3 1/2 Years and Still No Outbreak

[schrodingers_cat]

In February 2012 I was diagnosed with HSV2. This was a complete shock to me as I had never had an outbreak (I haven’t even had a cold sore!) I was given this test (IgM) because I was pregnant.

My OB/GYN did not seem concerned, though, and said it wasn’t necessary to go on suppressive medication. A midwife later told me I should take medication. Then a second midwife told me I didn’t have to. In the end, I did not take any medication and gave birth without any complications.

During this time I had my current partner and previous two partners get blood tests (this covers all of the partners I had in the past 10 years). But it was also around this time that I discovered that my then partner had cheated on me with at least 3 other women and never used a condom. That coupled with many, many other lies makes it hard for me to believe his claim that he tested negative. I will never know the truth about his status.

The last time I had sex was with my then partner after childbirth in March 2013. We wore a condom and I hated every minute of it. I left him soon thereafter. By doing so he made my life a living hell for another 8 months. I’m telling you this to explain the extreme emotional/mental stress I went through during this period. Yet still no outbreak.

I was under the impression that physical and mental stress often triggered an outbreak, and here I was, outbreak/symptom free despite experiencing several overwhelmingly stressful situations in less than a year. Yet still to this day I have had no out breaks or symptoms whatsoever.

In April 2014, I explained this to my GP who said the test I had taken was not the most reliable, and gave me an IgG test. This came back positive as well. Below are the results:

HSV 1 and 2-Specific Ab, IgG (L-164905) | LabCorp

F HSV 1 IgG, Type Spec
Value: 4.4 H

F HSV 2 IgG, Type Spec
Value: 4.17 H

I understand these values leave little room for error. I have HSV 1&2. But I just have so many questions. Given my previous partner’s hazardous behavior, I could understand how I’d have it. But wouldn’t I have had an outbreak by now? How common is it for people to never have an outbreak? At this point, is it likely I’ll ever have one? Could I really have had this for over a decade without breaking out or transmitting it to anyone? Am I a good candidate for a Western Blot?

Thanks in advance.

[schrodingers_cat]

Yikes. I forgot to clarify that my last three partners’ test came back negative.

[Terri Warren]

Though your values are past the “low positive” range that we like to confirm routinely, since you have had no outbreaks and your last three partners test negative by IgG, it might be worth confirming with the blot. Remember that herpes outbreaks can show up anywhere in the boxer shorts area so not just genital, specifically. If you want the western blot, we can order that for you easily. Please let me know what other questions you might have.

Terri

[schrodingers_cat]

Thanks for your reply. I’m going to do the Western Blot test just to be sure. I’ve been anticipating an outbreak for years and feel like I would have assumed anything out of the norm would be confirmation that I have herpes. But I can’t remember anything that ever made me feel that way.

I did ask a few other questions, though. Not sure if you saw. Or am I truly limited to a single question per post? Maybe they’re not relevant.

[Terri Warren]

You have one more post to go on your subscription. You can ask several questions in one post.
We would be happy to order the western blot for you through the clinic to be drawn at a lab near you.
It is actually common for people with HSV 2 not to recognize an outbreak. If you’ve not had one yet, you may never have one. It is so variable between people, how that goes.
Please feel free to remind me if I’ve missed a question

Terri

[Author]

Posts