Please help me navigate this.

[Tryingtodeal]

So, I was told on January 1, 2016, that I had herpes. I know, happy New Year to me. However, I'm trying to deal with it now. Of course, no one expects this from their life, but I'm really trying to cope.

 

I got it from the person I love. The bad part about is that he was recently screened for STDs, and was told that he was clear. I know this is true because I checked his insurance claim. Which sounds crazy, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't lying to me. Regardless, after crazy amounts of research I realized that this is very possible, since the CDC doesn't require H testing. Which bothers me in its self, because they're saying that Herpes isn't important enough of a disease to help prevent it, or come up with some sort of solution to cure it. I don't know, that's my rant for now on that.

 

Regardless, my story started with what I believed was chafing or razor burn. After about two days, a single bumped formed on my Labia majora, followed by a second bump two days letter, which I thought was from rubbing against my clothes. eventually, there were several bumps and pain. I had to wait a week to go to the doctor, because of insurance issues. During that time, I was in such extreme pain. I ended up going to an er, but an urgent care or stand alone er. I went in the nurse, or helper took my vitals and everything, then I just waited for the doctor. The doctor came in, looked under the gown and told me I had herpes, that's it. I proceeded to ask several questions because I wanted to know how I could've gotten it, he told me that "you get it from fooling around". That smug and stupid answer made me want to punch him in his balls right there. Sorry, it still makes me mad. I have never had sex without protection, a condom, in my entire life. Which is why I was asking. Basically all they did was prescribe acyclovir and told me look up herpes on google because that's what it looked like.

 

After the holidays, I made an appointment with my new primary doctor, and had to wait another week to be seen. At this point I was taking the medication, and started to feel better. By the middle of the week all symptoms were gone, and I figured since the medication worked that means I have it. My appointment finally came, I had no symptoms and basically all they could do is a blood test. That was on January 12, and I still haven't gotten my results because of issues with the lab. I have been off of the medication for almost a month now and haven't had any issues so far. I'm not very optimistic about it though.

 

 

In the past couple of weeks, I've definitely been over thinking about everything. My body has had so much acne, I guess because of me freaking out. I know this is acne, because I've had issues in the same places before all of this. Second, I've been freaking out over every bump, mosquito bite, redness, anything. Since my first "diagnosis" if you can call it that, I have had nightmares over auto inoculation of my body, specifically my eyes. This is where my first question comes in, how long does it take for auto inoculation to show up. The reason I'm scared of this is because I wear contacts, and in the beginning I was touching it quite often. I was mainly trying anything and everything to heal it, since I thought it was chafing. Getting it in my eyes is my number one fear! I've read all of the posts from people saying that it doesn't usually happen, unless you're a child, I understand. But what if I wasn't careful enough? When would I expect it to flare up in my eyes?

 

Answers, comments, would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

[2Legit2Quit]

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this and it's so confusing. So you and your bf always used condoms? Dies he get cold sores? I assume from what you said, that you were not swabbed? There's not telling w out a swab if it was from oral sex or intercourse. You have to see gynos of planned parenthood for that stuff, not GPs... GPs are the worst for sexual health.

 

It's also too soon for a blood test, which further shows the ignorance of the doctor. It takes 3-4 months to build antibodies, to come up positive on a test.

 

O think most of us go through that phase of freaking out over everything like that. The best advice I can give to get over that, is to journal your symptoms daily, location, sensations z frequencies and possible triggers for a few months. That's how I had to learn my body post H and stop obsessing. Don't worry, for like 90% of people, their recurrents aren't anything like their first. For example, I had the most severe OB w neuropathy and my recurrents are a single red bump on my vagina, but usually bunos on my buttock. After you experience your second one, if you do, your worries will calm down. Mine didn't even hurt after my primary.

 

So I was the same way about my eyes, so I learned to use my left hand to touch my vagina, say if you have an itch at night and my right hand was for touching my face. After about 6 months of building up antibodies, you willl be fine, but we should never touch our genitaI and then our eyes w or w out H!

 

You would have had signs by now if it got in your eyes. As long as you wahs your hand's well, you're good to go.

[StillMeButWiser]

When your boyfriend was tested, it clearly stated hsv wasn't included? If not, he should get tested now. This will give you some insight on who had it first. Like in my case, time of my first OB didnt mean I was recently exposed like I thought. A blood test confirmed I had it for awhile and it was the combination of hitting my head on tile floor (a concussion) and grief of my mom passing caused it to make its debut. I too used condoms. Unfortunately, the piece of rubber doesnt cover our magical spot.

 

Hopefully all will go wrll with you. Take the time to digest the diagnosis and know herpes doesnt define who you are.

[Tryingtodeal]

Thank you both for answering! I feel like just getting everything out made me feel a little bit better.

