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Avatar universal

need advice on hsv

my concern is the fact that i went to the dr and got tested for stds. well all my test came back negetative except my hsv tests.....my results were hsv1 5.25 and hsv2 3.49. ok i have had 2 cold sores lately but as far as genital symptoms i dont have any. but as reading all the previous forums now im a bit confused about my results. is it really possible that my hsv 2 results could be false negative, really what are the chances.this was my first positive test i have ever received and if im reading correctly it was done using herpeSelect and this is the only test that i have taken but from the other forums i'm seeing more about a wb test done at the university of washington in my case should i have a confirmation test done with them..........someone please help this confused individual shed some light to the situation
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101028 tn?1419603004
if we graded on spelling, even I'd be kicked off the forum...he he he

encourage your provider to read through the 2010 cdc herpes guidelines. it has info on the false positives and the herpes WB for them to increase their knowledge about this issue :)

let us know how your follow up testing goes :)

grace
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Avatar universal
PLEASE EXCUSE THE TYPOS I SHOULD HAVE PROOF READ IT BEFORE POSTING...ITS JUST PRETTY LATE AND MY EYES ARE HEAVY.......SO I APOLOGIZE
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Avatar universal
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE ON MY SITUATION...HOWEVER I DIDNT MEAN TO CAUSE A CONTROVERSY OVER THINGS, BUT IT SUPPLY ME WITH BENEFICIAL INFORMATION DUE TO VERSION OF DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEWS.  I WOULD LIKE TO GO ON IN SAY THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK AND THE TIME THE YOU ALL DEDICATE OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO GIVE ADVICE TO THOSE OF US THAT LACK KNOWLEDGE IN THE HERPES DEPARTMENT....I WAS A BLESSING FOR MY TO HAVE STUMBLED ACROSS THIS SITE AND I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL THAT I DID..WITH THAT BEING SAID MY FOLLOW UP APPIONTMENT VISIT WAS FRIDAY THE 13TH WITH THE DOCTOR (I ONLY KNEW MY RESULTS IN ADVANCE TO TO HAVING CONNECTIONS) SO TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY THAT I GOT TO SPEAK WITH MY NP ABOUT MY RESULTS...AND SHE WAS VERY OPEN TO MY SUGGESTION ABOUT THE WB TEST (ALTHOUGH SHE HAS NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE) SO WE DECIDED TO WAIT 3 MONTH DUE TO THE FACT MY PARTNER IS BEING IGNORANT ABOUT THE SITUATION AND SEEM TO THINK THAT IT CANT HAPPEN TO HIM, SO MAYBE ONE DAY HE WILL COME TO REALIZATION ABOUT THE SITUATION UNTIL THEN, IM TAKING ALL THE NECESSARY PROCAUTIONS AND THE STEPS THAT I NEED. BUT GETTING BACK TO MY CONVO WITH MY NP.....SHE WAS AMAZED WITH MY RESEARCH AND SHE NOT ONCE DOUBTED ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU GAVE ME GRACE TO SUGGEST TO HER, SO UNTIL THEN I WILL REFRAIN FROM SEXUAL RELATIONS OF COURSE AND PATIENTLY AWAIT MY TIME FRAME TO BE RETESTED......I STILL HAVENT HAD ANY OUTBREAKS AND IM NOT LOSING MY FAITH AND GOD AND PRAYERFULLY THIS WILL BECOME A FALSE NEGATIVE STORY....AGAIN I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND INFORMATION....I WILL KEEP YOU ALL POSTED ON MY OUTCOME AND WE WILL GO FROM THERE.....
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1174003 tn?1308160819
You stated: "my qualifications??? ummm im dealing with it. No outbreak ever, positive screen, and a two hour talk with my ob. and do not mis inform her with your bs. "

Okay congrats.  You and grace are both dealing with HSV.  However, her experince is more then likely longer than yours (based on your age).  She also happenes to attend STD conferences herself.  She is also a medical field herself and being that she is in that field she has been not only trained in understanding those tests but also has far greater understanding than most doctors on herpes.  Now your OB may not be up to date on her knowledge but regardless a two hour talk doesn't do much for Herpes.  Plus the OB speciality is OB not STD/Infectious Dieases.  

