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Question on igg results

Hello


I recently had a herpes blood test. The igg for hsv1 was 0.99 and the igg for hsv2 was 13.30. The igms are still pending. The igg is for past infections from what I understand   I’ve never had symptoms of hsv2 , is it possible it’s a false positive?
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207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
It's possible, though it's a high enough score that it's more likely that it's not. Terri Warren, one of the leading experts on herpes, and who also does Western Blots, the confirmatory test, has seen a 14 be a false positive.

The IgM is a terribly unreliable test, and when it comes in, ignore it. Act like it wasn't done. It's wrong at least 80-90% of the time.

You will likely have a hard time getting a doctor to do a WB with an index value of 13.30. Terri will do it, though. You can contact her here - https://westoverheights.com/getting-a-herpes-western-blot/ You will have to self pay, and it's expensive. In the end, you will have to pay several hundred dollars.

Why were you testing?
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Thank you for response. I had receiving protected oral 4 weeks ago and wanted peace of mind. Instead I got this. Above is my igg scores. Igms are not in yet.   I will definitely contact Terri on this
Oral sex is not a risk for hsv2, so if you do have it, it didn't come from that.

Your risk for any STD from protected oral is very, very low.

Let me know what happens with your WB. Good luck!
Thank you. I know this is a possible past infection but am skeptical since I’ve never had symptoms. I will keep you posted
Have an appt tomorrow with Terri. I’m just blown away that I could have been carrying this for years possibly and never had symptoms.  What the hell do I tell my wife
Well, I think the biggest issue is going to be why did you test, right? It's quite common that people never know they have it until a test proves it, but why were you testing for STDs - that's going to be what she's asking.

Have you recently had a physical? Any men's health stuff? Feel like you've had a cold sore?

You know your wife. What do you think would work for her? I'm not one to generally advocate just going in and confessing everything unless it's needed, and I don't think it's needed here. How were you tested? Did you go through your doctor or a testing site like LetsGetChecked?

If she asks to see the results, will it show your doc's name on it, or an STD testing site?

I'm glad you got in to quickly with Terri. :)
I mentioned to her I was going to get some blood work.  

Something they just came to me. I get a what I thought was a cyst on my butt check. It flares up from time to time. It started in 2014 and my boss thought it was mrsa but never tested in. I play hockey and share locker rooms with team mates all the time. My doc figured I caught as mrsa in a locker room. Maybe it’s hsv2???? Mind blown
And I went through stressfreestdtesting.com. They use Quest Diagnostic
When I typed boss I meant doc
It could be herpes. Next time you get that, get it swabbed to see. If it's actually a cyst, and not a blister, it may not be, but in either case, you need to find out what it is.

You didn't get herpes from sharing a locker room, but you could definitely get MRSA that way.

And thanks for the link - haven't heard of them before.

Good luck with Terri. Let me know how it goes.
I know you said disregard the igm but it came back negative on both hsv 1 and 2
Okay, well, we don't know if that means anything. If it were accurate, it would make sense, because oral sex isn't a risk for hsv2, and IgM antibodies drop off within a few weeks, so it wouldn't even apply to you anyway if the only vaginal or anal sex you've had recently is with your wife.

Understood. So now I wait for the Western Blot
Keep me posted. :)
Update my wife posted below .90 on hsv1 and hsv2.  Is it possible I got the hsv2 from the incident 4 plus weeks ago ??
No, you had protected oral.

While oral hsv2 does happen, it's uncommon, and when it does, it rarely recurs, rarely sheds, and almost never transmits. Since you used a condom, I would say this is a zero risk for hsv2, given how unlikely everything is.

Also, when you tested, it was about 3 weeks, correct? I wouldn't expect your index value to be that high at 3 weeks. Two weeks is about the bare minimum to test positive on an IgG, and it would take some time to get a higher score. If you do have hsv2, that would indicate a more established infection.

Does that make sense?
Yes it has helped. Thank you
It was almost four weeks when I tested
That doesn't change a lot. It might be a bit higher at 4 weeks than 3, but it's still early to get a high score like that.
Quick question. Is there any medications or health factors that could have made my igg score so high?  I do take blood pressure meds and likely have the forementioned mrsa
No, none of that would affect it.

What's happening with your WB?
I’m getting the blood drawn on Friday as the kit just came.
Oh that's very cool.

The IgG looks for antibodies by molecular weight. There are blood proteins - absolutely normal ones - that can sometimes trip up the test because they have similar molecular weights. I know that's what happens with the really low false positives - don't know about the higher ones.
Thank you for the info and support. You do a wonderful job!
Aww thanks. :)
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