Aa
genital HSV1 or something else?
Terri,
quick run down...
33 year old married male
July
fairly short (3-4 min) unprotected oral sex with a "friend". no direct genital to genital skin contact at all, only a bit of rubbing through underwear.
hadn't notice any obvious symptoms of any STDs, but after confessing in September, I had a full STD panel done (minus herpes as not enough time had passed from last sexual contact). at 9 weeks post incident all STD tests came back negative.
mid Oct had 12 week HerpeSelect test
2 days after blood draw (I was experiencing incredible anxiety at this point) began to have frequent urination along with general aches (not sure if it was 'flu like symptoms however). day or two later i experiencing some painful urination that waxed & waned over the following 48 hours. at it's worst i would say it was about a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. not excruciating like a catheter or anything, but certainly discomfort. the next day I received the results, it came back + for HSV1 (i've had a long history of cold sores, so this was to be expected) and Neg for HSV2. again, as expected considering the exposure.
while my anxiety subsided a bit with the results, some discomfort still persisted. thinking it might be a UTI, i went to urgent care 5 days after symptoms began and they did a UA and gave me 14 days of doxycycline. UA came back normal and the doxy seemed to help some as painful urination subsided after about a week and a half from onset.
after I finished the doxy I was still experiencing some general aches & pains both in my shaft but also in my perineum. hot baths seemed to help ease the perineal discomfort, as did ibruprofen.
4 weeks later I had a 16 week test done, same results as expected, + HSV1 / - HSV2.
general groin pain/discomfort persisted through 5 weeks, so i saw a urologist yesterday for possible prostatitis. DRE was normal but was given a 3 week dose of Flomax & Cipro.
continued....
quick run down...
33 year old married male
July
fairly short (3-4 min) unprotected oral sex with a "friend". no direct genital to genital skin contact at all, only a bit of rubbing through underwear.
hadn't notice any obvious symptoms of any STDs, but after confessing in September, I had a full STD panel done (minus herpes as not enough time had passed from last sexual contact). at 9 weeks post incident all STD tests came back negative.
mid Oct had 12 week HerpeSelect test
2 days after blood draw (I was experiencing incredible anxiety at this point) began to have frequent urination along with general aches (not sure if it was 'flu like symptoms however). day or two later i experiencing some painful urination that waxed & waned over the following 48 hours. at it's worst i would say it was about a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. not excruciating like a catheter or anything, but certainly discomfort. the next day I received the results, it came back + for HSV1 (i've had a long history of cold sores, so this was to be expected) and Neg for HSV2. again, as expected considering the exposure.
while my anxiety subsided a bit with the results, some discomfort still persisted. thinking it might be a UTI, i went to urgent care 5 days after symptoms began and they did a UA and gave me 14 days of doxycycline. UA came back normal and the doxy seemed to help some as painful urination subsided after about a week and a half from onset.
after I finished the doxy I was still experiencing some general aches & pains both in my shaft but also in my perineum. hot baths seemed to help ease the perineal discomfort, as did ibruprofen.
4 weeks later I had a 16 week test done, same results as expected, + HSV1 / - HSV2.
general groin pain/discomfort persisted through 5 weeks, so i saw a urologist yesterday for possible prostatitis. DRE was normal but was given a 3 week dose of Flomax & Cipro.
continued....
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I believe the likelihood that you contracted new HSV 1 genitally is incredibly low, and if you were my patient in person, I would tell you to take herpes off your list of concerns. It also just doesn't fit at all that you would get HSV 1 symptoms for the first time so long after the encounter. So now, I'm not worried about you having HSV 1 genitally.
I'm also confident about your HSV 2 status. Nothing you described in your encounter is risky for HSV 2 acquisition.
As far as suppression for HSV 1 is concerned, I think there is a chance she could still contract this from you, from your mouth, but if she hasn't in all these years, then I think it is unlikely. How worried is she about that? If she is really worried, you could take daily suppression.
Did the antibiotics from the urologist make a difference in your symptoms? That's also what I would have done for you - worked on possible prostatitis.
Terri
I'm also confident about your HSV 2 status. Nothing you described in your encounter is risky for HSV 2 acquisition.
As far as suppression for HSV 1 is concerned, I think there is a chance she could still contract this from you, from your mouth, but if she hasn't in all these years, then I think it is unlikely. How worried is she about that? If she is really worried, you could take daily suppression.
Did the antibiotics from the urologist make a difference in your symptoms? That's also what I would have done for you - worked on possible prostatitis.