 

My boyfriend was in an accident recently, so he was tested in the emergency room. They don't do testing for herpes. We are planning on getting him tested soon.

 

The reason why I say he exposed me was because everything that happened was just too coincidental in timing. Probably 2-3 days of us having sex, he had what we thought was a pimple on the bottom if his lip. The day that we had sex, he gave me oral. I already had a cut from shaving,. Almost immediately, the next day, I had some pain, which I thought was from shaving. The second day, the bump appeared, and the pain was massive. The timing is right for exposure. But we are both definitely getting tested.

 

I wasn't able to get it swabbed, because it was healed by the time I went to the doctor. Today I'll be taking another blood test, and we'll go from there.

 

Like I said, thank you so much for answering. I feel like just getting it out there and getting some advice helped me sleep a little easier.

[2Legit2Quit]

Make sure you wait 3-4 motnhs before you take the blood test, otherwise it's a waste. It needs to have time to build up antiobodies. Well, based on what you said about the pimple, sounds like it very well could be from oral sex.

[WCSDancer2010]

@Tryingtodeal

 

Hello and Welcome!

 

First off, your RUDE Dr needs to get a good quick kick in the balls, because that response was TOTALLY uncalled for. I would lodge a complaint AND include that he not only inferred that H happens to people who are non-monogamous, but that he did a VISUAL diagnosis which is completely unreliable, and that he was totally unhelpful when you asked for more info.

 

Second, as 2legit said, GP's/ER Dr's/ETC are TOTALLY useless when it comes to STD info. You need to go to specialists whenever you have an issue that isn't something SIMPLE like a cold or cut or whatever because a GP nowadays just plain can't keep on top of the latest info on everything. So please get thee to an OBGYN or Planned Parenthood.

 

Sounds like you may have HSV1 genitally - 80% of the population has it orally and 80% of them don't know they have it soo it's unfortunately VERY common nowadays.

 

As for Autoinoculation, chill out friend. The vast majority don't pass it anywhere ... and once you have it for a few months, it's almost impossible to spread unless your immune system gets really weak. Most Ocular Herpes is in children who get the Oral HSV1 ... they pick and poke at things and don't tend to wash hands much and their immune systems are not established. As long as you use NORMAL hygiene (wash hands after touching your genitals for now....) you should be ok.

 

And here's some things to help you to get H under control faster :)

 

I suggest you keep a journal of what you are eating, activities, stressors, etc ... see if you can see a pattern for what makes it worse. I often say that Herpes is like a "first responder" to the health of your body ... although in the first few months, it's often just that your body needs time to figure out how to get it under control.

 

Second - attack it from the outside ... I'm going to put a bunch of links but generally Epsom Salts baths (drop a double handful of the salts between your legs so its concentrated there), followed by thorough drying (even using a hair drier to get it really dry), maybe going commando, and using Bactine (which helps to kill the virus AND numb it thanks to the lidocaine in it) ... or my favorite, Ammonium Alum ... but there's LOTS of suggestions in the links. I find if you attack it from the outside, the inside can do it's job better :)

 

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/6024/dealing-with-outbreaks#latest includes links below

http://supporttruthanddialog.com/easy-simple-self-help-tips-for-relief-from-herpes-outbreaks/

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/4810/bactine-for-oral-and-even-genital-herpes

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-treatment/

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-medication/

 

http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2010/genital-ulcers.htm#hsv

 

Links to some of the items suggested in the links

http://amzn.to/1CHUzZE Link to Alum

http://tinyurl.com/Aloecream

http://amzn.to/1F10r3V Fractionated Coconut Oil

http://bit.ly/zincsoap Zinc Soap with coconut oil

http://bit.ly/Zinccream

http://bit.ly/Calendula_Salve

http://tinyurl.com/bactine

http://tinyurl.com/Oragelsgldose

http://tinyurl.com/DMSO4HSV

 

 

 

[Tryingtodeal]

Thank you again for answering. @WCSDancer2010 @2Legit2Quit @StillMeButWiser I know all of you have suggested that I not get the blood test, but I already had it drawn so the results were coming regardless. I really appreciated the insight y'all have given. But I need some more information. I got the test results today, and basically the doctor said that it came back positive. When I pushed for more information, how long I had it, and what type, I understood that I wouldn't get an exact time frame, but still. She ended up telling me that all it said was that I had been exposed to it previously and that it was Herpes Virus type 6. I asked her was that considered one or two, and she didn't have answer, just that it was associated with genital, and suggested that I get tested for HIV and other STDs. I ended up leaving the office more confused than when I got there. I decided to do a simple google search, and it showed that Herpes Virus 6 is something that is commonly contracted among infants. Which to me would kind of go with the having been exposed for a while. This was the only one she told me about, so I'm not really sure what to think. I'm convinced that I don't have genital herpes (HSV 1 or 2), because I know that it wouldn't show up so soon if I was previously exposed. So can someone give me some answers? I need clarity.

