hi..im new here (smile)

[focusongoals]

Hello everyone:

I found out i have hpv2 a few weeks ago. I refuse to let this hinder me, and bog me down with depression. i have always been an upbeat person, and will continue to be. I believe i was infected over a year ago, by my then bf. i truly believe he knew he had h, and just didnt tell me. you see, i had what i know now to be an ob. just a small cluster of blisters that i thought i gave myself from shaving.

Thats just a life learning lesson: to disclose this condition to anyone i plan on getting intimate with......hopefully ill be able to have sex again someday,right?

well im thankful for this support forum, b/c its a good thing to be able to ask questions, and not be judged.

[Mulatta]

hi n welcome.

[Shayna]

Hi Focus,

Welcome! There's a lot of good support and advice here. I have gotten a lot from it, I'm sure you will too.

Best of Luck and I'll be seeing you around!

[Confused01]

Hi... I'm new here and I'm really scared and confused!

I was just told 2 weeks ago, actually May 3rd by my OBG that I have HSV-2 yet in the same breath he said he wasn't sure. He took a culture and said we would have to wait for the results to come back, which it's now the 13th and I still have not heard back on the results. Of course back in October of 2006 he misdiagnosed me twice so I really don't know what to think.

I've been reading a lot and trying to educate myself on Herpes and everywhere I turn I keep seeing the same basic things and explanations of the following: Warning signs, Early redness, Small area of swelling, Small blisters, Wet ulcers & Dry crust etc... to which I experienced none of. I also understand some people may exp. no signs or any other problems until they actual have an outbreak, which I hear your first one can be pretty painful ( i think i would remember that if i had one).

What I had was a small lump or a bump under the skin just outside my Labia Majora along the inside of the hairline. It started the day after my period. It became inflamed, tender and sore to the touch with redness around it and a little up the side and it hurt to sit it certain positions. On May 3rd is when I went to my OBG to find out what was wrong (see above). He prescribed me Valtrex but said I didn't need to fill it because it appeared I was starting to heal. The next day totally freaking out scared and worried I filled it anyway and have been taking it every since. Well I guess the bump. lump boil, cyst whatever you want to call it eventually broke or drained or did whatever it did because I felt nothing and around the 5th I felt fine again. A little red in the area remained then it healed up not scabbed up but healed up.

So needless to say I'm a complete wreck. I'm scared, confused, anxious and everything else you can possible think of. Do I have Herpes? Do I not have Herpes? I don't know what to think anymore. WOW... I guess I went a little overboard here and just went on and on and I'm sorry, but this has been bottled up inside me for 2 weeks now since I have no one to talk to.

Any suggestions, advice, information or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for listening and reading.

[Shayna]

Hey there Confused!

I totally understand how you're feeling, I'm the queen of overboard.

So, I didn't think you were overboard at all

It is scary and you really won't know for sure until you get your test results back. I would call them back myself though if they don't call you tomorrow.

What you described sounded like my out-break...mine was in a different location. It was a bump and I thought it was possibly a mosquito bite.(it was a lil itchy, was yours?)

Keep reading and learning as much as you can. The info on suppliments is good to read up on and purchase, They help.

Everything you read states that keeping your anxiety down helps keep your out-breaks under control... So, it's good to try not to get too upset.

I tend to think everything different with my body, on any given day, is directly related to my hsv2, So I have to keep learning and try not to get too freaked out myself.

You're not alone.

I'm sure others on here with more experience will be very helpful to you!

Take care and good luck.

[Confused01]

Newbie

Hey there Shayna!

Thanks for the advice! I will be calling if I don't hear something tomorrow, count on that one. No, it wasn't itchy at all. There were no blisters, sores or ulcers and no crusting over of any kind. Of all the stories I have read I didn't think it was possible to have an outbreak yet not have any of the classic symptoms.

