About a year ago I slept with a guy. A couple minutes into the session, the condom broke. I was like, well, guess that's it, and that was that. It was a dumb one time thing, and I am really embarassed by it... Anyway... Later, he admitted to me that he had herpes. He has been outbreak free for a very long time... Anyway, I was very afraid I had contracted the disease through asymptomatic viral shedding... I've never had an outbreak, but feel like I have "symptoms" of herpes other than the breakouts, which I haven't had. These could be in my head, because I do worry about this frequently...Anyway, a lady from the Planned Parenthood clinic I go to said that I can get the answer with a blood serum test at a hospital lab by checking for the two herpes strains...Can anyone share their testing experiences with me? I mean, has everyone found their results to be pretty accurate? I would like to know just so I can get some reassurance. Or if I do have the disease, I can become informed and try to live life.Thanks to anyone who can share. I know there are other users on here with herpes, like Maggie, etc... I would really appreciate it.
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Herpes Testing
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when i was diagnosed i had an active sore so i was swabbed. pretty cut and dried. i'm not real up on the blood serum test, but here is a terrific place to go --- lots of info and a great forum herpes home page btw, i got it when i was 19, and i'm 46 now. been married 12 years and my husband does not have it, at least he doesn't have any symptoms. we never use protection other than avoiding sex when i feel an outbreak coming on. which is really rare anymore. when i first got it i had 4 - 6 outbreaks a year. over time, they dwindled down. i have gone as long as 18 months with no outbreak. these days i only get one when i am really stressed out from work. even then, i know when one is coming on and i take acyclovir. that prevents it from becoming a full outbreak. (by full outbreak i mean getting an actual sore. or shall i say "spot". it's just a little red spot less than the size of a pencil eraser.)from your post, i would say your chances of being infected are fairly low. do you get cold sores on your mouth? that's actually protective against getting genital herpes.
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ok i looked over on that link real quick and there is a test called an igg test. you can get an HSV1 igg and/or a HSV2 igg. costs vary...here is a post from the hhp technical forum:
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I went this morning (Monday, Nov. 29) to get a blood test. Now all I have to do is wait. I've been bawling my eyeballs out for the last two days because since the encounter I've had two "infections" (yeast/bacterial infections) that are kind of painful in an irritating kind of way. I'm afraid maybe they are misdiagnosing them and that they are actually herpes outbreaks with no lesions. Because when I have them the last a couple weeks, and sometimes when I have them I get shooting pains in my legs, lower back and rear end. Those sound like herpes symptoms to me. I don't know though. I'm just really scared. Thanks a lot Maggie... You are always very helpful and supportive in your posts. If it ends up that I do have herpes, I'm sure I'll have some questions in the future. Thanks again.
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well, i hope you're negative, but if you're not, it's really not the end of the world. remember that 90% of the population has HSV1, and you can get HSV1 on your genitals via oral sex. i don't know what the percentage of HSV2 infections are, but believe me, it is high.so chances are whether or not you are infected, you will continue to meet people who are. the thing that pisses me off is the double standard of HSV1 and HSV2. HSV infection on the mouth is called a "cold sore". HSV on the genitals is called "genital herpes". so despite the fact that they are both herpes, one gets treated like no big deal, with an innocuous name, while the other is this huge thing. just because it's on your genitals makes it soooo bad. pffft. the good thing about having it is that it's an excellent "screen" for potential lovers. you tell them and yep, some are going to freak and dump you. personally, i was glad to be rid of someone that shallow. the ones who are willing to continue the relationship must really care about you and love you for you, not because you have !eek! herpes.
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90%?? Where do you get that number?
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When I was tested last year, I also had an open sore that was swabbed. I also cried and cried thinking that if I was positive, my life was over.It has taken me a year to fully get over it and accept the good things about it.Any guy that looks down on you for it, is not worth your time. One out of every five people have herpes, so you will continue to meet them without even knowing that they have it too.A lot of people you talk to every day have it.I have been dating my boyfriend on and off for a year now and it was during one of our beaks that I caught it... I cried so much... I didn't think I would ever be able to be with him ever again because if he knew I had caught herpes while we we were on a break, he would never want to have a relationship with me again.Turns out I was VERY wrong.Well we got back together... and I was so scared to tell him... but I did...I was shocked when he told me he had caught it too!!!!So then we had sex... and after we had sex... he admitted that he lied to me... he hadn't caught it... he just didn't want me to freak out for giving to him. He said that he loved me and he was willing to be with me even though it affected his life too because he really loved me.happy tear SO we are now going to live happily ever after despite the "big deal" called herpes.
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babyadvice - happy to hear your story
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Interesting. Never thought it was so high.
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nobody does. and the fact that many people are infected with HSV1 and HSV2 and don't know it are startling. that's part of the reason that it's so prevalent.i only hope that those who come here all freaked out realize that it is VERY common, and even if they "dodge the bullet" once, they may not next time. and, that it's not a life threatening disease in general. it's an inconvienence, yes. embarrassing and difficult to discuss, yes. but not the end of the world.
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Very well explained maggie!!
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I got an answer to my question. As far as a serum (blood) test goes, they are very accurate IF you were infected prior to three months before the test. In my case, the test would be very accuate because if I contracted herpes it was almost a year ago. I still haven't gotten the results, those should be in today. (Because they were due back a day or two ago and weren't). I highly doubt I have it because I've never had an outbreak and the few little bumps I did have were diagnosed as molluscum by two doctors.
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Oh, in case people are reading this rather than my other threads, my test came back negative. Lesson learned though.