New2GH

@songbird92, hi, how long have you been dealing with the constipation as a result of your HSV-2 infection?

@beckhamthanks for this information. So then we don't need an ordering physician??

@dogdad, Hello sir, you mention that you have never had an outbreak right?? Look at the index value for you IGG result. If it is below 3.5 it may be a false positive and (per the CDC) you would need a confirmatory test (which is the Western Blot). If the index value for your IGG result is over 3.5 then it's likely your are HSV2 positive, especially the higher the index value goes. However, it appears that in recent times some folks are receiving positive IGG results for HSV2 with index values over 3.5, but when they obtain the Western Blot they turn out to be negative. A good source for all this is Terri Warren over at westoverheights.com, I'd say it is worth looking into it since you have never had an outbreak.

@Stupida, I'm assuming the burning was in your private area? Was it constant, 24/7 all that time? It's nice to hear that it finally stopped for you even if it took a long time, gives us hope. And you started to feel this six hours after exposure?? Btw, you probably already know this but the IGG misses 8 percent of type two infections (it misses 30 percent of type one). And if it misses it once, it's likely to miss it in future tests as well. Perhaps you fall into that category. Do you think you will get the western blot for a definitive result? Thanks for your input!

@Stillconfused, could you tell us what tests they did on you to conclude it was a prostate issue. For me the only test was the PSA which I'm still not what exactly that checks for. Also have had multiple urinalysis and no bacteria is showing up.

Yes I read that too recently, about herpes causing prostate issues. Problem is finding a doctor or urologist that will take that seriously. The urologist I went to (one of the top one's in my area) basically told me it was in my head. I almost wanted to cry then and there like seriously. Why would I be making such a devastating issue up in my head. Anyway, I also read that taking the antivirals helps, not sure how true that is but I've been taking 400mg of Acyclovir daily since the end of July and so far I haven't noticed a difference but since my symptoms have been ongoing since November I assume it takes some time for things to calm down below. Geez, what a nightmare this has been. Absolutely the worst experience of my life thus far. Had I known herpes could be so troublesome I just would have shunned off sex altogether NO JOKE!! None of the ''fun'' I ever had was worth any of this, not in the least bit.

That it's likely an older, established infection.

@Jack101, Is there any other STD that could cause nerve issues or nerve sensations?

Hi @Christopher C, First off kudos to you for doing the right thing and disclosing your status even if it may be detrimental to your love/sex life. Sounds naive of me to say but I can't believe that others don't disclose! Super unethical IMO. Many people are in this mess because someone didn't disclose. Oh well, what goes around comes around right?! But hey, I have HSV-1 as well, so at least now we can protect ourselves from caching HSV-2 right? Plus there's other bugs we can catch that we definitely don't want to have anything to do with! Anyhow, you seem like a good guy so perhaps the right lady will come along for you! You never know. Oh and sorry about the cheating ex, which is also a big problem. So many people cheat and they need to understand that by doing so they can ruin lives and mess with others' health. Cheating is a real common scenario in many of the stories I read on this and other forums. Horrible! But you are on the right track man!

Hi @Strength123, Perhaps it could be false positive. Hopefully your doctor ordered the IGG and not the IGM. Look at your IGG index value. Anything below 3.5 could very well be false positive. But from what I've been reading even scores above 3.5 can be false positive with type 2 IGG test. Since you've never had symptoms you could get the western blot and know for sure if you have it. However, western blot is only done by University of Washington and you need to obtain a kit from them and have your doctor draw blood etc and have it shipped to U of W. Also the test is not covered by insurance and it's pricey, somewhere between $300 to $400 total for everything. You can also talk to Terri Warren over at westoverheights.com and you could get the western blot ordered through her as well and have a chance to ask her questions. I'm sorry to hear what you are going through.

@2wheels1love, Hi. I was diagnosed late last year and for the first few months I had intermittent genital pain. I also had ongoing pain in the back of my left thigh for the first few months as well. I guess it's the H.

@Ohhey143, Was diagnosed late last year and reading your post reminded me that I also experienced those spasms "back there" in the beginning lol. Weird but I guess that happens with H. Anyhow, glad to hear that your outbreaks are headed in the right direction.

@SeraLyn nah I just had the sensation but no blisters thankfully. Herpes is so mysterious and really does behave differently in everyone. I've read so much about it especially on this forum and Terri Warren's forum. I've learned a lot more than I ever thought I would about herpes. It can present itself in so many different ways.

@SeraLyn, hi just thought I would chime in here and say that I was diagnosed with H late last year and for the first few months or so I felt a slight numbness on the soles of my feet. It has been a few months since that sensation went away. I guess we can feel things all the way down to our feet being infected genitally. Weird but I guess it can happen.

Hi everyone. My nerves have definitely been affected down there. It has been nine months since diagnosis and onset of my symptoms, no end in sight yet as for my symptoms. Scary as you know what!! I started taking 400 mg of Acyclovir daily since about a month ago to see if that helps on top of just taking lots of care of myself in all fronts, which I was already doing way before this ever happened but now have an extra reason to do so. I'll look into the b complex. I already take some vitamins, including a B12 tablet daily.