Terri
I had a rash on my left bum cheek afta havin a period (I use pads) about six months ago (I was not having sex with any1 at this time) my doctor said he thought it was a bacterial infection and gave me antibiotics and it went away recently I did have sex after 21 mths (I don't fink he has anything) I had a period a week after (wearing pads) and the rash has came back the same place I went to the gu clinic 2day and the doctor said it could be herpes I am really scared and its on my mind constantly could I just get sum advice and to be told wether or not it is in sum way plz I only 18 and not had sex a lot and I don't like the thought of having herpes :( anyyy opinions thoughts advice would be very appreciated plzzz
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, don't start antivirals! It may indeed screw up your test, and you want to be able to count on that test, for sure.
If you do have HSV 1 genitally, I would so very surprised if it was causing all these symptoms.
When you get your western blot results, you can let me know, OK?
This will be my last post on this particular thread.
Terri
If you do have HSV 1 genitally, I would so very surprised if it was causing all these symptoms.
When you get your western blot results, you can let me know, OK?
This will be my last post on this particular thread.
Terri
actually the last few days some of the pain has been a more of a deep burning type feeling...
i really would love to believe it's not genital herpes, but am at a loss as to what else it could be.
i plan to have a Western Blot done at 6 months just to rule out HSV2 more in my mind and for the sake of moving forward with my wife.
the annoying thing is, i'm honestly fairly at peace with the possibility of having GHVS1, but these consistent back/buttock/leg pains are starting to take a toll on me emotionally. it's been nearly 3 weeks now and they bother me on a daily basis. luckily they respond to Ibruprofen some at least.
part of me wants to start on antivirals to see if that helps too, but i don't want to mess with them before i feel like I can more confidently rule out HSV2 in my head.
i know this type of pain is not typically a herpes "symptom", but it's clear from other peoples posts on this forum and others, that it does happen to some people on occasion.
i've got a pimple like spot on my right butt cheek that i'm gonna keep an eye on this week (it hurts to the touch, but so do ingrown hairs/pimples often) at least.
i really would love to believe it's not genital herpes, but am at a loss as to what else it could be.
i plan to have a Western Blot done at 6 months just to rule out HSV2 more in my mind and for the sake of moving forward with my wife.
the annoying thing is, i'm honestly fairly at peace with the possibility of having GHVS1, but these consistent back/buttock/leg pains are starting to take a toll on me emotionally. it's been nearly 3 weeks now and they bother me on a daily basis. luckily they respond to Ibruprofen some at least.
part of me wants to start on antivirals to see if that helps too, but i don't want to mess with them before i feel like I can more confidently rule out HSV2 in my head.
i know this type of pain is not typically a herpes "symptom", but it's clear from other peoples posts on this forum and others, that it does happen to some people on occasion.
i've got a pimple like spot on my right butt cheek that i'm gonna keep an eye on this week (it hurts to the touch, but so do ingrown hairs/pimples often) at least.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I would say that the nerve pain people feel is NOT similar to muscle cramps. I'm not aware of you using anything but one account, no worries.
Terri
Terri
btw... i have to say, this recent onset of muscle aches/cramps from my back through my calves definitely has me a bit unsure...
i'd love to believe it's nothing, but it seems a lot of people experience these type of symptoms :(
i'd love to believe it's nothing, but it seems a lot of people experience these type of symptoms :(
sorry about that mixup, i wasn't aware it wasn't kosher to use a second account (the other one was a bit too obvious with my username so i made another one to ask this question).
this is my only account going forward, fwiw
this is my only account going forward, fwiw
oops... that was under my other account... "busted" heh ;)
well that certainly makes me feel incredibly better already, thanks for that ;)
as for my wifes concern about contracting HSV1 orally, basically nil. She and I have talked about this whole thing a handful of times and like I said, she's been an absolute saint about it all and assured me that whatever happens, we'll roll with the punches.
as for the antibiotics, i just took my first full dosage of them yesterday but so far urination has definitely improved noticeably. unfortunately after just one dosage of the Flomax I experienced one of the side effects, which is retrograde ejaculation, so needless to say i don't plan on sticking with that. He switched me to Alfuzosin instead, so we'll see how that goes.
as for the back aches & leg cramps/pains, i'll just keep my eye on them and hope that with stretching/heat/otc pain meds they subside soon. when people talk about "nerve pain" of those areas caused by herpes, it seems like they usually are referring to a more tingling/itching/shooting type pain and not discomfort that feels like a tight muscle or ache, would you say that is accurate?
