So, I had my initial STD test conducted about a month ago. When I got my results back I was negative for everything, BUT herpes. Now, I was not shocked by the positive herpes result for type 1 (I’ve gotten cold sores on my lips ever since I was a kid), but what shocked me was the herpes type 2 result, which didn’t come back positive, but it came back ‘equivocal’.
I called my doctor immediately and he tried to explain the equivocal result to me. He said I had 1 of 2 options – I could either come back in about 2-3 weeks to get another blood test to see if the equivocal result comes back any different, or he could send in a request to the lab to perform a further test on the blood they already had (some type of glycoprotein test or something). I told him to go forward with the glycoprotein test, and I also made an appointment to get my blood drawn again in a few weeks.
It has been about a month since that initial conversation with my doctor, and I am now impatiently awaiting my results to the second blood test. Here is an overview of the results to my first test (plus the additional glycoprotein test).
Herpes Simplex 1&2 Igm – 2.11
Hsv Type 2 Igg Ab – EQUIVOCAL
Hsv2 Glycoprotein G Igg – NEGATIVE
I guess my first question is: how accurate is the glycoprotein test? Is the negative result reliable? What would cause a false-negative in this type of test?
Also, I really really do not understand what an ‘equivocal’ result means… It just doesn’t make any sense to me. So a test comes back equivocal when they detect an antibody value anywhere between 0.91 - 1.09, right? Why isn’t that considered a positive result?! Because if you aren’t infected with Hsv2, then why in the world would your body be producing ANY amount of the Hsv2 antibodies?
I’m just so confused and frustrated. It seems like my doctor and the nurses are just kind of talking me in circles. I just want to know for sure what my status is, you know? I’m sick of this gray area. Hopefully this second blood test can provide me with some conclusive answers, but in the meantime I was hoping someone would be able to help me understand some of this. I’d greatly appreciate any type of response. Thank you!