I have bought supplements, herbs and other items to help. I also read somewhere that conventional methods used for yeast infections or BV infections..etc will not relieve the herpes symptoms, which is again why I am confused because back in Dec. when my OBG said i had BV he prescribed medicine for me, I used it for 5 days and it was 100% gone. I

The thing is from Jan. 2004 until July 2006 I was only with 1 guy maybe 4 or 5 times and we were both clean and I never had any problems of any kind not even mistaken for anything else. New b/f came into the picture at the end of Sept. didn't work out we broke up and I haven't had sex since Oct. 25th last year.

[Shayna]

Well, Sadly this virus is rather sly... A person doesn't need to have any of the "classic symptoms" to have an out-break. It seems most people here have symptoms that are very different from each other. Time frames and frequencies differ greatly too.

The virus can lay dormant for years, Only to rear it's ugly head way down the road.

Do you know for a fact that the last b/f you slept with was hsv free?

My ob appeared to be a bump. It itched and hurt a bit, nothing much. I never had blisters, sores, ulsers,or crusting over either. My culture came back positive.

Since you have been misdiagnosed in the past you may want to have a herpes specific blood test.

[Confused01]

Well that just sucks!!! All this really sucks!!! I've been trying to block it out of my head and not think about it and act as if it doesn't exist, but the more I hear and the more I read the more I just wanna crawl into a hole and die. and say "why me"!

Yes I know for a fact he was clean... but I'm not so sure about my last b/f. I have called him and told him what was going on but of course he said he didn't have any signs or symptoms and I said well I didn't either until my Dr. told me. He seemed unconcerned and uninterested as to what was going on with me as I sat on the phone and cried. He said he would get tested and get back to me and I told him to get a blood test to be 100% sure and he said ok. It's been a week and I haven't heard back from him yet although I don't know how long blood tests results take to come back?

Did I mention this really sucks I can't imagine what my future is going to be like...

Thanks again for listening...

[Shayna]

Please Try not to be so down, You don't even have your diagnoses yet.

You may not have herpes!

You are aware herpes exists...You're not sticking your head in the sand, So give yourself a break...It's Good that you are being responsible!

It's really hard to have to wait for test results. Try to be good to yourself! Watch a movie, Take a bubble bath, Do something to get your mind off of it for awhile.

Ok...Take Care of you! You can do that better than anyone else can.

[BoxofRain]

Are you sure you and past boyfriends were "clean" as you put it. Because anyone who gets tested for "all stds" is not tested for herpes ever, unless they ask for a specific blood test IN ADDITION to the test for "all stds" so that leaves millions of people misinformed and have no clue they were never tested for herpes. So that is why herpes spreads so much from people who are asymptomatic and have been tested for "all stds" because they then leave with a false sense of security as they are "clean" for all stds when in fact thousands of them are actually carrying around the herpes virus, though clean of other stds. Also, because people are so misinformed about herpes they dont understand that you never need any classic signs or symptoms to have herpes. In fact millions of people who have herpes will never have an outbreak and therefore have no reason to suspect they have it, all the while spreading it unknowingly from time to time due to asymptomatic shedding. It is a definite wake up call when people finally become educated about HSV, as so many have no clue about how you actually can get it, signs/or no signs, time period of contracting it, as well as many other important facts about it. Also, some women assume they are tested annually during their papsmear but that is not the case with herpes, and even if the pap results analyzed herpes in addition(most never do) it would be highly innacurate, as the virus hides in the nerves cells and is only present on the skin a certain percentage of the time without outbreaks visible, so that is why its not tested that way. So many women assume when they have their annual appointments they were tested for herpes but sadly that is just not the case. Unless everytime you had an annual you had a specific blood test testing for herpes, you were never tested. It will be in your records if you were. Also, the std testing not related to annual appointments, like i said before DOES NOT test for herpes so look at your records and if you were tested it would be on record...as well as for your past boyfriends, who even if tested for "all stds" were NOT in fact tested for herpes unless they have blood test results, which they probably are unaware of unless they specifically asked. Hope this helps you understand the virus a little more. Good luck with your results.

