needacoffee

Thanks Dancer! Really appreciate you taking the time to reply :) I figured as much... the symptoms really seem to be all over the place from person to person. Mostly hoping someone with similar symptoms might be able to weigh in with their experience. One big question was on the itchy/tingly prodrome.. whether it was a pretty constant thing or fades in and out for most people. As for the specialist, definitely calling my primary care and setting that up soon. And for the Western Blot, definitely want to get it done as well, but was wondering if it would be better to wait another month or so before getting it done? More time seems like it's always better with these results.

So I guess I'll start with the summary: - Had a H+ encounter in early July - Tested negative IgG 3 weeks after and 3 months after (<0.91) - Still experiencing mild herpes-like symptoms and freaking out And the full version: I took a trip this summer visiting several friends abroad, and ended up having an encounter with a H+ girl. We didn't actually have sex - we fooled around naked some and had oral sex, but before things went any further she broke down and informed me that she was H+ with HSV2, but never had HSV1 or any mouth blisters. We had had sex years prior (where she had not informed me...), but I had several tests confirming no HSV2 during that time period. A few days later in the trip, I (stupidly) had drunken sex with another girl (we'll call her.. girl 2) because I thought there was no way I could have it - I had always tested negative and there was very little/no genital-to-genital contact between me and girl 1. During sex with girl 2, I noticed some slight pain on my right thigh, which I brushed off - I'm a pretty hairy dude down there and it's pretty common for things to pull and tug during sex. However, the next morning showering, I noticed a silver dollar sized area (where the pain was on my thigh) of very tiny lumps/blisters. These eventually grew to pimple size, and were filled with a whitish liquid. From what I remember most were centered around a hair, but some were free-standing. Naturally at this point I freaked out - checking symptoms online, etc. I also developed a cold with some bad coughing/sinus drainage, but that may have been due to all the travel/drinking/etc. The weird thing was the area wasn't that painful - none popped that I can remember, and the worst sensation was an occasional burning feeling and.. a moisture-like feeling, I guess. I told girl 2, and she was surprisingly cool about the whole thing despite being HSV2 negative (and yes, we used condoms). After all of that I got back to the states about 3 weeks later (the initial encounter happened around July 4th), but the blisters/whatever they were had already mostly healed. I immediately booked one of the STD check website screens (which does IgG) and found a primary care doctor (I recently moved to the area). The test came back negative, and the doctor confirmed that without active lesions there wasn't much he could do - but that it sounded more like folliculitus than herpes, which was a relief. We scheduled a follow up for the 3 month mark and I went on my way. However, during that time, I've been experiencing: - Random itching/tingling/burning across all the classic areas - penis, thighs, scrotum, occasionally butt. Mostly centered on the thighs. This only lasts for a few seconds at a time, but feels very clear. Especially if I play guitar or cross my left leg over my right - the change in blood flow seems to trigger the original area getting really tingly. - Random small red spots - none have shown up in the classic grouped pattern since possible outbreak 1, but seem to itch/make their presence known occasionally. This is really driving me nuts because, as a hairy dude, small pimples and irritated hairs down there are common. - General weirdness on the skin - my scrotum seems very red on the bottom and both it and the penis feel.. moist? The skin doesn't feel as smooth, kinda like when you use some really strong soap and all the oils are gone so it catches on everything And the big one: - 2 small bumps (seemingly not blisters - they wouldn't pop) showed up on my penis: one on the underside near the frenulum, and one on the top towards the base. Neither ever itched, hurt, or did much of anything other than look weird. They seemed to be hard-ish in the middle, and had a small red area surrounding them. At one point, each crusted over and that fell off to leave.. the exact same bump underneath. The first showed up about a week or two before the second did. At 3 months, I went back and got another negative. I showed my doctor the bumps, but he didn't have much of an explanation other than "if more show up we'll take you to a dermatologist". And now here I am. So my question is.. has anyone else experienced weird/mild symptoms like this? The literature and stories are so varied, I'm damn near convinced anything vaguely red down there is herpes. Coupled with abundant stories of blood tests being inaccurate/taking forever to register, I'm going pretty nuts. What is keeping me sane: - None of these seem to be "outbreaks", it's been pretty constant since July, which seems to not be in-line with the disease - I know the sheer paranoia/stress can cause the itchy/tingly feelings, and no bumps/other things have developed directly after that feeling (if it were a prodrome) - Still in contact with girl 2, and she hasn't had any problems Sorry for the word vomit, but the vagueness of it all is just driving me insane.. if I had a sure positive diagnosis I could start accepting it and move on, but right now I'm rollercoastering between "it's fine, it's nothing" and "definitely herpes".