Just because something is common doesn't mean we don't take steps to prevent it.  The more steps we take to lesson the risk of transmission the more this will fade into nothing.  Granted yes a kid can get it from sharing.  But there is more to transmission than you think.  It's not "The virus touched my skin! Oh Noes! I am HSV positive now!".  I can tell you growing up I shared juice boxes and so forth.  Maybe or Maybe not I was exposed to the virus but I do not have a positive test.  

Actually some of the false positive issues are very well documented and easily to explain.  A lot goes into reading and interpreting results.  It isn't "This is your blood test and these are your results."  You I am sure don't know much about the medical field but taking a proper history is only one part of the story and the results are another.  The history gives you an idea of exposure and other elements.  Those that are trained in the testing and reading them can tell you based on the results in combination with further information what you are looking at for a true positive or false and if so which steps to go from there.  Because you aren't qualified to speak on such topics you have no idea what goes into it.   As for tracking it the virus is overall not life threating and can be managed with treatment.  But you would be amazed that studies are done to find out about what the population is like with HSV.  

You stated:" people with those out breaks typically are very ill or have
hiv AND hsv. a strong immune system is busy making antibodies to fight it, once youve been exposed for herpes its there for life. "

Can you provide a citation for this?  Those outbreaks sometimes seen are of kids with no infection that would compromise their immune system.  Outbreaks can and do look like those from time to time on different people.  However, the images shown online are mostly for medical students and yes are worst cases.  But you have again no medical knowledge or basis again to prove your point here.  You are fighting a very losing battle.  I can come up with at least 10 studies where people have had a very bad painful outbreak and have had no immune compromising factors such as HIV/AIDS.  Yes your immune system will attempt to fight the infection and manage it but not having a strong immune system doesn't mean that the virus will not reactivate.


You stated: "std are confusing and highly complex thats why so few have an actual cure. you WILL be okay. try not to stress just live your life. because chances are 1in3 the next partner you have has more than likely already been exposed. "

You are using incorrect terminalogy to stress your point.  Again this shows a lack of knowledge in the medical field.  Exposed means something different than infection.  Few things that you are exposed to generate an immune response in which the body is able to build the immunity and then fight the infection while clearing it from your system.  HSV is not one such virus.  We agree that STD's are confusing and highly complex.  This is why someone with knowledge more than a 2 hour discussion with a doctor who may be behind on the STD curve themselves shouldn't be arguing with someone who has had 10 plus years in the medical field and lives with both types of HSV and has herself been to many STD conferences.  The 3 Expert professionals we have here on MH (Dr. Hook, Dr. HHH, and Nurse Warren) have met grace.  You will also find that when a poster posts on our forums and goes to the expert forums neither of them ever disagrees with the advice given by grace.  Now that is 3 medical professionals 2 of whom have a MD in their name with 20 plus years in practice and dealing with STD's.  

Furthermore STD's that don't have a cure currently are the virus families.  We do not have a ability to KILL a virus. Nothing no infection with a virus from the flu to the common cold can we cure.  It isn't because they are complex it is because the way a virus works.  Once we learn to cure a virus we will be able to cure things like HIV/HSV and so forth.  However, the bacterial based STD's we do have a cure.  

You stated: "Im at a 3.25 so im sure know it all will go to say it was a false positive, not likely Ive retested every month the past year, all negative except three, so that means yes i have hsv2 and its active three times a year. get educated from an OB, someone who specializes in std testing,"

Wow you and/or your OB are REALLY misinformed on HSV IGG testing.  That doesn't mean you have 3 outbreaks a year!  That number means that the value from your strip and that of a control landed in that range.  If you likely have a false positive which I don't know your story nor am I trained in reading such tests however, a general comment would be you will test positive on the same IGG test and maybe other IGG tests as well that we use.  You need a more sensitive test such as the Western Blot that will tell you yes you have it or no you don't.  But even that will require someone who understands the testing to show what your true status is.  Your OB isn't the one for this.  How about talking to someone who deals with Herpes as their specialty such as Terri Warren or someone more qualified in the STD field.  

