or backs of legs could very well be related. Pains in the neck are not "sciatic" because your neck is not connected to your sciatic nerve.
I wont' discount pains in your neck to be HSV2 related, however. Because I think that's what doctors do when they discount a rationale patient who thinks there is good reason to make the connection. You know your body best. Do you think it's really connected?
Keep in mind that doctors know a few things, and pains in the neck would be very, very unlikely to be connected to HSV2 and you should see if your back pain is more likely a result of other more common causes (slipped disks, growths on the spine, etc.). My shooting pains happen when I'm doin nothing at all, just sitting there and all of a sudden I feel a sharp sustained pinch in the back of my leg, or in my butt.
Did you experience all of these symptoms AT THE SAME TIME, within A WEEK OR TWO OF A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER:
- swollen glands in your groin,
- a rash in your groin
- red bumps on the shaft your penis
- fever
Note most people who exhibit symptoms of HSV2 after infection, eventually see some sort of recurrence in the form of another rash or red spots in or around the same area.
You're not being very descriptive, so of course it's hard to tell. A rash in the groin can come with shaving too, if you shave your pubic area, which most men seem to do these days.
But two doctors have told me my "rash" was folliculitis, when I know with certainty it is not. I think doctors get very weary of paranoid people over-reacting to every bump anywhere near their dick, which most of the time is probably nothing. However, most doctors also discount and misdiagnose atypical symptoms of HSV2 about 75% of the time, and that fact is borne out by a serious medical study.
You also say you have had "weird" symptoms. So not sure what those are.
But if you think you really were exposed to HSV2, shooting pains in your butt or backs of legs could very well be related. Pains in the neck are not "sciatic" because your neck is not connected to your sciatic nerve.
I wont' discount pains in your neck to be HSV2 related, however. Because I think that's what doctors do when they discount a rationale patient who thinks there is good reason to make the connection. You know your body best. Do you think it's really connected?
Keep in mind that doctors know a few things, and pains in the neck would be very, very unlikely to be connected to HSV2 and you should see if your back pain is more likely a result of other more common causes (slipped disks, growths on the spine, etc.). My shooting pains happen when I'm doin nothing at all, just sitting there and all of a sudden I feel a sharp sustained pinch in the back of my leg, or in my butt.
The rash was on my pubic area, but looked nothing like the "herpes rash" pictures online. It seemed to be a fairly classic folliculitis rash. And I think I did have some sort of fever/generally not feeling well
Was the "rash" on your penis or groin? Did you have fever?
My sciatic pains were within days of the original infection and before I even noticed any red "bumps".
My sciatic pains were within days of the original infection and before I even noticed any red "bumps".
I had some bumps on my Penis shaft and swollen lymph nodes and a rash. This was all in the first few weeks.
3 different health professionals were convinced it wasn't herpes (again, I know that's not the most reliable)
Furthermore, I have hsv1 childhood, so I assumed if I were to have caught it, my symptoms would be limited.
The sciatic problems started recently, weeks and weeks after seeing anything that could possibly be herpes.
3 different health professionals were convinced it wasn't herpes (again, I know that's not the most reliable)
Furthermore, I have hsv1 childhood, so I assumed if I were to have caught it, my symptoms would be limited.
The sciatic problems started recently, weeks and weeks after seeing anything that could possibly be herpes.
The more you describe, the more that does NOT sound like it's related to HSV2.
You're saying you never even saw any outbreak of redness or sores at all? If so, I misunderstood. I thought you started having shooting pains after you saw a visible outbreak of some kind. I thought you had confirmed HSV2 infection, and were wondering about the shooting pains?
Now your symptoms sound totally like a back/neck problem un-related to HSV2. Especially having "neck" problems. That's an awful long way from the sacral region to be exhibiting the main pain.
All the more reason to see doctors and not use the Internet I guess. ;-)
You're saying you never even saw any outbreak of redness or sores at all? If so, I misunderstood. I thought you started having shooting pains after you saw a visible outbreak of some kind. I thought you had confirmed HSV2 infection, and were wondering about the shooting pains?
Now your symptoms sound totally like a back/neck problem un-related to HSV2. Especially having "neck" problems. That's an awful long way from the sacral region to be exhibiting the main pain.
All the more reason to see doctors and not use the Internet I guess. ;-)
The biggest factor I have in questioning this, is that the sciatic pains started 12 weeks after exposure. I had a few
Other strange symptoms before, but not this.
Does this timeline seem off, and could possibly be a herniated disk or something like that?
It's not just pinching, after running yesterday I literally couldn't stand anymore because of my back. And my neck is in pain too.
What were your initial symptoms/ what did your outbreak look like and act?
