Likelihood of positive IgG in 1 week?

[Anonymous356]

I recently had unprotected sex which, after beating myself up for the stupidity of that over and over and over again, had me concerned about STDs.  I went to have an anonymous test done 8 days after that incident.  From what I've read here and elsewhere, I think I've learned since then that 8 days was probably too early.  In any case, the test came back positive for HSV-1 and 2.  It was a HerpeSelect ELISA test.  HSV-1 didn't surprise me; I had had cold sores as a child.  But the HSV-2 blew me away.  I had a 3.48 index on the HSV2.  I've never shown signs of an outbreak, but I suppose that I could just well be one of those asymptomatic people that never knew they had it.  I plan to go and get an IgM test as well as a re-confirmation of the IgG test again in the next few days just to be doubly sure.

Two questions:
1) From what I've read, assuming that this is accurate, this suggests that I had HSV-2 PRIOR to that one encounter 8 days earlier.  Is there any way to quantify that?  Is that like 75% certain, 90%, or is that practically a 100% certainty?

2) Since that incident, I am still not showing any signs of an outbreak.  The only thing that is bothering me is a pain in my pelvis area.  It's a little shooting pain that comes and goes sporadically.  Along with this is a pain in my lower back, but I can't say for sure that that is new - I have lower back pain a lot - it feels just a little bit different than it did before, though I think that could just be my mind playing tricks on me (I've been under a lot of stress as a result of this HSV2 test).  Could this pain be related to either HSV2, or some other STD that tested falsely negative?  There is no burning sensation when I urinate, but every once in a while I feel what may be called a slight burning at the tip of the urethra when I am NOT urinating, like when I'm just sitting around doing nothing.  I'm wondering if this could be a UTI, which apparently in men is often caused by an STD.

Thanks in advance

[anxious_help]

"Fastest + result I think I can recall from studies was 9 days post encounter.  typically it takes 2-3 weeks for it to occur for about 1/2 of folks newly infected and the other 1/2 take several more weeks if not months for it to occur in. "

-Can you please clarify if these are # of days/weeks from ENCOUNTER or from first doctor visit for symptoms?  Thank you and sorry for hijacking old post.

[gracefromHHP]

congrats on finding out that you didn't have this at least before this encounter :)

grace

[Anonymous356]

WB results came in today.  They were negative.  So, the ELISA was a false positive.  I'm going to go back in a few months to re-confirm from this 1-time event a few weeks ago, but my level of concern is dramatically reduced right now.

Thanks, Grace, for your time and comments.

[gracefromHHP]

send me 2 heads of fresh leaf lettuce, 2 green peppers and a 1/4 peck back of jalapenos and we'll call it even for giving you those numbers :)

grace

[Anonymous356]

Well, I got blood drawn for the WB this morning.  Funny thing was I had to help the lady there at Quest to find the right test.  She had done a search for "Herpes", and it didn't come up... I told her to search for 34534 and she found it, and asked how I knew that number.  I told her I know a lot more about this whole disease than I ever wanted to, including test numbers :-(.

We'll see in a few days, I suppose.

[gracefromHHP]

the immunoblot and the regular herpeselect are almost the exact same - one certainly isn't better than the other. One just is done in labs that don't do enough testing to make it worth purchasing the equipment they need for the regular herpeselect to be done in.

Any lab or clinic that is certified can do the biokit. You can try calling the biokit manufacturers to see if any clinics near you purchase the test from them - 1-800-926-3533

Only the U of washington lab does the herpes WB in the US. Quest labs can send it for you - test# 34534.  You can also have your doctor order the test kit and draw the blood and send it out for you too.  http://depts.washington.edu/rspvirus/herpes.htm  is their website for more info.

All quest labs also do the herpes inhibition assay. It's not quite as good as the WB but it can be helpful in determining false positives most times.

grace

[Anonymous356]

Grace, how would you rate a HerpeSelect Immunoblot test relative to the BioKit or WB?  Is that reliable enough (and different enough) from the original ELISA test to be worthwhile?

[Anonymous356]

Thank you for the responses.  I appreciate it.

Where would you typically go to get a BioKit test?  Are these done by labs like LabCorp or Quest, or just in to your regular doctor's office, or somewhere else?

[gracefromHHP]

Fastest + result I think I can recall from studies was 9 days post encounter.  typically it takes 2-3 weeks for it to occur for about 1/2 of folks newly infected and the other 1/2 take several more weeks if not months for it to occur in.

If you get a definite positive confirmation of your hsv2 igg , it's more likely you had it and never knew it before this.

grace

[Anonymous356]

Yeah, that's about what I settled on yesterday anyway after writing the post - that even if I somehow happen to get a clear IgG now, I'd still not be out of the woods for a few months.  While I obviously want to be clear, the thought of dealing with that uncertainty for that long is daunting.  This has certainly been a lesson in irresponsibility.

If a retest now confirms HSV2, then the fact that I showed it via an IgG test at 8 days out seems to imply that I had this long before that one encounter.  Is that, for all intents and purposes, a certainty?  Or is it known to be possible for someone to test positive that quickly?

Thanks, Grace, for taking the time to answer

[gracefromHHP]

If you want to retest at this point to confirm your low positive hsv2, get a herpes biokit or a herpes WB.  If it comes back as a hsv2 negative you still have to repeat your blood test in a few months from this encounter.

grace

[Anonymous356]

Thanks for making me laugh - I need that right now.  Yes, I have scrutinized my genital area in far more detail lately than I ever have.  I must have asked myself 100 times by now, "was that always there?" or "did that always look like that?"

A clarification that I did not make in my initial post - this specific encounter 8 days prior was with someone that I did not know; it was a one time stupid, stupid thing for even more stupid reasons.  Anyway, prior to this test, I would have for certain said that I did not have any STDs (which I now realize that 90% of the people with HSV2 would say as well).  But, I am in a long term relationship with someone else right now.  I have had other partners in the past, and my current partner has had other partners as well.  So, there certainly is opportunity for past exposure.  I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether I JUST got this from that 1 time event, or whether it had been there all along.  I've not had sex with my current partner since this event, as I don't want to take the chance of passing this on to her if I do in fact have it and she does not.

I'm going crazy right now by myself (and she can tell that I'm acting strangely), and while I'm willing to stand up and admit the indiscretion, painful as that will be, I neither want to pass this on to her if it is real nor make her as insane with worry as I am now if it's not real.  With that in mind, would another IgG test for me in another week or so still be a waste of time?  I'm not sure that I can continue with this stress for a few more months.  I've lost a lot of weight in just this past week stressing over this.

And I read the links you attached, and will forego the IgM test.

Thanks again

[gracefromHHP]

do not go back for the igm test. it's a waste of time and money.  http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/248394  is a prior post on it by HHH that explains in detail why it's a waste of your time.

At this point I'd wait another couple of months and repeat your herpes hsv2 igg. You had a low positive that may or may not be accurate. Since you had a recent encounter, you'd only have to repeat it anyways so best to just wait and test  once and be done with it.   http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Confusing-Igg-Test-Results/show/771141  is a prior post on low positives and why we encourage additional testing for them.

I think your back issues are your usual underlying back issues and your body just having a fun time driving you crazy at the moment. You also probably are doing a lot more advanced yoga type positions trying to see all of your genital area to look for signs of herpes too which isn't helping.  

grace