Apparently I was a carrier of HSV 2, never knew it and finally had an outbreak!

Posted , 3 users are following.

So initially I thought I got it from a guy I slept with after having a year of no intercourse.  Today I got my test results back.  

Hell no!  I was a carrier so I was infected awhile back but I displayed no symptoms!  Now I feel awful.  Should I contact everyone I’ve slept with over the past 10 years?!  I’m embarrassed and ashamed and to think I may have given this to someone else.  My doctor says there is no way to pin point who gave it to me but she says it definitely is showing that I’ve had it longer than I initially had and I just never displayed symptoms until now.  

I wish this test was a standard practice to test for it.  Where I’m from the only main ones are for chlamydia and gonhorrhea.  Everything else they only test for if you experience symptoms.  This should be a standard yearly test on everyone’s physical I think.  I never even knew and now I feel awful sad  I even got angry at the poor guy I assumed gave it to me and accused him of lying.

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2 Replies

  • Posted

    What test did they do to figure out how long you’ve had it ? My doctor just diagnosed me (visual) and I’m waiting for the actual tests to come back now.  This test isn’t standard in my area either, it has to be requested or it isn’t done, how ridiculous ?! I’m so angry right now but also really confused & depressed about everything 

    • Posted

      There are two tests for it apart from visual and swab.  It’s a blood serum test.  One is IGG and the other is IG... something.  I can’t exactly remember.  One tells you if you have an active infection and the other tells you if you have antibodies for it which can give an approx timeline.  However you have to have it done right when you first have it otherwise it won’t be accurate.  For me though it was worth it to get because I hadn’t had sex or sexual contact in over a year and a half then had sex with a guy and two days later had my first outbreak and I was at the doctors that day getting tested.  Swab came back positive for HSV 2.  Serum tests one came back positive for active infection of HSV 2 and the other one said I had the infection for longer than 4 weeks which if I contracted it through the guy I recently had sex with, it wouldn’t add up.  So I was informed I was a carrier of it and contracted it sometime in the last 10 years.  I say 10 years because my son is 10 and during pregnancy they test for it and I was negative at the time.  Unfortunately there is no way to pin point exactly when it was contracted but for me she could tell me whether it was this particular guy who gave it to me.  

      The other tests for HSV 1 all came back negative which I’m surprised about considering 80% of the population have it and only 15% have HSV 2.  However 80% of people with HSV 2 are carriers and don’t even know they have it so that percentage should be a heck of a lot higher.  It’s extremely disappointing that they don’t test for is routinely.  Would save a lot of people havoc.  I have not been normal in over a month since I’ve been diagnosed.  My nerves are shot and I’ve already had a second outbreak which was absolutely nothing like the first.  I only got one tiny blister and it was gone in 48 hours but the itching is unbearable.  I now have cuts cause I’m scratching myself in my sleep.  It’s awful.  

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