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How do I order this herpes test?


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OK, well, I'm seeing somebody new and we're going to have the "STD talk" in which I politely request that we both submit to STD testing before becoming intimate. It's my new policy now. I don't know if you remember me, I had the herpes scare over the summer, turned out OK after I got the Western Blot from the University of Washington. Now I want a test that will give me a clear-cut "negative," and I've found the test that will do just that: the HerpeSelect Immunoblot. The problem is, the doctor that I go to has a lab- a nationally-known lab--that for some reason does not perform the HerpeSelect Immunoblot, even though it performs all of the other HerpeSelect tests. I confirmed this in two ways: my doctor's office called the local Quest lab that does all the testing for them, and they said that no, they don't perform the HerpeSelect Immunoblot, and that there was no herpes "immunoblot" in their catalog. Also, I went on the Quest Diagnostics website searching for the test exhaustively, and didn't find anything on it. Plenty of immunoblots, but none for herpes!

 

I really, really want to take this test. The way it is performed and interpreted, it will give me a clear-cut negative (my Western Blot had 1 reactive protein out of 14, and that 15 months post-intercourse with a woman who didn't even have herpes).

 

Now, I thought I was pretty resourceful about ordering these tests (I got the Western Blot, didn't I?), but I can't seem to find out which labs offer the test, and which doctor's offices have those specific labs that can order the tests for me. How oh how can I find a lab in my state or the neighboring state that will at long last perform this specific test for me? I am looking for the specific brand: HerpeSelect, and the specific testing method: immunoblot, and for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Thanks!

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Western Blot is considered the Gold Standard - if you got a negative result there, THAT is the one to go with. If you only had 1 reactive out of the 14, that's a pretty clear cut negative friend. If anyone would know how to get the Immunoblot the folks at Westover Heights would know ... but I'm willing to bet they would tell you that with your WB result that you won't get a "better" result with Immunoblot

 

Dr. Lisa Taulbee at the Westover Heights Clinic,http://westoverheights.com/ (503) 226-6678 ... she can order the test for you through Quest Labs. It costs $5/minute for a consult … cheap IMO for clarity and/or peace of mind.

 

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Hi Dancer,

 

Yes, the Western Blot is the gold standard, I was just really hoping for a clear-cut negative so that I wouldn't have to have a half-hour conversation with any future partners telling them that yes, I'm really negative, even though it's taking me 20 minutes to justify that claim to you. Like I said in my other posts, it seems in my experience that generally the longer you have to explain something (20 minutes) that should be very clear and simple (I don't have H), the less credible you become. If anything, having to have a conversation about low-positives and false-positives, cross-reactivity with other similar proteins, the drawbacks of the ELISA test over the Western Blot, just makes things seem more fishy and suspicious. So yes, while I know to my complete satisfaction that I am negative, I want HER to feel to HER complete satisfaction that I'm negative. And if I ask us to get tested for STDs, having that piece of paper that says Negative would really go a long way.

 

I specifically chose the HerpeSelect Immunoblot because it WOULD give me a negative. According to the Immunoblot criteria, a test that is positive for the gg-2 protein (like mine are), but NEGATIVE for any other proteins, is considered NEGATIVE. That, unlike the Western Blot, where even 1 lousy protein reactive is enough for an Indeterminate, not a clear-cut negative. So I was excited when I read about the Immunoblot. The doctor's office originally told me they can't order it because their lab (Quest Diagnostics) just doesn't carry the test. I couldn't believe it, so a few phone calls later, I told my doctor's office that Quest DOES carry the Immunoblot, because QUEST OWNS the company that MAKES the immunoblot and ELISA- Focus Diagnostics. SO I did just yesterday find a way to order "my" test. Now I'm waiting for the result. Whatever it says for whatever reason won't change my view that I am negative for HSV-2--because I had the Western Blot done--but it will be so nice *if* I am fortunate enough to have the test come back negative.

 

And it will be ethical too, because I'm not telling my future partners anything that isn't true. All the experts really do believe I'm negative for herpes. So it's not like I'm taking advantage of the different criteria used by the immunoblot in order to manipulate my future partners into a false belief that I'm negative. I AM negative. I just want to give them all the comfort and certainty of believing that, without any long conversation, without any convoluted details about herpes testing and blah blah blah. I should be getting my results either tomorrow or Friday. Wish me luck!

