First positive for Herpes type 2, now I'm negative?

[Brogers87]

At my annual check up this month I had a full STD panel done and came back positive for Herpes type 2. The antibody reaction was at a level of 4.58. At the time I didn't understand that an antibody reaction that high is unlikely to be a mistake / false positive, so 3 days later I went to a different doctor and had another STD panel done to be sure. I'm a little more educated on the subject now, but I decided to see what the second test said anyway, mostly curious about the antibody reaction level. To my surprise the second STD panel came back negative for everything. It didn't show the levels of antibody reactions, it just listed everything as negative. Do all labs have the same standards as to what is considered negative? And if so, how could I test so high on one test and test so low as to be considered negative on another test only 3 days apart? Both test are igg, and they were done at different labs. Thanks in advance.

[auntiejessi]

Well, that's confusing. You have some options here:

Take another IgG to be a tie breaker, so to speak.

Take a Western Blot test. I just linked this for another person, and I don't know how expensive this is, and if you decide to go this route, can you let us know how it goes? https://westoverheights.com/herpes/getting-a-western-blot/ You can also ask your doctor to do the Western Blot test. If your doctor will do it, the instructions are here - https://depts.washington.edu/herpes/pages/frequently_asked_questions

Are you sure the second test included a herpes test? It sounds like you are, just make sure. Not all STD testing includes herpes.

[Brogers87]

Thank you auntijessi. Yes I'm sure. The second test looked for both hsv type 1 and two. A friend of a friend who is a nurse practitioner also suggested a third test. She said clearly one of them is a mistake, likely the one that came back negative. I'll get a third one on my next payday and post the results here.