Herpes? Irritation? Need some help!

[Jjmar330]

Guys/Gals thank you in advance for your help.  On the 28th of March I received unprotected oral sex from a gal.  I don't know much about her history and this was an idiotic mistake.  We also kissed deeply however no sexual intercourse took place.  Fast forward and two weeks later I came down with a sore throat, felt sick, slight fever, etc...I immediately became anxious/paranoid and about three weeks later went and got tested for STD's.  Everything came back negative except HSV1 was at equivocal at .97.   A week later (29th of April) I went back and got the same tests.  This time HSV1 was now 1.01 (still equivocal) (Quest labs).  Keep in mind I have never had a cold sore in my life and have never tested anything other than negative for HSV1 (previous life insurance tests, etc) so I assumed I got HSV1 from her.  At about 7 weeks post incident I noticed a red area/irritation (not raised) on the R side of my penile head maybe 1mm in size.  I started to feel tingling coming from this area.  There was no ulcerations/scabbing/oozing...nothing just constant tingling/sensitivity.  AFter a week I went into a walk in clinic and the NP stated he didn't see anything, ran more STD tests which were negative and gave me some antibiotics.  These didn't help and after a few days I went back and he said well it could be HSV1 and gave me acyclovir which I took but it didn't seem to do anything.  Within 2 weeks the tingling stopped however the area still seems to be a little irritated/red (not the same as surrounding tissue).  I also went to an MD Derm and he said he wasn't 100% sure what it was but that the area had some erythema.  He also asked me if sex and/or stress seems to make it worse.  He stated that some men have sensitive areas after oral sex and prescribed hydrocortisone cream and lidocaine which didn't seem to help.  After hearing him tell me he was confident it wasn't herpes (Said the blood tests aren't positive and is far too low a level) I felt like things got better (no tingling anymore but the redness seemed to stay).  Fast forward about 6 weeks than the tingling starts again on the 4th of July.  Keep in mind I do deal with depression/anxiety/ocd issues that def. are worse in the summer (reverse SAD) so am highly stressed plus I own a large business.  For 3+ weeks this constant tingling/irritation went on and nothing helped.  I even had refilled my acyclovir thinking in my head this is hsv1 and took 200mg 3x/day for 7 days.  This did nothing and it lasted 2 weeks after that.  About the 2nd week into this (7/15) I got into a urologist who looked and said she didn't see much of anything but little redness and mentioned using hydrocortisone cream.  She said the penile area can be sensitive/damaged during rough oral sex.  I do recall feeling my penis being irritated/sensitive while the gal gave me oral sex.  She also said if it was herpes it would be very atypical or a subclinical outbreak.  She also retested me for the STD's and this time (15+ weeks post exposure) and this time everything came up negative including the HSV1 (below .90) (Quest labs again).  About July 23rd/24th the tingling seemed to stop and this time I started to feel an itch near my anus.  Inspection revealed possible hemorrhoids (bluish bulged area) and a little scrape where I saw a spec of blood come out.  I have had a history of hemorrhoids in the past. I did not see any lesions/bumps/ulcerations.  Opening the anus revealed redness (nothing I feel is abnormal).  Itch seemed to be worse after wiping after a bowel movement and then towards the end of the day after working many hours (physical work).  Witch hazel pads seem to help some. About 7-8 days the itching kept on then disappeared and all the sudden I feel the tingling in that same spot (which never seems to fade ever and at a times maybe looks back to 90% normal).  
I talked to Terri Warren and am going to take a western blot this next week to figure out if I indeed do have HSV.  
I dont know exactly what I'm wanting but some guidance.  This issue has brought me tremendous angst/depression/anxiety.  It consumes my thoughts as I have always been careful and in control and this is something I may have screwed up for the rest of my life.  
Does herpes tend to come on (first episode) 7 weeks after contact.  IS it possible for a herpes lesion to remain for months at a time?  I never really started examining my penis until after this incident but this could have possibly been there before things happened).  Does herpes tend to come on longer the 2nd and 3rd outbreak.  Do you believe I have this anal now too?  I have never seen any ulcerations/crusting/ "normal" herpetic lesions.  There has been 0 pain other than just sensitivity/irritation.  I have not had any swollen lymph nodes in my groin area or sciatica/back pain/etc.  This is the side that does rub up against my underwear (things hang to the L) so it is constantly against clothing.  I will also add that around the time I saw this girl I switched from 100% cotton underwear to a 90% spandex/10% cotton brief.  