[Caliope]

Confused01 - did your dr do a bloodtest this time or just the swab? my dr's misdiagnosed or failed to diagnose me for about 10 years. I had genital itching and severe back pain. Dr's didn't connect the dots. I had one major ob this year (10 years after being infected).

I wish I had known to ask for herpes specific blood testing in the beginning it would have save me alot of pain, frustration, trips to the shrink and that horrible feeling inside that I probably infected someone I love.

The antivirals can work miracles in my opinion at controlling this virus. It could be that the valtrex did it's job and that is why the bump went away.

Also most people who have hsv simply don't know they do, or they are misdiagnosed since the std testing doesn't include this and we assume we've been tested for everything and are clean.

[JRTJRT]

my dr's misdiagnosed or failed to diagnose me for about 10 years. I had genital itching and severe back pain. Dr's didn't connect the dots.

H can cause severe back pain? How does that work?

[Confused01]

Caliope

He just did a swab this time and I'm waiting for those results, but will also get a blood test done and no I have not had a blood test done in the past for it and I did know it wasn't included in paps (my fault). Last partner does have blood work done twice a year for all STD's specific. I am still waiting to hear back from ex-b/f of last October since I asked him to get a blood test as well when I found out.

In my 37 years I have only had 1 yeast infection, never a problem with constant vaginal itching, never had back problems until recently but that's due to herniated discs. 2002 I saw an OBG and a Dermatologist for the lump under my skin and it was a cyst that had to be drained. Since then there was never a problem with it until 2 weeks ago.

Since being here and reading and trying to educate myself on all of this and listening to all of you and your advice and suggestions I understand all the factors, conditions and what to look for and that is what confuses me the most. There has never been a concern for me to go any further for checking (my stupidity) because I have never had constant problems with anything even something that could be confused with something else... there just wasn't anything there. I was always in perfect health from top to bottom inside out, well until recently anyway.

Is there anyway a blood test can tell how long the virus has been in your system like is it a new infection or an old infection?

Thanks to all of you for your support!

[Caliope]

jrtjrt - the sciatic nerve is in your lower back and can be directly affected by the herpes virus residing in the lumbrosacral ganglia.

it felt like a badly pulled hamstring in the beginning but without an injury occurring. then the pain began to shoot down to my toes. soon I couldn't sit or lay down comfortably. it was always worse in the morning and I would cry all the way to the bathroom in the am. and could barely lift my leg up to get into the shower. I saw dr's and chiropractors and they gave me pain pills that barely cut the pain. After months I finally got some relief from seeing a "Bowen" practioner.

I realized recently that it was starting up again along with those tell tale signs of an hsv ob so I upped my antivirals and the pain was gone in 2 days. Miraculous.

[Caliope]

Confused01 - to try to answer your question about predicting exposure.

if you have been recently exposed to hsv (say in the last 2 to 3 months) herpes specific blood testing may be able to show a variance in antibody levels but only if you've had several blood tests with one being fairly close to initial exposure and one later that shows an increase in the antibodies developed to fight hsv. If you had two tests at equal intervals as above but the antibodies were essentially the same it would hypothetically mean that the infection was well established and not recent.

The test that is recommended for the most accurate results is the Western Blot.

I've never had blood testing myself for hsv and the information above is what I have gleaned from research and posts provided by educated members of this forum.

[JRTJRT]

Thanks Caliope. Hope your pain goes away for good.

[Confused01]

Hey Caliope

Actually the back pain started in 2003 when I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease. One bulging disc at L4 L5 then in Jan of this year it was diagnosed as 2 the other being L4 L5 and l5 S1. I've already done therapy and seen my Neurologist (we are still considering surgery) but until then I have had two sets of spinal injections 2 into the two discs and 4 into the versed joints. I seem to be doing better but it doesn't fix my problem.

Sorry to hear about your back.. I know all too well how back pain can take over your life. For me the drugs helped until I started getting the injections.

