Genital Herpes: Useful info for those looking for answers like me!

Hey there! The HerpeSelect IgG test for HSV1 can in fact miss some cases (supposedly 1 in 4), and since you've had no outbreaks since, if it was/is herpes, it *could* be HSV1... or it might not be herpes at all. It's a shame you weren't swabbed at the time. If you ever get the same symptoms again, go get it swabbed and typed asap.

Hi! So nice to talk to you again. I'm confused but as you said, it's a shame I didin't get it swabbed back in November; guess I was in shock. I will wait and see if it happens but I know for now it's uncertain. It's also hard to have "the talk" with my potential partners when I'm not even sure if I have it Not good for the dating life

On another note, this thread has given me more answers that any doctors have seen so far. THANK YOU!

That's so great to hear, and thanks for saying!

I wouldn't worry about disclosure if I were you. The HSV2 IgG test doesn't have that issue, so if you had HSV2, it would have shown but it didn't, so you're negative for that, and that's the one you should disclose if you had it. gHSV1 is just the cold sore virus in an awkward location, but it is actually less infectious genitally than orally, yet people with oral HSV1 don't disclose. Some would argue that they should, but then again, most people with oral HSV2 don't even know they have it, so they can't!

Putting all of that aside, you have been tested, and for all intents and purposes, you are negative. It may not have been herpes anyway. I would thus not worry for now, nor would I disclose based on all of the above.Your dating life doesn't need to change. 👍

It should be much better by a week. Maybe you're just taking a little longer, but that's nothing to worry about. Each person is different. You also need to dilute the urine from the inside, so drink lots of water. Have you increased your intake?

If you and your partner both have it, as is most likely the case from the sounds of it, and if your outbreaks aren't excessive, there's actually no need for either of you to go on any medication, except to treat outbreaks as and when they occur, and even that's optional. Make sure he is tested for HSV2 IgG antibodies, not IgM.

Assuming he has it, there is no risk to him whatsoever if you were to engage in oral sex. If you haven't already, you could potentially acquire it in the mouth as well, however, although oral HSV2 is very infrequently recurring and not very infectious. After 4 months, you should have immunity to acquiring HSV2 elsewhere on your body.

Thank you for responding so quickly! Is there a drawback from being on the medication? I would get on it just to avoid having another outbreak. This is a horrible pain. Do you know if there is any correlation between the severeity of the initial OB and reoccurences?

I have not contracted it in my mouth yet, I'm not sure how I haven't though. My mouth was involved the time I aquired it down below. I do have HSV1 cold sores but I rarely get them. Would this protect me from HSV2 of the mouth?

The first outbreak is nearly always the worst by far. Recurrences tend to be waaay milder, believe me. If you're lucky, just a single lesion that's only sore to the touch (so largely unnoticeable otherwise), with none of the burning urination, body aches and whatever else you might have experienced with the first outbreak. Recurrences also heal much faster (up to or within a week).

Taking the meds daily for suppressive therapy is not an issue, and valacyclovir and acyclovir are both well tolerated with no side effects for most people, and can be taken for years. However, if transmission isn't an issue in your current relationship, then unless you find out that you get horrible, frequent recurrences, there's really no need.

Experts usually advise new patients to see how it goes in the first year without any meds. I did that and decided I don't need the needs unless I end up with a negative partner, as my recurrences turned out to be pretty mild and unbothersome, plus not all the time. So, it's up to you at the end of the day, and if you can find a doctor to prescribe suppressive therapy, but personally I'd see how you go without first. Good way to learn your triggers, if any, and how to identify the start of an outbreak, too.

You may have acquired it orally but without symptoms, or maybe you didn't acquire it there at all. Not a big worry either way. Oral HSV1 might offer a little 'protection' against acquiring oral HSV2, but in general HSV1 does not really do much for HSV2 other than minimising symptoms (most asymptomatic HSV2 folk are asymptomatic due to pre-existing HSV1).

Thank you, you have really given me some hope in this mess. I hope I am as fortunate as you and the recurrences are mild and few and far between.

How is it transmitted by shedding with no symptoms? I'm assuming that is how I got it. Is the "shedding" all the time or is that sporadic, as well?

It can be really devastating and stressful at first, but things will and do get better over time. It took me a few months, because I had to deal with this alone (that's another story!), but now I can confidently say that I am emotionally back to normal, no more stressed than usual, and I didn't have to give up or drastically change my former lifestyle, which was initially a fear of mine.

Recurrences also tend to improve over time. The first year is often said to be the worst, and I have noticed a big improvement in my second year. Don't forget, I'm not on the oral meds, not even for recurrences (but you can certainly do that to try to abort or hasten a recurrence, by the way; that's known as episodic therapy versus daily suppressive therapy). I just use acyclovir cream to hasten healing.

So it gets better, and it might even prompt you to lead a healthier and fitter lifestyle on top of your former one. That's what I did. Same lifestyle as before, but with a greater health/fitness slant, which also helped me out with the stress, etc.

As for shedding, yes, most new infections (~70%) are due to asymptomatic shedding, whereby virus is shed via the thin mucosal skin of the genitals (no lesions required), which do not act like a barrier like regular skin. That's also how people get infected, as the virus can enter genital mucosal skin, not just shed from it. Asymptomatic shedding is sporadic and it's impossible to know when it's happening, unfortunately.

If my partner and I both have it now, does being re-exposed to it matter? Thats all I think about when being intimate now and it is a definite mood killer

Thank you so much for you info and support. I appreciate the honesty and transparency. I'm glad to hear that you have made peace with yourself. I hope I can acheive that one day too.

If you both definitely have the same HSV type, then re-exposure makes no difference once you have both passed the 4-month mark. That is when full antibodies are produced, thus protecting other parts of the body from acquiring the virus.