I just need to know what is going on.  M

[larry123456]

I will add that the worst thing about herpes is the stigma and almost feeling abandoned by society.  With my experience with HSV1, rather than having a support group, I lived with herpes and the irritation it caused for a year while the support group I should have had shunned me and told me to seek mental help because I apparently "wanted herpes", simply because I couldn't prove I had it.  Even after being diagnosed by culture I felt shunned because my experience was different than others.  What if, maybe just maybe, HSV1 is cloudy and testing for it sucks?  What if, maybe just maybe, some of these odd undiagnosable cases are like mine?  I have a feeling a lot of people have HSV1 genitally and don't even know it, and I have a feeling the diagnostic procedures for HSV1 suck and are much different than that of HSV2.

[larry123456]

Grace has personal experience with HSV2, which in my experience seems much different from HSV1 which I have.  I have always blood tested negative (including western blot) and never had a classic outbreak.  After surgery I had odd red bumps that cultured for HSV1.  I had pain for almost six months after my HSV1 exposure, the general irritation lasted for two years.  I, like you, was tested probably close to a dozen times and seen by probably 6-7 providers, including a consultation with Terri Warren.  I would have been happy to believe it had nothing to do with herpes, which everyone kept telling me, if the irritation didn't persist for so long.  Happily I can say that 4 years later I rarely see signs of HSV1 anymore.  I don't think everything is so black and white, especially when it's hsv1.

[Jjmar330]

Grace can herpes reoccurrences happen at the same spot. That area is always slightly redder than surrounding tissue.  It never leaves however the raw irritated feeling will come on for a few days then leave for a few days.  Does herpes do this?  Or is it in or near infection site?  Just when I'm feeling good the damn raw irritated feeling comes back.

[Jjmar330]

Thank you G!  I will take the western blot and go from there. Blessings!

[gracefromHHP]

equivocal is negative. I'd certainly not be remotely concerned with your test results especially in light of your lack of symptoms suspicious for herpes.  a provider would have no problem seeing herpes lesions from a newly acquired infection. A herpes lesion from back in March would be long gone by now and recurrences heal within a few days to a week.

[Jjmar330]

Thank you Grace.  I've seen you comment and provide guidance to many. You are a light and I am grateful for you!  

The thing is I tested equivocal twice. Would the one week of acyclovir taken a week before my last hsv1 test have made it negative?  

There is so much conflicting info you read on how herpes presents.  My "spot" doesn't seem to ever go away.  Just needing full closure I guess

[gracefromHHP]

You have been seen by multiple providers who really don't see much of anything going on. Your testing is negative repeatedly. really, no reason to suspect herpes and you really should put this whole incident behind you and move forward. You are wasting your time and money on testing and treatment from the sounds of things.

grace

[Jjmar330]

Guys I also am worried.  If this is HSV1 I though *** was supposed to be mild.  Maybe one or two bad breakouts (if what I do have is HSV than why isn't it bad) then it goes dormant and is quite infrequent.  Seems like I am having constant "symptoms" or prodromal period with no actual lesions ulcerating.  Just some redness/irritation spot about 1mm big on the R side of my penile head.  I don't seem to be getting any answers and this tingling is driving me nuts.  The last time I had it for 3 weeks I was taking upwards of 3grams of lysine per day and that seemed to do nothing.  Acyclovir didn't help.  Not sure what to do.