This is your way of dealing with it that is fine.  Our posters come to us for answers and providing them with the answer and asking them to take steps for confirmatory testing is in their best interest.  You would be amazed but even people who test positive on the HIV testing we still recommend to sometimes get a Western Blot test to confirm their status at some points.  Again that is best handled per individual and situation.  In your case telling someone that you have HSV without proper confirmatory testing if in the event you needed it.  Why go through something emoitionally if you don't know for fact you have something.  
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Avatar universal
sorry allow me to correct myself **the medical field does not mandate screening for it.**
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Avatar universal
my qualifications??? ummm im dealing with it. No outbreak ever, positive screen, and a two hour talk with my ob. and do not mis inform her with your bs. herpes can be contracted from ANY partner EVER had and as far as kissing your kids, they will likely end up with hsv1 any way at some point if they dont already have it. they can get it from someone at school who picked it up who knows where by simply sharing a juice box. it sounds HORRID but like i have explained it is so very common and if it was that big a concern it would be better tracked for prevention. too many people ALREADY have it, and many do not know. as for false negatives and positives, to be honest you should speak with an ob because its so complex to explain so many diffrent factors its an idiotic reassurance to ask people on here. I will say dont over react, you werent told you have HIV. you wont die from it, it will stay right in you, sometimes it will pose an outbreak and maybe never at all. please do note that outbreaks most all cases look NOTHING like the horror show when its googled. people with those out breaks typically are very ill or have hiv AND hsv. a strong immune system is busy making antibodies to fight it, once youve been exposed for herpes its there for life. im sure you have seen the hpv commercial, it makes allll that confusing, they show the worst cancer and genital warts but the fact of hpv is there are diffrent strains of it, if someone ever has a wart even on their finger its due to the hpv virus and does not mean they have genital warts or cancer. std are confusing and highly complex thats why so few have an actual cure. you WILL be okay. try not to stress just live your life. because chances are 1in3 the next partner you have has more than likely already been exposed. Im at a 3.25 so im sure know it all will go to say it was a false positive, not likely Ive retested every month the past year, all negative except three, so that means yes i have hsv2 and its active three times a year. get educated from an OB, someone who specializes in std testing, and can really help you find understanding with it. I know how horrid and gross it seems but the fact is for my case, ive made my life with the same man for the past 5 yrs and dont see a change in that, I have all my kids with him, I have yet to have a noticeable out break. so for me its like being told i have something my body has yet to show me it has so it easily dismissive. now if i say change partners then obv I will take valtrex to avoid possible spreading to my new partner even if he possibly already has it, but for now I am living my life normally without outbreak not even stressing it because it there in my system cant get rid of it, its not bothering me physically, it did emotionally for a while and I blamed my hunny for cheating, even tho theres no possible chance of that, but I felt the need to seek someone to blame, then I sat with my ob and learned so many facts on it, its disturbing to know that most of your friends do have it, and others have no clue because the medical field does not medically screen for it. its scary I know but all in all you will learn to cope and feel normal again.
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101028 tn?1419603004
I have no idea what amandabxoxo89's qualifications are. I do know what mine are and can tell you that the information I am giving you is far more accurate than theirs is.

There are false positive issues with the herpes igg blood tests. They occur most often in results less than 5, specifically in results less than 3.5.  you've had no symptoms and a low positive as well as you are hsv1 + so you can't assume you are positive without further confirmatory testing. Just as your provider would never tell you you have cancer based on 1 test, sometimes herpes testing needs confirmatory testing too.   Since your last sexual encounter was so close to the time of testing, you'll need to get your partner tested too. if they test negative for hsv2, repeat your herpes testing with a herpes WB anytime. If they test + for hsv2, you'll need to wait 3 months after the last time you had sex with them and then get your repeat testing done in case this is a newly acquired infection for you.