Hi, the IGG misses 8 per cent of HSV 2 infections. Also, if you happen to have HSV 2 and acquired it recently then you may not have enough antibodies yet to be detectable on the IGG test. Just wait for the swab and see how that goes. Hopefully you won't have it. I hope this helps.

I'm no expert/doctor/etc but from what I understand is that any IGG index value result of less than 3.5 could be a false positive and requires confirmatory testing with the western blot. Since you've done the western blot previously and it was negative then you have a false positive IGG result. The western blot is the definitive result. I believe your earlier post indicated you got the western blot done though a clinic that a friend of yours works in. I'm assuming they drew the blood and shipped it to the University of Washington for the actual test?? Reason I say is because as far as I know University of Washington is the only place that actually does the western blot test. And of course you could always get another one if you really want that peace of mind but yeah it's pricey. I hope this helps.

@mr_hopp, thank you for your response and for this forum!

Hello everyone, I'm hoping I can get some input here. I'm going to my doctor next week hoping he'll be willing to prescribe me some antivirals to take as daily suppressive therapy to see if that helps with some prolonged prodrome symptoms that I've been experiencing since November. I know I can research the side effects of the different antivirals online and ask my doctor, but I want to know from actual users. I'd appreciate anyone that can tell me how they did or have done on daily suppressive therapy and what are the side effects experienced while on the therapy. I believe there are three different antivirals currently used as frontline care for herpes. Is any one better than the other two? Thanks.

@Jack101 Do you know if that upcoming CDC recommendation (to obtain a WB when no outbreaks occur) be applicable to both HSV types or just type 2?

Hi Jules82, I recommend two books that have been useful to me to learn about herpes since I have it. One is Sexually Transmitted Diseases by Dr. Lisa Marr (there's a whole chapter on Herpes in it). The other is The Good News About The Bad News by Terri Warren, the entire book is about Herpes. Just keep in mind that both books are about ten years old now, but still very informative. I also recommend you visit westoverheights.com, which is ran by Terri Warren. You can browse through the online forum and learn a whole lot about Herpes there. You can also consult with Ms. Warren for a low cost if you have specific questions that you can't get the answers to. She's a top herpes expert. I've dealt with her and she's nice and very knowledgeable. I hope that helps you figure out how you can best protect yourself. And yes, doctors are not very knowledgeable about herpes even though it's a real common infection. Herpes is tricky, please learn as much as you can about it, knowledge is definitely power and I wish I would have known how easy it is to get it and how hard a diagnosis can be. I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I hope everything works out, take care.

@Happen2me, Hello, truly sorry you are going through this. If you haven't visited it yet then I recommend westoverheights.com as a good source for learning about herpes. It sure has been very useful for me. The lady that runs it (Terri Warren) is a top herpes expert and does consultations for a low price if you have specific questions for her. I recommend you browse the online forum. Lots of people posts questions daily. Very informative. I hope it helps you out in some way.

@Trying2Accept Hi there, thanks for reaching out. I'm glad to hear your symptoms look like they are coming to an end. As for me, no I'm not on antivirals, all my doctor did was prescribe acyclovir for seven days and that's all. I was taking some herbal antivirals in the beginning but stopped after a couple of months cause I didn't notice any difference at all. However, I'm not sure if my symptom are really related to herpes or not on the count that I tested positive for type one through IGG test and I haven't had an actual visible outbreak to swab to concluded the infection is genital. I even talked to Terri Warren and she doesn't think it's the herpes causing my issues either. I'm seeing a neurologist tomorrow and see if it could be a different cause, maybe it's a disc issue. A disc issue could definitely be causing the numbness and the constipation. I'll see what they tell me. I've seen only a few others report the same symptoms on this forum but they are older posts and those folks aren't active on here any longer :-( . And yes you are right how lucky are those that are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic. Oh well, Herpes has it out for some of us :-) I guess that makes us special, be well!

@Tayg Hello, I've heard that the IGM isn't as good as the IGG blood test. So I believe that in order to know for sure what you have (if you have it) is to give it the window period (12 weeks I believe) then get tested specifically through an IGG blood test for HSV. You can look at the CDC website for how long you should wait to retest. But yeah, from what I've gathered the IGM isn't really good at all for HSV testing through blood. Hope that helps.

I believe it's because it takes some time for your body to build up enough antibodies to the virus for them to be detectable through a blood antibody test. That is, your infection is too new to show up in blood work. Something like that. As for the HIV, I believe you have to give it some time as well (I believe it's up to three months) from last exposure to be sure you are negative because again it takes some time for the body to build up enough antibodies to either virus to actually be detectable through a blood antibody test (if you are infected). Also, from what I've read is that the antivirals can mess with the blood work. So that may also be the reason you tested positive on the swab and negative on the antibody. But I'm no expert however I've been doing tons of reading on these forums so this is a common scenario. You can look at other posts to be sure.