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Genital herpes or not?
Can someone help me out? Okay, it's a long story. I'm in a long term relationship (almost 10 years) and in 2008 we briefly separated and I ended up having a one night stand with an acquaintance (early september), who's quite a player. There was some major genital grinding, unprotected oral sex (both way) and a few seconds of unprotected vaginal penetration. Then he put a condom on, but never ejaculated. He said he was STD free and used to get tested every 6 months or so.
As for my regular partner, he had sex with other woman previously (around 2, 3 women). I never spotted any genital or oral abnormal symptoms in him during this 10 year period.
So I had the one night stand and I freaked out about STDs, specially HIV (I didn't even consider herpes at the time). I remember feeling kinda raw for a couple of days later, but nothing extraordinary. Two days later I also felt some lower back pain, but the doctor said it was a muscle strain and gave me some advil or something like that. I went to my GYN a couple of weeks later (late september) and everything was apparently ok. She even told me that if I had a STD I would be showing symptoms by 2 weeks. Still, I had some blood work for the usual STDs, all ok.
By then, me and my partner were back together and we decided to resume sex with condom, just to be on the safe side. But when my GYN told me everything was ok, we stopped using condom.
So...around 10 weeks after the one night stand (mid november), and around two weeks after having sex with my regular partner, I get a bad flu and a sore throat. I think that a week before that I experienced some groin pain, but I never thought it could be swollen nodes - maybe it was. I was also getting some discharge (thought about yeast, which is recurrent to me). A couple of weeks before I had had my pap smear and my doctor mentioned yeast, but nothing about sores/bumps. So during my 2nd or 3rd flu day I decided to take a look at my vagina and I spotted several flat sores, reddish ones. They didn't hurt at the time. I freak out and saw my (useless) GYN the other day. She said I had some yeast going on and it was probably from scratching my vulva or maybe from masturbation the day before. I asked about herpes, but she didn't think so. Gave me a bunch of yeast medicine to take/apply.
The sores eventually turned into canker sore things and urinating was excruciating. So around 5-6 days into the "outbreak" my GYN decides to swab a sore and my cervix, already convinced it was herpes. Prescribed me valtrex after the swab.
The results: my PCR swab was negative for HSV1 and HSV2. A week after the onset, I mistakenly had one of those older non type specific tests - HSV1 was like 1.2 and HSV2 was 0.6. A month later I had a HerpeSelect - HSV1 3.5, HSV2 equivocal. Another month later, HSV1 1.5, HSV2 0.4. All IgG, no IgM was performed.
My regular partner tested HSV1 3.0, HSV2 0.6. The acquaintance got tested 4 months after our encounter, negative for HSV1 and HSV2, IgG and IgM. I never had other sexual partners. They both sent me copies of their results.
So we were officially confused. During that year, I had several other blood tests, and so did my boyfriend. Always HSV1+, HSV2-. I also convinced my one night stand to have a HerpeSelect almost two years before our encounter and his HSV2 was like 0.5 or 0.6.
Over a year after the incident, I spot another red sore in my vulva (during sex with my boyfriend, to make things worse). The same thing happens - red sore that turns into a painful canker sore, during an episode of flu/sore throat. GYN wouldn't see me so I missed the chance of swabbing it again. Haven't had another episode since then.
So I'm pretty convinced I have genital herpes and I'm patiently waiting for another outbreak to be swabbed. The question is - who did I catch it from, considering the whole timeline I described above? Shouldn't the blood test be showing positive for HSV2 for me or my partners? Can anyone shed a light on what might be going on? I feel like I did everything I could but I still have no answers. =(
As for my regular partner, he had sex with other woman previously (around 2, 3 women). I never spotted any genital or oral abnormal symptoms in him during this 10 year period.
So I had the one night stand and I freaked out about STDs, specially HIV (I didn't even consider herpes at the time). I remember feeling kinda raw for a couple of days later, but nothing extraordinary. Two days later I also felt some lower back pain, but the doctor said it was a muscle strain and gave me some advil or something like that. I went to my GYN a couple of weeks later (late september) and everything was apparently ok. She even told me that if I had a STD I would be showing symptoms by 2 weeks. Still, I had some blood work for the usual STDs, all ok.
By then, me and my partner were back together and we decided to resume sex with condom, just to be on the safe side. But when my GYN told me everything was ok, we stopped using condom.
So...around 10 weeks after the one night stand (mid november), and around two weeks after having sex with my regular partner, I get a bad flu and a sore throat. I think that a week before that I experienced some groin pain, but I never thought it could be swollen nodes - maybe it was. I was also getting some discharge (thought about yeast, which is recurrent to me). A couple of weeks before I had had my pap smear and my doctor mentioned yeast, but nothing about sores/bumps. So during my 2nd or 3rd flu day I decided to take a look at my vagina and I spotted several flat sores, reddish ones. They didn't hurt at the time. I freak out and saw my (useless) GYN the other day. She said I had some yeast going on and it was probably from scratching my vulva or maybe from masturbation the day before. I asked about herpes, but she didn't think so. Gave me a bunch of yeast medicine to take/apply.