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Whatever it says for whatever reason won't change my view that I am negative for HSV-2--because I had the Western Blot done--but it will be so nice *if* I am fortunate enough to have the test come back negative.

 

I'm confused... are you saying that if it came back positive you would still consider yourself negative??? :/

 

I don't see why you need a 20 min conversation as it is ... the False Negative rate for the Elissa test is minuscule ... the problem is with the False Positives ... unless you are one of the odd ducks like HerrytheHerp who had definite OB's and swabbed positive for H but is still negative for Elissa and Indeterminate for WB (well, he's an odd duck anyway, so guess he's staying true to form! :)) ) you can pretty much accept the results of the Elissa test and not worry about that one protein on the WB ;)

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@WCSDancer2010

 

I'm saying that since the Western Blot came back with only one protein reactive out of 14- and that was 15 months after my last possible exposure--I'm pretty confident that I'm negative for herpes type 2, no matter what the ELISA says. I've been consistently getting low-positive results on the ELISA, around 2.5--2.99, and that's because the ELISA looks for only ONE HSV protein: gg-2. That is the EXACT SAME PROTEIN that was reactive on the Western Blot, and ONLY that protein. People who are really truly positive for HSV-2 will eventually (six months usually) test positive for all 14 proteins, or at minimum, 12 or 13. So I know I'm negative.

 

But the Immunoblot is a little better test than the ELISA (although NOT better than the Western Blot, of course), because it looks for TWO HSV-2 proteins, not one. Plus, the method it uses (immunobloting), is a more accurate testing method. What I'm saying is that, if the Immunoblot comes back positive, meaning that both of the two proteins it tests for were reactive, I will be a little more worried, but I will still go with my earlier Western Blot results. I will get the Western Blot retaken just to be sure, however, and at 18 months post-(possible)-exposure, whatever it says will be the final word.

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Alright, look....

 

I ordered what I *think* is the HerpeSelect Immunoblot. That was last week. Long story short, even though I very, very clearly told the doctor's office I wanted the "HerpeSelect Immunoblot" the lab, Quest Diagnostics, couldn't find the test in their test catalog, and ordered me a plain old ELISA and IGM. Now, after about a dozen phone calls and me informing the lab that yes, you actually do carry the f*cking test, they said "oh, yeah, we actually do have it." They went ahead and tested me for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Now, I confirmed with Quest Diagnostics three separate times in three separate phone calls that what they had ordered me was the HerpeSelect Immunoblot, and they said yes sir, that is the test we ordered you. I'm still a little worried because the specific test code they gave me for the Immunoblot just isn't showing up in Quest's "Test Search" engine, and I don't know why that is. Something's not right. Why wouldn't the test code that comes directly from Quest Diagnostics show up in Quest Diagnostics' own search engine? All the other tests show up there.....

 

Even though I specifically selected this Immunoblot because I believe it will give me a "negative," and so allow me to avoid the long-winded conversation with partners that I really don't have herpes, I still have this dreadful feeling that it is going to come back positive tomorrow. Even though when I got the Western Blot it had been 15 months since my last *possible* exposure, with a girl who was a virgin and didn't have herpes. What's going on here? What are the chances that they f*cked up *again* and ordered me the *wrong* test *again*? I just want to be sure I'm dotting all the is and crossing all the ts before I call the doctor's office tomorrow for my results. I don't want to get an unexpected positive result, then be on the phone with Quest Diagnostics *again* for a *half-hour* trying to find out if they gave me the *wrong* test *again*.

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@riverstyx

 

I still think you are waaayy over thinking this ... and I can't really help you with the inept Quest folks except to tell you that they obviously don't use that test very often...

 

@Theo1824

 

About 4 months post exposure .... but I would say call them and get their advice on your case .... they are very informative...

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Alright so I got the results of my HerpeSelect Immunoblot back last week, and I am NEGATIVE for both HSV-1 and HSV-2!

 

So I now have the piece of paper with the official laboratory result from an official verified test that says "negative" on it. So when I ask future partners to get tested with me I have the test that says negative and I don't have to have a half-hour conversation about cross-reactivity, false-positives, the virtues of the ELISA vs. the western blot, etc etc. Glad I can put this behind me.

 

Thanks for your help!

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