As far as sexually activity not since Oct. 25th and only once before that in June and before that it was a couple times in 2005 and currently don't care if I ever do again to be quite honest. I still haven't got my culture test back or at least the dr. hasn't called me.. are they suppose to call when it comes back either way? It was done on the 3rd.

Thanks for the info on the blood test, I think it's worth the money to have that one done.

Take care of you

[Confused01]

Hey Shayna

Thanks so much for the pep talk, it was a rough weekend. I have my good days and my bad days. Went and saw my dermatologist for unrelated issues but while I was there had him check me out and her saw no evidence of H. As far as the lump under my right side he checked that out to and said it was a sebaceous cyst and gave me medication to put on it. Although it is gone he said this would help it from hopefully coming back.

One day at a time right....

take care

[Shayna]

Wow Confused,

I really hope that your test comes back negative! That would be Wonderful.

So, if you have that proverbial second chance.....Runnnnnnnnnnn Forest Runnnnnnnnnnn!

You are welcome for your pep talk

I hope you never need another one! (meaning you never get H)

Let me know what happens, K?

Take care,

Shayna

[Confused01]

Hi there Shayna,

I really hope it does too! Maybe the praying I've been doing for 2 weeks will help.

If I'm lucky enough to get that second chance you can bet it's going to be a very loooooonnnnnng time before I get back in the game.

I don't wanna count my chickens just yet, but I'm going to keep praying to god and I've got 2 good friends that are praying for me as well so we shall see.

Still surprised I haven't heard from my OBG yet... maybe it takes 2 weeks?

Anyway I have to say there are some awesome people on here and you're one of them! It's really tough when you're dealing with something like this and you have no one to talk to. It's nice to know there is a place like this where no one will judge you!!

Take care,

Confused01

[Caliope]

I had to call my dr to get the results. They would not let anyone but the requesting physician deliver his interpretation. It took 2 weeks for me to connect with him.

If I was you I would begin calling and requesting the results. I will also tell you even if you are prepared for them it is shocking if they are positive. I ended up not being able to discuss them over the phone so I made an appointment for a consult so I could go over them with the dr and get his advice, recommendations etc.

Of course if the result is negative there would be no need for the consult.

All the best to you.

[Confused01]

Shayna,

Well I'm not a lucky one... just got the results of my culture back today "Positive" :cry: It's been the worst day of my life. Worst part was I was at work and wanted so bad to leave but my coordinator was a b**** and wouldn't let me leave even though she saw me there in tears. No I didn't tell her what was going on just that something important had come up and I needed to leave.

I don't get it... if the last 2 guys I was with both had blood tests and they both came back negative then how could I be positive and if I had it prior to 2004 than how did I not give it to either of them in 5 years? I guess I'm totally ignorant after all when it comes to all this.

Now the reality has hit home and I feel like my whole world has just been turned upside down. I always said this would never happen to me I was always careful and now I'm another statistic and it sucks!!!!

Where's my hole to crawl into when I need it....

[Confused01]

Caliope

See my response to Shayna... life sucks

[Shayna]

(((Confused01)))

That does Suck!!!

I'm so sorry! ..... It does feel like the worst day ever.

Who knows if you'll ever really pin point when you got it. The important part is to take care of yourself and try to feel good so you don't stress out and have an ob.

Now you're a member of the club nobody wanted to join

But we are good people and it's a big club!

PM me anytime, OK.

I wish things had been different!

[lil'bit]

confused and scared

hello everyone! Last month i found out i had herpes I dont know what kind b/c my dr claims my blood work shows its a recent outbreak. I've been doing alot of research on all the different types of herpes. I really like my OBGY but I feel like she really cant answer the question i have, and i have quite a few questions. I'm scared about getting another outbreak, i'm scared i may not realize what the sympotoms are for another outbreak. i'm trying my best not to get stressed out, and i refuse to let this bring me down but i have alot of questions. when i'm at work i'm fine but as soon as i get home i cant stop thinking about it, i've also been trying to find support groups in my area, when i found this website. my guess is i'm going use u guys as my support system if u dont mind?