[4 years since diagnoses....still no ob....but mentally having issues with it]

Antibodies are in the blood.

[4 years since diagnoses....still no ob....but mentally having issues with it]

My blood test came back negative (PCR DNA) and now they say it may be shingles. I looked this up in my university’s medical library and it turns out that 8% of shingles can present along the lumbar dermatone (vulva and buttocks)! And mine was one-sided which is typical for shingles. Will get retested for HSV in a couple of months just to be sure.

[I am so confused about my test results.]

I just got lab results back and it was a "HSV-1 DNA, QN PCR" and "HSV-2 DNA, QN PCR" test. Anyone know if this test is more reliable than IGG? The tests were negative, drawn on the day I had my first outbreak.

[I didn't fall apart]

Yay! Good luck!

[Really not sure if I have herpes? Please read and reply]

You can get a blood test but it make take several weeks for you body to build antigens, so even if you get a negative test now, you should retest in a few months. (Just from what I've read).

[My story - trying so hard to stay positive about this, needing support]

Powerful posts. Thank you all for sharing.

[Newly diagnosed at 62 and shocked]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I've looked up coconut oil and St. John's wort and will check them out. Vit C, too.

[Newly diagnosed at 62 and shocked]

It may be a wakeup call to start eating better and cut down on my 2 glasses/wine per day. I have a supportive husband who only wants me to feel better, and is not looking to lay blame anywhere. So that allows me to look forward, not back, and see how I can live my best, most healthy life. My husband and I like to ride bicycles, and have been taking annual bicycling vacations. I said to him, "how can we plan for vacations when I could have an outbreak at any time" (and not be able to sit on a bike seat!), but he is so optimistic.. he said, "no problem, you can just ride the SAG wagon" (for those that don't want to ride). So I do feel I have a supportive partner in this next phase of my life, and thanks to this forum and positive thoughts, I will do my best to use this as an opportunity for self-improvement.

I am surprised at how tired I feel during this outbreak. Energy when I first get up, then I just want to go back to bed for awhile. I tried walking yesterday (day 6) and was surprised that I got tired and even a little short of breath after a mile! Guess it is too early and I need to give my body the time it needs to heal.

I have a f/up appt with the MD for day 17 after my outbreak, but kind of dread it as I feel anyone outside of my marriage, including her, will be looking for whom to point fingers at (though she was very nice).

[Just wanted to vent]

I hope you have found some peace since you wrote this post. One error in judgment makes us human, not "less than". From reading other posts I see that there is hope, and this can become another condition to live with, and manage, without it obsessing our daily thoughts.

[Newly diagnosed at 62 and shocked]

Thank you both for your input.

[Newly diagnosed at 62 and shocked]

My husband and I have been married 42 years and had sexual partners before then. I had one partner outside marriage , a regrettable one night stand, but that was 30+ years ago! My husband and I are very close and I really can’t imagine he ever had time for an external partner, and he says he hasn’t. We’ve been retired for a year and are always together. All I can figure out is that we brought it into our marriage (he, or I, or both), or I brought it in 30 years ago. I’ve read most people never know they have it. So why now? Can it really be dormant or go undetected that long?