Newly diagnosed and confused!

[kbgmom]

I'm a wreck! Thank goodness for a site such as this one. I have been married for 9 years, and dated my husband for a year prior (exclusively). Yes, I had partners prior to marrying him. Here is the deal.....

I had a full blown outbreak Saturday afternoon. I'm covered with about 50 blisters, severe back and abdominal pain, nausea, etc. I went to the dr. and he confirmed it is hsv. I am waiting for results as to whether it is type 1 or 2. My husband swears he has done nothing wrong. He hasn't had an outbreak. I'm so confused. The dr. says this has to be my initial outbreak, and believes I was just recently exposed. I am finding conflicting info online. My husband insists I must have had this for 10+ years and just now realize it (either just having an outbreak or one bad enough to notice). I hate to distrust my husband, but I don't see how I could have lived for 10 years with this and not know! He swears, swears, swears. I just don't know what to do. Can I be 100% sure that he gave this to me? Can i have walked around with this for years and just now be having an outbreak? I have 3 children!!! I'm a mess! Please help! if you have any info or anywhere to direct me, I would appreciate any information you can give me.

[WaxedWrong]

yes, u could have walked around for 10 yrs, and always had it.

alot of people who do have, dont ever know they have it until they have a outbreak, so its totaly possible.

> also everwhere u search will tell u the same thing.

there is a test though, that can help determin how long u have had it.

like it test for the amount of antibodies/ or something that are in your system (small amount> very new to u> husband is in trouble-- if u have a big amount> uve had it awhile)

ask your doc if they can do that test.

[spike]

does the test tell you the truth

I wouldn't rely on the test. it can but doesn't have to tell you how long you have had it for. Between March and June 06 I had couple of times protected sex with a guy who I think has slept with almost every girl in my town. On October I had an unprotected sex with my exboyfriend who has slept with some girls but not many. Two days after we had sex I got my first outbreak with all symptoms of a primary infection. I thought that my exboyfriend was the one who gave it to me. On the 3rd week of my initial outbreak I got a blood test done to find out if I got a recent infection. my test came back somewhere between negative and positive but the test of my exboyfriend was completely negative (maybe false negative?). Maybe the result of my test didn't show the real values either. So how should I know what's true and what isn't. I still think that I got it from my ex but when I consider the behaviour of the previous guy than I really don't know.

Maybe I got it from the previous guy and just now experiencing the first symptoms. This time the sex was very painful for me and it was almost impossible for him to get in. Maybe this triggerd the outbreak. My doc diagnosed it as a primary infection because I also had the flu like symptoms and swollen lymphnods. She also said it didn't have to be him who gave it to me. Yes you get the flu like symptoms and swollen lymphnodes when you get your first true primary infection but you can also have the same symptoms when your immune system is down and the virus replicates easily. What I am trying to say is that not even doctors know the truth. Herpes is a very strange virus and I am really confused about how I got it.

[BoxofRain]

reply to KBGmom

Hi, the post about testing for antibodies to determine if you have just contracted it was very helpful to me. It is very accurate and was explained to me in depth by my doctor. The antibodies appear differently if it was a recent infection. There presence in the blood stream appear differently if you are newly infected. For me, I wondered the same thing as you because my boyfriend of 3 years had no symptoms or knowledge that he had it when I got my first outbreak. He assumed I must have got it from someone else and had it dormant in my system, however, it turns out he was the one with it dormant in his system all these years and never knew it. My doctor explained to me that I had been recently infected with the virus, as I had new antibodies in my blood. She said a "recent" exposure, through analysis of blood test, means that I was infected sometime within the last 6 months. After longer than that the antibodies would present as being in your system for a while. For you, this sounds like a very good way to tell....as you have never had an outbreak and symptoms. For me personally, I would think this is your FIRST outbreak because you have newly been exposed. I think that for two reasons: 1. you had a very severe outbreak and the first one is usually the worst, and 2. you exhibited flu like symptoms that were severe and that usually coincides with the first outbreak, though slight flu like symptoms can appear sometimes in future outbreaks. For me, it was my first outbreak and i felt worse than any flu in my life and had it worse than i have ever got it since then. Hope my advice helps.....definitely ask your doctor .....should help you figure it out.