do i have herpes??

[Lindsay200586]

About a year ago my boyfriend of 5 years left me. I was grieving the loss of my relationship by seeking negative attention from guys who didn't care about me. I slept with 3 guys (unprotected). Nothing unusually happened to my body after spending the night with these guys.I finally realize that I'm better than that and stopped that kind of behavior. I waited 3 months and got tested for all stds.. i was so relieved when i got my test results.. negative! I tested positive for hsv1 (i had cold sores as a kid but don't get them now). Soon after that i i met prince charming! He is an old friend that i ran into one night and we hit it off! He was tested for stds right before reconnecte with me..he's clean. I'm almost positive he has hsv1. Most do! But he never had a cold sore. Fast forward to today, 6 months after being with prince charming..things are great! :) 2 weeks ago we had rough sex.. i woke up the next morning and felt sore. Its not unusually, plus i figured i was sore bc we didn't have sex at all the week before. we were camping, and had a busy day ahead of us. I didn't wear underwear that next day, so i could feel myself rubbing on my jeans.. it wasn't a big deal, i just felt sore. A few days later, i still felt a little sore inside and inside my left lip and saw a little scratch/tear/cut, whatever you wanna call it. It was sore.. but i wasn't in a lot of pain, it didn't hurt to pee and everything else on my vagina looked good..inside and out. I made a doctors apt for the next morning.. i saw a PA..she couldn't find my sore spot so i had to show her where it was. She looked at me for 20 seconds and said "yea, that looks like herpes". I started to cry and asked her if it could be anything else! Like just a finger nail scratch. She said its not likely.. that it looks like i sore that had just broke. I was devastated. My whole life just changed. She told me that she can clinically diagnose me with herpes just by a visually exam. She said she would do a culture of it and send me to get blood work done (igg igm 1/2..something like that?) She gave me 3 days of medicine and sent me on my way. It was a long week wailing for my results.. i tested negative for hsv2, positive for hsv1 (i already knew that), my culture came back negative as well as all the rest of the stds i was tested for. I was so excited! The feeling of a second chance only lasted a day. I'm panicky now. Why was that doctor so certain i had herpes?? I still feel kinda sore, do you think that's bc i couldn't put down my mirror and flashlight for a week? I poked and wiped all week. I have a apt in two week for my annual visit. I'm so afraid they will tell me i have herpes?? Please help!

[WCSDancer2010]

Well, for one thing, you just plain can't diagnose via visual exam.... that's a bad call on the Dr's part. Yes, they can say they "believe" it's herpes, but without a test to back it up, it's an OPINION.

 

ALSO:If they did an IGM, that's a waste of time ... any Dr worth their salt knows that ... so that also tells me the Dr isn't necessarily up to date on their Herpes info :(

 

As for the swab, if it was already starting to heal, or they didn't do a good "catch" it will come up negative ... and given your Dr's belief in visual diagnosis, I wouldn't trust their ability to do a swab. Was it a GP or OBGYN? If it was a GP, get thee to an OBGYN or Planned Parenthood and with luck they will have something to do a culture on.... or at least hopefully give you better advise :p

[Konfucious]

I'm in the same boat as you are... They did a serum(?) blood test on me and said that I had antibodies to the herpes virus, but thats about it. Doctor couldn't specify if it was Type 1 or 2. Doctor also stated that the virus could've potentially "just passed me" and that in very rare cases, the virus doesn't stay in the body... ! What?!?! Totally contradictory to all new info on herpes being for life... I don't know what to do or think..

 

:/ Best of luck to you! @lindsay200586

[2Legit2Quit]

@Konfucious that's insanity that your doc told you that. Is there a reason you got tested for herpes? Had you been having symptoms? Do you have a patient portal that you can review your results on? If not, I'd call the office and asknfor a copy and to be read which it says you have.

[WCSDancer2010]

I'm in the same boat as you are... They did a serum(?) blood test on me and said that I had antibodies to the herpes virus, but thats about it. Doctor couldn't specify if it was Type 1 or 2. Doctor also stated that the virus could've potentially "just passed me" and that in very rare cases, the virus doesn't stay in the body... ! What?!?! Totally contradictory to all new info on herpes being for life... I don't know what to do or think..

 

:/ Best of luck to you! @lindsay200586

 

Please go to another Dr and get re-tested and get better advice. Your Dr is WAAAAAAAYYYYY off the mark here.

 

For one thing, you should have got a paper copy of your test results. I tell people you should ALWAYS get a paper copy of EVERY test result run on you for ANYTHING. This is part of your health history and Dr's don't keep everything forever any more and half the time they don't look at your history anyway so it's up to YOU to take responsibility for knowing your past results and reminding them of them when you go in for an exam.

 

Second, your test *should* differentiate between HSV1 and 2.

 

So forget what this Dr said .. there isn't anything he said that is accurate. Get thee to an OBGYN (if you are a female ...can't tell from your post) or Planned Parenthood and get a REAL test and REAL advice :)

 

You can come on here with your results if you have any more questions and we'll help you interpret them :)

 

((HUGS)))