I will continue to check in on occasion in this thread if you don't mind... and for my own peace of mind I still may have a Western Blot done at some point, even if i'm like 99.9999% confident it'll come back just the same as the previous two ELISAs.
thanks again for all that you do and all the knowledge you share. as i'm sure you've noticed, the accurate and concise knowledge of this topic is certainly few and far between online, so it's great to have such a resource as yourself "at our fingertips".
well that certainly makes me feel incredibly better already, thanks for that ;)
as for my wifes concern about contracting HSV1 orally, basically nil. She and I have talked about this whole thing a handful of times and like I said, she's been an absolute saint about it all and assured me that whatever happens, we'll roll with the punches.
as for the antibiotics, i just took my first full dosage of them yesterday but so far urination has definitely improved noticeably. unfortunately after just one dosage of the Flomax I experienced one of the side effects, which is retrograde ejaculation, so needless to say i don't plan on sticking with that. He switched me to Alfuzosin instead, so we'll see how that goes.
as for the back aches & leg cramps/pains, i'll just keep my eye on them and hope that with stretching/heat/otc pain meds they subside soon. when people talk about "nerve pain" of those areas caused by herpes, it seems like they usually are referring to a more tingling/itching/shooting type pain and not discomfort that feels like a tight muscle or ache, would you say that is accurate?
I will continue to check in on occasion in this thread if you don't mind... and for my own peace of mind I still may have a Western Blot done at some point, even if i'm like 99.9999% confident it'll come back just the same as the previous two ELISAs.
thanks again for all that you do and all the knowledge you share. as i'm sure you've noticed, the accurate and concise knowledge of this topic is certainly few and far between online, so it's great to have such a resource as yourself "at our fingertips".
continued...
What is the likelyhood what I experienced was an initial outbreak of gHSV1 3.5 months after exposure? no noticeable lesions still at this point (and i've been looking like crazy), even 2 different GP's didn't see anything to indicate herpes in examining my penis.
i've experienced quite a bit more back pain than usual as of late, and some calf cramps (more noticeable when i'm asleep), and shooting heel pains some mornings.
my wife had a HSV test done and was negative for both (we figured she had would have caught my oHSV1 after 13 years...). i'm a bit worried i've contacted gHSV1 from this regretful incident, even tho i know contacting gHSV1 with established oHSV1 antibodies is "unlikely".
considering the contact that occurred, i'm fairly confident of my negative HSV2 status, though i'm still thinking of doing a western blot at 6 months... would you recommend this?.
i'm just concerned that I have contacted gHSV1 and would very much like to not spread this to my wife. she is being incredibly understanding about everything, and realizes that she ran the risk of contacting HSV1 from me orally or genitally before now still. condoms aren't really in our plan, but what about suppression therapy? i've not read much concrete info about antivirals and HSV1 effectiveness.
i know the risks of transmission are significantly lower than gHSV2, but then again the risk of contacting gHSV1 on top of oHSV1 from a single exposure is supposedly unlikely or "very low risk" too, so you can understand my concern.
i've come to terms with the possibility that I contacted gHSV1, but i really want to move on from this, and i'm working hard at it, but there's still some lingering "what if" type questioning in my head unfortunately.
any advice and insight would be incredibly appreciated.
What is the likelyhood what I experienced was an initial outbreak of gHSV1 3.5 months after exposure? no noticeable lesions still at this point (and i've been looking like crazy), even 2 different GP's didn't see anything to indicate herpes in examining my penis.
i've experienced quite a bit more back pain than usual as of late, and some calf cramps (more noticeable when i'm asleep), and shooting heel pains some mornings.
my wife had a HSV test done and was negative for both (we figured she had would have caught my oHSV1 after 13 years...). i'm a bit worried i've contacted gHSV1 from this regretful incident, even tho i know contacting gHSV1 with established oHSV1 antibodies is "unlikely".
considering the contact that occurred, i'm fairly confident of my negative HSV2 status, though i'm still thinking of doing a western blot at 6 months... would you recommend this?.
i'm just concerned that I have contacted gHSV1 and would very much like to not spread this to my wife. she is being incredibly understanding about everything, and realizes that she ran the risk of contacting HSV1 from me orally or genitally before now still. condoms aren't really in our plan, but what about suppression therapy? i've not read much concrete info about antivirals and HSV1 effectiveness.
i know the risks of transmission are significantly lower than gHSV2, but then again the risk of contacting gHSV1 on top of oHSV1 from a single exposure is supposedly unlikely or "very low risk" too, so you can understand my concern.
i've come to terms with the possibility that I contacted gHSV1, but i really want to move on from this, and i'm working hard at it, but there's still some lingering "what if" type questioning in my head unfortunately.
any advice and insight would be incredibly appreciated.
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Forum
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.