The sores eventually turned into canker sore things and urinating was excruciating. So around 5-6 days into the "outbreak" my GYN decides to swab a sore and my cervix, already convinced it was herpes. Prescribed me valtrex after the swab.
The results: my PCR swab was negative for HSV1 and HSV2. A week after the onset, I mistakenly had one of those older non type specific tests - HSV1 was like 1.2 and HSV2 was 0.6. A month later I had a HerpeSelect - HSV1 3.5, HSV2 equivocal. Another month later, HSV1 1.5, HSV2 0.4. All IgG, no IgM was performed.
My regular partner tested HSV1 3.0, HSV2 0.6. The acquaintance got tested 4 months after our encounter, negative for HSV1 and HSV2, IgG and IgM. I never had other sexual partners. They both sent me copies of their results.
So we were officially confused. During that year, I had several other blood tests, and so did my boyfriend. Always HSV1+, HSV2-. I also convinced my one night stand to have a HerpeSelect almost two years before our encounter and his HSV2 was like 0.5 or 0.6.
Over a year after the incident, I spot another red sore in my vulva (during sex with my boyfriend, to make things worse). The same thing happens - red sore that turns into a painful canker sore, during an episode of flu/sore throat. GYN wouldn't see me so I missed the chance of swabbing it again. Haven't had another episode since then.
So I'm pretty convinced I have genital herpes and I'm patiently waiting for another outbreak to be swabbed. The question is - who did I catch it from, considering the whole timeline I described above? Shouldn't the blood test be showing positive for HSV2 for me or my partners? Can anyone shed a light on what might be going on? I feel like I did everything I could but I still have no answers. =(
Thanks, Grace. I'll continue the famvir then...as I said, it can do no harm. And I'm willing to try anything to make this pain so away faster. I already had to pay 200 dollars to have the pcr, famvir looks non expensive next to it lol
The main ulcer is almost 1cm, it's the biggest one I have ever had. And there are also two or three pinpoint ulcers close to it. God, I hate this, whatever this is. It itches, it hurts.
I'll have the PCR results by thursday, hopefully it will tell the story now.
The main ulcer is almost 1cm, it's the biggest one I have ever had. And there are also two or three pinpoint ulcers close to it. God, I hate this, whatever this is. It itches, it hurts.
I'll have the PCR results by thursday, hopefully it will tell the story now.
when you take them within 6 hours of the start of symptoms, it helps to avoid a full blown ob for many people. it's fine to start them at this time if it makes you feel better to do so.
So...here I am again. Friday 13 brought me another outbreak. Yet again during a cold/flu episode. I started to be sick on thursday - and then this saturday morning (like 3AM!) I spotted a very discrete bump in my left labia minora. It was slighly whitish, but it looked much more like a clogged pore or a pimple. Not the blister I was expecting.
I knew something was wrong so I went to a lab this morning (a few hours after spotting the bump) to get it swabbed. It was so small that the nurse had a hard time finding it...but she swabbed the left labia with those cotton swabs, hopefully she got it right.
A couple of hours later the bump must have popped and turned into a flat red sore. The usual!! But I must say that this one is feeling much worse than we other ones... =/ Very painful and it's a pretty large sore. And it's sorta bleeding.
Of course I'll wait for the pcr results but I honestly cannot think of anything other than herpes. It behvaves very much like it and it only appears during illness. I'll keep you guys posted about the results.
In the meantime, I decided to start famvir, hoping it will make the outbreak shorter (although I'm not sure this is herpes, I thought it could do not harm). But then I read the package insert and it said something about antivirals only being useful if taken within 6 hours of symptoms. So episodic therapy won't do any good if taken after 6 hrs? Should I stop famvir then?
Thanks guys. Feeling very upset right now. =/
I knew something was wrong so I went to a lab this morning (a few hours after spotting the bump) to get it swabbed. It was so small that the nurse had a hard time finding it...but she swabbed the left labia with those cotton swabs, hopefully she got it right.
A couple of hours later the bump must have popped and turned into a flat red sore. The usual!! But I must say that this one is feeling much worse than we other ones... =/ Very painful and it's a pretty large sore. And it's sorta bleeding.
Of course I'll wait for the pcr results but I honestly cannot think of anything other than herpes. It behvaves very much like it and it only appears during illness. I'll keep you guys posted about the results.
In the meantime, I decided to start famvir, hoping it will make the outbreak shorter (although I'm not sure this is herpes, I thought it could do not harm). But then I read the package insert and it said something about antivirals only being useful if taken within 6 hours of symptoms. So episodic therapy won't do any good if taken after 6 hrs? Should I stop famvir then?
Thanks guys. Feeling very upset right now. =/
please be sure to stop back when you do get answers to post about it in this post so that others reading get "the rest of the story" :)
best of luck!
best of luck!
Thank you very much, Grace. I guess after two negative PCR swabs and many negative blood tests for HSV2, it's time to move on and find another cause for my ulcers.
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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.