Other strange symptoms before, but not this.
Does this timeline seem off, and could possibly be a herniated disk or something like that?
It's not just pinching, after running yesterday I literally couldn't stand anymore because of my back. And my neck is in pain too.
What were your initial symptoms/ what did your outbreak look like and act?
Oh, I should point out the usual caveat--you should see a doctor in case the shooting pains are caused by something else, like something aggravating your spinal chord or something. All I'm saying is that these symptoms are definitely what I experienced after HSV2 infection.
This is very possibly related to HSV2 in the sacral nerves. If you noticed these symptoms shortly after exposure to HSV, and you didn't have these before, I'd say there is a very good chance it is HSV2-related, because I have had the same thing.
Even though my doctor insists it can't be HSV. He's simply wrong. While Google can be a dangerous thing and something doctors roll their eyes at, I know my own body and when I googled such symptoms after my own exposure, sure enough there are ample anecdotal accounts of people getting constant shooting pains in their butts and backs of the legs. While this is more typically cited as a prodromal symptom that only occurs prior to an outbreak for some "lucky" people, for others like us, we can experience constant recurring nerve pain after being infected with HSV2. But there is hope for you, based on my own experience.
The official medical description of HSV2 infection refers to "constant daily nerve pain" as a "very rare" symptom. Guess we are the "rare" ones then, because after my infection, I experienced shooting pains in my butt and down the backs of my legs for over a year, every day. It felt like someone had attached clothes pegs to the backs of my thighs, like they were constantly being pinched hard. While it wasn't what I would call excruciating, it was so constant that it was very distracting and aggravating. I had these shooting/pinching pains throughout the day, every day, for hours at a time, even in the absence of any visible outbreak. In fact my visible outbreaks have consistently been extremely minor.
The reason I say there is hope for you in this regard is that finally, after about 1 year and 4 months after my infection, these constant pinching nerve pains have almost totally stopped. They certainly diminished somewhat after about 8 months, but I was still getting them every day for shorter durations up until a few months ago. I have now gone a few weeks without any such pain.
I think you will definitely find that these pains diminish and stop with time, though it may take 12 months or more. Our bodies always manage to deal better with this infection with time, usually 12 to 24 months--though some people's bodies deal with it better than others.
You might find some pain killers help, but it might just be a matter of persevering and waiting until the worst of it is over. I sympathize with you though, because I found it very distressing and distracting having this pain that never seemed to go away, reminding me daily of the infection.
I just wish doctors were more familiar with atypical symptoms and dismiss them so readily. It just abandons the patient and makes them feel rather confused and alone about the whole thing, which in some respects might be the most significant aspect of an HSV2 infection--another thing doctors seem to discount.
Even though my doctor insists it can't be HSV. He's simply wrong. While Google can be a dangerous thing and something doctors roll their eyes at, I know my own body and when I googled such symptoms after my own exposure, sure enough there are ample anecdotal accounts of people getting constant shooting pains in their butts and backs of the legs. While this is more typically cited as a prodromal symptom that only occurs prior to an outbreak for some "lucky" people, for others like us, we can experience constant recurring nerve pain after being infected with HSV2. But there is hope for you, based on my own experience.
The official medical description of HSV2 infection refers to "constant daily nerve pain" as a "very rare" symptom. Guess we are the "rare" ones then, because after my infection, I experienced shooting pains in my butt and down the backs of my legs for over a year, every day. It felt like someone had attached clothes pegs to the backs of my thighs, like they were constantly being pinched hard. While it wasn't what I would call excruciating, it was so constant that it was very distracting and aggravating. I had these shooting/pinching pains throughout the day, every day, for hours at a time, even in the absence of any visible outbreak. In fact my visible outbreaks have consistently been extremely minor.
The reason I say there is hope for you in this regard is that finally, after about 1 year and 4 months after my infection, these constant pinching nerve pains have almost totally stopped. They certainly diminished somewhat after about 8 months, but I was still getting them every day for shorter durations up until a few months ago. I have now gone a few weeks without any such pain.
I think you will definitely find that these pains diminish and stop with time, though it may take 12 months or more. Our bodies always manage to deal better with this infection with time, usually 12 to 24 months--though some people's bodies deal with it better than others.
You might find some pain killers help, but it might just be a matter of persevering and waiting until the worst of it is over. I sympathize with you though, because I found it very distressing and distracting having this pain that never seemed to go away, reminding me daily of the infection.
I just wish doctors were more familiar with atypical symptoms and dismiss them so readily. It just abandons the patient and makes them feel rather confused and alone about the whole thing, which in some respects might be the most significant aspect of an HSV2 infection--another thing doctors seem to discount.
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