americanamadan

Hi all, I've had HSV-1 for basically my entire life. When I was a kid I would get a few outbreaks a year. Once I reached my 20s they became far less frequent, one maybe every 18 months or so. I use lysine but inconsistently and have a 800mg acyclovir prescription which I only use in emergencies or when a cold sore is coming on. So, I'm 27 now and had a huge outbreak about 2 months ago. 3 cold sores in a row. Granted, a very stressful time in my life (graduate school, travelling internationally to see family, etc.) but still never an outbreak like that before. I go in for a routine STD screening that was long overdue, and no surprise that I'm HSV-1 positive (thankfully negative for everything else) but my IGG levels were >58.0. I thought well it's probably because of an active/recent outbreak. So I went back in 6 weeks later for another screening (thankfully nothing else but HSV-1!) but alas, IGG levels are still >58.0. It's really hard to find info online about what IGG levels mean, and whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. It's just a bit striking to see them so high. My doctor said it's nothing to worry about but I regret not pressing her more on it. Some sites say high IGG shows a strong response to the virus, while others say there may be an immune problem.