You already know you have hsv1 orally. You've had it for awhile. http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm  has terrific and down to earth advice about how to reduce the odds of transmitting your oral herpes to your family members. If you do have hsv2, it's only a risk for folks you have sex with, not anyone you have routine day to day contact with like your children.
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Avatar universal
im sorry that i keep adding comments seperately but my mind is just going crazy right now trying to make sense of everything........but i was worrying i recently have had hepatitis a and b shots for nursing is it possible that maybe that has something to do with me results.....
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Avatar universal
they didnt test for herpes on there on i actuaaly requested it because i realized that it wasnt part of a regular std testing and one of my dear friends came up positive.......so i ask for the test to be ran knowing that it is possible due to the fact i was having unprotected sex.
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Avatar universal
i also read in somewhere here in the forum that it was possible for your results of hsv1 to be high enough to influence your results to hsv 2 is there any truth to that.........and i also read in another post about a solution that is called resolveherpes that is duppose o be minerals that help build up your immune system to fight off the herpes......its suppose to to force the cells virus out of your cells so that you immune system can fight it off instead of the being able to multiply they will decrease.........have you ever heard of that.     www.resolveherpes.com......please tell me what you think  
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Avatar universal
oh yea and the test were herpeselect igg result...how soon should i got tested again is there a waiting period........and whats the difference with the numbers whether they are low or high rhat does it represent....is it ur exposure to the virus need more clarification please
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Avatar universal
the last time i had sex was the night before testing but the last time sex was unprotected it was about 4 weeks before testing......no my partner hasnt been tested. ok grace you said that it is very possible for a false positive with the numbers but then amandabxoxo89 goes on to say that its not likely...im confused and very scared at this point how the situation would affect my life less more my lide...how can i show my children affection without hugs and kisses.....i will go back in to the doctors office friday for a follow up appt.......i got my results before i the doctor because i work at a facility that the test were ran.....
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Avatar universal
thats certainly a high enough score to not be inaccurate, but is low enough for some error. bloodtesting is not that reliable because if the sample is not taken correctly and transported under highly controlled conditions in a very timely manner it can throw results as far as being a false positive/false negative. almost every has some form of herpes. the best you can do is hope for little to no outbreaks, if you have outbreaks get treatment, if you ever have a positive get treatment, especially when it comes to family planning. tho its rare to transfer hsv to an infant, as with hsv everything has to be right within a specific frame and most happen to not have an active case at delivery, HOWEVER newborns have very immature immune systems and ALL precaution should be taken, such as startin valtrex? I belive it is called at 35 weeks to prevent any defect to the newborn.
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101028 tn?1419603004
Actually your hsv2 igg of 3.49 is still well within the false positive range. you'll need to follow up with additional testing to see if it's a true positive or not. We recommend getting a herpes Wb if you can.

do you have a regular partner? have they been tested yet?  

when was the last time you had sex prior to your testing?

grace
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Avatar universal
with that number it isnt likely to be false postive fact is clinics dont test for herpes unless a reason arises like the see an out break or complicated pregnancy, herpes can hide so if the blood test isnt done withing the window a blood test will show negative for someone actually having it. almost every person you see has a form or both of herpes and most dont even know. you dont have to have an outbreak to be positive...and thats why so many people are walking aroung spreading it, they have no idea they themselves have been exposed. the horror pics of it on the net are typically people with hiv, or elderly. with a high/great immune system like those never ill are most likely to never have an out break or much of one to notice, these are those with one to thee tiny dots on the shaft eing told they are hair folicles- to women mistaking a small sore for an in grown hair/razor cut. herpes is THAT common. and hsv1 canbe spread from kissing grandma as a kid to somking a bowl with pals to sharing that sweet new lipgloss back in highschool, all the way to drinking from the same drink even sharing a cig. its disgusting too far thought into but seriously is the norm these days thanks to doctors and the idiotic way they practice.
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Avatar universal
what was your exposure?is that IGG or IGM test.
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Avatar universal
SORRY I MEANT TO SAY THAT I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED GENITAL OUTBREAK SYMPTOMS OF ANY KIND.
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