[2Legit2Quit]

Oohhhmmmyyyfffinnggggooodd .. I think she's won dumbest doctor of the year on that one. Do you have a copy of your results? Request that and tell us what it is, so we can see if we can derive something from it. HH6 DOES NOT, cause genital herpes or oral and nor does it infect the nerves. Completely different group of the HH viruses. The only other HH viruse that shares common DNA, is HH3; aka, chicken pox/herpes zoster. HH 1-3 are the alpha Herpes group and the only ones that infect the nerves out of all 8. They also probably put you in for a combined IgM, which isn't accurate anyway. You're just gonna have to wait like we said and go to planned parenthood when you hit 3-4 month mark, because the correct blood test won't tell you anything now either. You can just throw that other one out the window.

[WCSDancer2010]

Agreed - we need to see the results of the test but if they did a combined IgM, that test is useless and you need to get the IgG (as we previously mentioned) about 4 weeks after possible exposure.

 

The fact that the Dr let you leave the office completely confused and even MORE incorrectly informed tells me it's time you got a new Dr. Remember, Doctors are not Gods. They are human and some are better at their jobs than others.... and remember 50% graduate in the bottom half of their class! Sounds like you got one that managed to get in on a low grade... :p

 

Certainly, you can't take this as proof that you don't have HSV1 or 2 (The two that can affect the genitals) YET. Again, as sucky as it is, you need to re-test in a few months (the end of April) to get an accurate result and it HAS to the the IgG test. If a Dr suggests you add the IgM, WALK OUT of the office. That just shows they don't know their STD's from their a$$hole.

 

(((HUGS)))

[Tryingtodeal]

I got the test. It was a a combined IgM IgG. Basically it just showed herpes type 6. I honestly have decided that I'm done worrying about it. I'll get tested again in a couple of months, and HOPEFULLY, the other test will show what's going on. In the mean time, I'll be cautious about what I do, and really just try to move on. I feel like that's all I can do right now.

[2Legit2Quit]

Yup, wrong test! Completely wrong test. It doesn't mean you have herpes type 6, that is the value. If you have HSV 1, it will produce a false positive for HSV 2. So you need a type specific IgG test in 3 months.

[Tryingtodeal]

The test was the combined IgM IgG. The test says Verbatim Herpes Type 6 and then shows the IgM IgG ranges. Then underneath it talks about HHV6 and this:

 

Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infects T-Lymphocytes, and has been identified as an etiologic agent of exanthema subitum. Rises in antibody titers to HHV-6 have been detected during infection with other viruses. In seroepidemiology studies of the prevalence of exposure using serum screening dilutions of 1:10, the detection of IgG antibody in a mid-life population approaches 100%.

Due to this high prevalence of HHV-6 Antibody, correlations of single IgG Titers with specific diseases are of little clinical value. Evidence of acute infection or reactivation of HHV-6 is demonstrated by a significant rise or seroconversion if IgG and IgM Titers.

 

So should I ignore this? It was just strange to me. Should I be worried about this? I will definitely get the correct test in a couple of months, but I'm curious about this one. What do y'all think?

 

@2Legit2Quit

[2Legit2Quit]

Whaaat tthheee ffuuccckk? Your doctor is a fucking idiot! She put you in for the completely wrong test! Wooowww! This is a first for me! @wcadancer2010 can you believe her doc actually put her in for the human herpes virus 6? Ok, first off, everyone gets infected w HH6 as babies. I'd come up positive for that too if I tested. Secondly, you need to go to planned parenthood to be tested when you reach your 3-4 month mark post exposure, unless you have an ob before then, you cna go to PP and be swabbed.

 

Nope, nothing to worry about. We are all infected w several herpes viruses by the time we're adults. Even if you never had mono before, I promise you have a 98% chance of having antibodies to it. That's called EBV, human Herpes 4. HH6 they don't know as much about and how if later in life it causes any issues. It infects us as babies and then goes dormant and that one can be transmitted by sneezes for example I believe... That one and CMV I believe can. Bodily secretions that is.

 

Most of us will be infected w the following by the time we're adults: HSV 1, VZV aka chicken pox/Herpes zoster when it reactivates as an adult, EBV aka mono, CMV, HH6, & HH7. You have nothing to worry about.

[WCSDancer2010]

I agree - from what I can tell, H6 is in most if not all the population, so it seems pointless to have tested for it. Time to get a new Dr.... and a HSV1 and HSV2 IgG test...