kender

@2Legit2Quit - yes, still going strong.

I've never had an outbreak that I know of. I get muscle tics sometimes, mostly in my legs in arms (but I'm also active). I get canker sores throughout the year. I sometimes get a lightheaded event 2-3 times a year. I've noticed some small red dots that appear and disappear within 48 hrs. Smooth, don't itch. Is it herpes? I don't know. Before I knew I had it, I would just chalk this stuff up to dehydration, overworked, muscle trauma, etc. For your back/leg pain, are you sitting at a desk a lot? Are you a runner? Do you stretch? Being an asymptomatic carrier, I've been learning to blame herpes last, or never. Back pain could be anything. Stretch, strengthen your core, etc.

BTW, After disclosure, I left a week later. We continued to be in a long distance relationship for 3 more months, and then I moved closer to her.

My current relationship started long distance. I disclosed on the first visit we were together in person, after having confirmation of being positive for H that same week. I had an equivocal result initially, then got the western blot. The whole disclosure was a mess. It was ugly, and not even painted pretty. She just said we'd figure it out and we've been together 9 months now. My equivocal result was eating at me terribly - I wanted to tell her when we were apart, but for me, I felt like I needed to do it face to face. I considered doing it over Skype since we were doing that almost daily, but chickened out. All I can say is this - if it's going to work out, its going to work out. If it's not, it's not. In the end, the location, and delivery is small potatoes in my opinion - it's really about what kind of person are they, and how much do they value you as a person. We focus on the delivery and location because it's something we can CONTROL but it's not as significant IMO.

Aside from the positive spin, it's also a very interesting subject.

http://fusion.net/story/155183/herpes-fights-cancer-virotherapy-measles-smallpox-cure-cancer/

That was my point by linking this article - it shows how silly the stigma is. If you google chicken pox stigma you'll see there's plenty out there where people who were vaccinated and never had it are fearful of those who don't get vaccinated. in summary - for me, this article shows insignificant HSV really is, and how most of it is in our heads.

I was curious about this so I looked it up. I find it interesting that there's evidence that both shed in some kind of frequency, even without visible presence of the disease. It helped me come to terms with the fact that I've had chickenpox my whole life. I have HSV1 now too, and there's no reason I should be any different than I was before. Regardless, it's an interesting read, and just emphasizes for me that most of my own, and others thoughts are on the stigma. With a chickenpox vaccine being widely used, I have noticed a stigma starting to evolve around that as well. I wonder where we'll be in years down the road on that one? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938738/

Thanks for sharing this!

The one thing I've learned through both a divorce, and my diagnosis of H, is this: Don't make up someone's mind for them or predict how they will act. I agree with the post above 100% - communicate, but do it clearly. Be real with your concerns, but make space to allow you 'both' to work together to address them. I have HSV-1 - unknown origin, and no OBs so no clue where it even is. I'm also in a relationship with a H- partner. I can tell you that every time we have a discussion about it, the end result has -always- been that we feel closer to each other. Only good can come from talking about it :)

@Anonemess @WCSDancer2010 I was thinking about Chickenpox today and how it is also part of the H family. Turns out there is proof of asymptomatic shedding there too. Even with the vaccine. Yet..no one has to disclose that, nor is it commonly viewed as a 'damaged body' or something you can give to a person you love. Here's the article if you're curious. In short, there's not enough research on the topic to get statistics, but it does happen. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938738/ So with that being said...what's the difference? Most people are not affected by HSV1 or 2. The difference is our perception.

Hi - are you having any symptoms? I do not know much about a combined test, but the igg for hsv1 and hsv2, separately are considered negative below .91 I believe. I'm having a hard time understanding what your test actually said. However - regardless, if the igg is inconclusive for you, the best way to know -for sure- is to get the Western Blot test at Westover Heights (http://www.westoverheights.com/). It test 14 proteins found in HSV instead of just 1 (which the igg does). The rule of thumb is to wait 3 months since you *should* have detectable levels of antibodies at that point if you do have HSV. If you're at 17 weeks post possible exposure, you've waited long enough to know for sure by blood test. I'll backstep here though and say again that I know nothing about the combined test. But if you igg value for HSV1 and HSV2 are below .91, that is considered negative.

Thank you :)

I don't know. It's a little frustrating because I can't logically say where I think or don't think it is. :) it could be anywhere. I believe I acquired it 5 months ago after an encounter but it was th first time I was ever tested for herpes (just happened to be in my STD screen). If it was from my last sexual encounter then it could be genintally or orally or even both since there was contact on both places. If it was from before that then it could be anywhere. The area around my nose feels the most suspicious to me due to some itching and redness occasionally but there's a dozen other things that come to mind that cause that too. Allergies being #1. a Couple months ago I had some groin pain but it was right after I did a stupid workout and was at a business conference for a week wearing tight clothes. Could it have been herpes nerve pain or just a slight a groin sprain? wouldn't be the first time.. I think if nothing happens soon I'll just wait for a day where I just don't feel right and roll my entire body over a swab. :)

Yep - HSV1 positive via western blot.