I looked around on the internet and all the answers I found seemed rather vague to me. Only days after being with my latest partner I have what I believe to be my first outbreak. At first I thought it was vaginal tearing from rough intercourse but its only seemed to have gotten worse in the last 4 days. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow but I want to be as prepared as possible to having the "talk" if the results are positive. From what I've read and know about having the chicken pox the virus can stay dormant in your spine and some people never have symptoms but if you do have symptoms does that mean you got it from your last partner or could it be possible that I received it from a previous partner?
Hi Stardumb,
HSV is very sneaky and can stay dorment in your system for years and years without you ever having any symptoms. For this reason it is often difficult to pinpoint who exactly transmitted this virus to you.
An Igg blood test might be able to tell if you have had this infection for a while or it. It will do this by detecting type specific antibodies. If you have recently been infected then typically antibodies won't be detected, however, if it is over 3 months then they will. It is important to note that it can take up to four months to become positive on an HSV IgG test.
Do you have open lesions? These should be swabbed as well.
There are others who know much more than I do so hopefully someone else will reply.
Although HSV can stay dormant for years before the first outbreak, in many cases, I suspect it's because the person failed to recognise their true first outbreak, which could have been very mild and mistaken for something else.
If you have never had HSV before, including cold sores, an acute first outbreak will normally occur within a week of infection. If you do the IgG antibody test now, together with a swab, youcan determine if it's a new infection or not, assuming you even have it. A positive swab (PCR is more accurate than culture) and a negative IgG means it's very recent.
Thanks for your insight, I think that answers my question. I'm typically fairly healthy and know immediately when something is wrong with my body. I've been in so much pain there's just no way I mistook it for something else with a prior infection. I do have a lot of the symptoms unfortunately. I had very rough sex on monday night and about two days later I woke up so groggy like I was hit by a dump truck. The pain got worse down there and that's when I knew something was wrong because if it were vaginal tearing I'd be healing by now. I brought up the pain to my sister and she was the one that suggested that it was something else. I finally had a closer look with a mirror and that's when I noticed the ulcers. I'm crossing my fingers that is something else but considering I was also recently diagnosed with high risk hpv my optimism is not high. Also my partner is 14 years older and has been a dj since 1995 so I assume he's had a lot of partners like myself.
I know what you're going through . My outbreak started on Dec 2nd and finally ended on the 8th seemed like forever. It burned when I peed I think because it was getting on the raw skin . I didn't even know nor think I had herpes because at the time I had just got done nairing so I thought it was pertained to that and I had just gotten a chemical burn .. Even the doctor thought the same and she is suppose to be licensed in that area.
I never did get prescribed medicine and when I did it was to clear up a BV I ended up getting while having the outbreak .. Never had discharge or none of this before all this stuff happened . And it doesn't help none that the person I contracted it from didn't even tell me they were infected ...
I know exactly what you are going through tho . And when you do get your results back rather positive or negative life goes on .. And things will get better . How are you holding up ?
Make sure you tell your doctor what you want tested. It has to be IgG (not IgM) and preferably a PCR swab (viral cultures are prone to false negatives) for both HSV types. I did that and was able to confirm that my infection was new and so I knew exactly who gave it to me. Pretty obvious in my mind, but I wanted to know for sure whether it was a new or dormant infection before broaching the topic.
Thank you for your advice I'm in queue right now to make an appointment with the doctor. I will make sure they run all the tests.
Thanks so much for your concern. Like I said above I'm currently in queue to make my appointment right now and just finished writing a letter to my partner that I will send to him once I know for sure its herpes. I didn't sleep much last night due to the frequent urination, pain, and fever. The stress has finally hit me just now and I finally cried but again because I found out last month I also have cancer causing HPV (both my sister and mother have had cervical cancer from it although I'm told its not hereditary) so I'm already aware I have no other option than to accept it.
Also thanks for sharing your recent experience, it really helps knowing that I'm not alone. Looks like I'm going to have to go to a walk in clinic this morning with a nurse. My mom is taking me and I'm wavering on whether I should tell her the news. Before I knew what it was last night I just told her I had a uti. She also does not know I have hpv and I've only told my sister and two best friends about that. I expect that she will cry also.
I was terrified to tell anyone, def wouldn't tell friends, but eventually worked up the courage to tell my Mum. She was great about it. The fact is, as horrific as it is, it is a skin condition and nothing more. Your Mum will love and support you <3
Big hugs!
I'm happy to hear she was there for you. Not a lot of people have that. I know she will nag me for not using protection so it will be tough but she has herpes on her face sometimes so I hope she'll be more understanding. I haven't told anyone about the hsv but I trust my friends to not tell anyone and provide me with moral support. I tried to call one of my bffs, the first I told about the hpv but she didn't pick up last night. I'm 32, single, and have no children. I know is hard on any age but the fact I also have hpv I really hope I can get through this without my depression getting in the way. I'm currently seeing 3 people, two I don't think gave it to me nor have I exposed but I will still have to tell them because I'm much closer to them than my recent partner that probably infected me. This is not young to be easy as one of them useem to he my boss.
