Ishmael

Whatever else, you were sexually assaulted. The fact that you woke with this guy on top of you is 100% not okay. You certainly did nothing wrong, but I do think you should contact authorities. Regarding the source of your HSV, if your boyfriend tested positive for HSV1 and gets cold sores and he gave your oral sex on a regular basis, then yes he probably gave it to you. That doesn't change the fact that this other guy assaulted you though.

Sounds like jock itch.

But that blister was swabbed and came back negative, right? When are you getting tested again? Western Blot?

Have your symptoms been consistent over the 12 months? I ask because herpes usually occurs in outbreaks. Having symptoms for 6 months straight is not normal.

I've had health anxiety (otherwise known as hypochondria) for decades, and it has caused me to experience psychosomatic nerve pain and perceive normal lumps and bumps as much, much more sinister than they were. Your symptoms "sound" herpetic, but so far, outside of the eye doctor, no healthcare professional has told you "Oh yeah, these sores look like herpes". Am I right about that?

Health anxiety. If you test positive on the Western Blot, I'll buy you a beer.

I mean, testing negative at 3 months and then again at 5 months is not what I've ever heard of as "inconclusive".

Your IGG values could easily go up for reasons that have nothing to with herpes though. What do the doctors, besides the eye doctor, tell you about your test results and symptoms?

Okay, so what test at what time will be conclusive to you?

A lot of that doesn't match herpes though and a lot of it can be attributed to other things like jock itch. Also, you would be quite the case study to have genital herpes, herpes on your face, herpes in your mouth, and herpes in your eyes and then test negative at five months. Like, unheard of. Negative swabs, negative blood tests. How will you know that you don't have herpes if those test don't make you think you don't have herpes? What other diseases have you thought you have over the course of your life? This isn't your first rodeo, right? Most of mine were cancer.

I think a lot of this is in your mind. I'm a hypochondriac and when I think I have something, I feel like I have all these symptoms of it. Sometimes your balls will get itchy dude. That's what balls do. You seem to think you have it in your throat and on your genitals at the same time, which is rare. You've also had multiple blood tests that have come back negative. Do I actually know what's wrong with you? No. It's not herpes though. But I doubt it will matter how many tests or doctors tell you you don't have herpes, you will still think you do because of your health anxiety.

Thanks for sharing!

If you slept with her one night the first outbreak would not be the next day. At the very earliest it would be 48 hours later. More likely, about a week.

I'm not a doctor,, but yeah, I'd put that at about 80 to 90% chance of staying negative, even more since it was your second test. Usually people that don't seroconvert in the first 8 weeks have something a bit weird with their immune system.

It seems like you're pretty determined to have herpes.

"But it's on my genitals!" Yeah, who cares?

To be honest, if someone made a big deal out of disclosing HSV-1, my reaction would probably be to laugh. I mean more people than not have this virus. I would assume that anyone I hooked up with probably had it. The only people this is a big deal for are people that don't know or understand that fact. Sorry, but HSV-1 is barely a thing to me.

In all honesty, I don't buy into homeopathy at all and I think the science is very clear on this. Personally, if I didn't have a partner and it was making my hair fall out, I'd skip antivirals. There are some dietary and lifestyle changes that I think can help you out and then, like I said, HSV-1 kind of peters out. Not always, but for most people with normal immune systems, it's a non-event compared to HSV-2.

If his mom gets them all the time, he probably has it. If he doesn't then, yes, he might get what you have. Have you talked to him about this?

In that case, I'd skimp antivirals for the moment and tough out the outbreaks. Every outbreak you have is a chance for your immune system to get a better handle on this. In a few years, it'll probably be like nothing. Alopecia is bitch though. To be honest, you might not feel healthy for a while, but know that after doing some time in the HSV dungeon you're going to rise like a phoenix. HSV-1 has a rough onset but is preferable in terms of the amount of outbreaks, transmission and all that in the long run. Soon you won't even get outbreaks regularly and you'll be able to tell your partners that you just have a virus that most people have, and all the angst and despair you might be feeling now will be like a bad dream that you can barely remember or make sense of.

I can see how this might all be pretty confusing. This is pretty clear though: instead of getting medical advice from strangers on an internet forum; take your partner to a healthcare professional and get advice about transmission from them. The internet is a raging tide pool of misinformation about HSV. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

What are you looking for by taking them? If you have a negative partner, then it might be good idea because it drastically reduces transmission, but that's something you need to figure out. If it's to reduce outbreaks, then try going without for a while and see if you prefer the results to how the meds make you feel. If you have genital HSV-1, then your outbreak will likely be drastically reduced after your first year.

What does your research entail and what are your data sets?

No, it doesn't trigger an outbreak.

That's almost certainly a friction rash.