Sorry for all the typos in the last line. It should read as, "This is not going to be easy as one of them use to be my boss."
So what type do you think you have ?
Don't get all down in the dumps just look at it as skin condition which is basically what it is, it comes and goes ,
When I first found out I was a depression mess completely fell out like felt like my life was over and everything I sometimes still feel that way I totally and completely have restrictions on my sexual life ., and I feel like I'm kind of keeping him from what we are use to .
Did you contact it from someone else ? Or ? How ? You said through cancer I never knew you could get it like that
Don't feel alone I haven't told my daddy .. Only person that knows is my boyfriend , it's hard to tell
I'm in the doctor's office as we speak so I have yet to find out. My mom did nag me about it at first but she read about it in the waiting room and it ended with a hug. I might get cancer from hpv not from hsv but since my pap came back normal they have to retest me in a year to see if it goes away on its own or not. It's not the kind of hpv causes genital warts, but cervical cancer. The man I'm seeing right now I only just met so I don't know how he will take it because I don't think he's aware he has it. Being single for 4 years I feel cursed. But in the end I have to take it as it is and accept it.
I had almost the same exact experience with my diagnosis of HSV 1. I was in horrible pain and had plans to go away to see an ex boyfriend for the weekend. I go an appointment with my OBGYN on Friday AM before I left town. She did an exam and said she saw nothing, but had asked if I have had shingles in the past. I haven't. She told me it was trauma from rough sex and sent me on my way with a tube of lidocaine and told me not to have sex. She gave me no indication that it could be herpes. I went away and did attempt to have sex, as much as I could due to the pain I was in. By Saturday, I started to feel horrible and felt as if I had a fever and was so tired, but I wrote it off to a hangover. I was in so much pain Saturday night, I couldn't sleep. I cut my trip short and left early Sunday am. By Sunday pm, I had swollen glands and a fever of 102°. .I called the OBGYN and she told me to go to the ER. I was shocked and so embarrassed when they told me they were 90% positive I had HSV, but would confirm in 3 days. I went home and cried, not just because of the pain, but of the diagnosis. I had oral sex about 2 weeks prior to the first outbreak with someone I was dating, so I am pretty sure it came from him. He tested negative within a week, but his dr told him to go back in 2 months to be retested. I am terrified that I may have given it to my ex because I think I was starting to have itchiness, but again,clueless to the fact that it could have been herpes. After almost two weeks of beating myself up and living in contact pain, I came to the realization, that life goes on. Hang in there.....it only gets better from here.
Here's the update from the doctor who was urgent care so I don't feel like he wanted to take the time to consult with me. I got a pcr but he wouldn't perform the igg because he said it will only show if the virus has been active for the last few months. I'm not sure if he understood what I was asking but if its as he says there is another person I have in mind since I have intercourse about once every month with a different partner. Regardless from everything I've read and what you guys said it could be this recent guy. The doc had a look at my sore and he said that he couldn't tell me until the blood work comes back because I had no blisters but I assume that's because of the friction of running to the bus yesterday in my tight work jeans. He gave me Acyclovir anyhow and told me to take it and to stop taking it if my results come back negative. I'm almost positive I have it because I didn't get a wink of sleep due to the chills. The pain was only bad today after urinating though. I'm going to take a nap now and think again about how I'm going to approach all this. I may also go to Planned Parenthood (a family planning/women's health clinic in the US) to get another view on it. I really don't like that he's giving me too much optimism. I would rather he tell me its likely and the results come back negative than he tell me it could be something else and I be right about my diagnosis.
So did the dude get retested ?
How long have you been diagnosed with it ?
Type one is way easier then type 2 let me say that ., can you still kiss people and all that ? Not to get to personal but if you give oral . Will it spread to someone else ?
Glad that you have learned and accepted what needs to be accepted it's still sinking into my head and I got diagnosed on the 15th of December.
Have you had any other outbreaks ?
I understand where your coming from ...
But one partner once a month every month ? You're very lucky you have contracted anything else . I never had blisters either . Never . I just had little bumps that Looked like a chemical burn the last thing I suspected was that I was had herpes
If you do have it don't get so discourage because life goes on. I mean . I still feel so so down I didn't deserve this, if the person would've been honest with me that they had herpes things would've been different
I know your very anxious and its eating you up inside that's how it was with me & the craziest thing about it is she wasn't even going to Test me for herpes until I told her to ...
Life goes on love . Always remember that .
If you don't have it consider this a serious life learned lesson
Still keep me updated with the news !
Certainly sounds like the same experience. I really hate the fact that women are more likely to get it from men than men from women and women are also more suspectible to outbreaks. Its the same with HPV, they pass it to us without symptoms, we get stuck with cervical cancer. I really wish America would educate better in sex ed. I feel like if I knew this was so common I would be more careful. Instead they're trying to defund Planned Parenthood, one of the only organizations helping is sexual health.