Confused by “Symptoms” and IGG Levels

[abc123def456]

Hi Terri

In early October I had a one night stand with a woman I didn’t know at a wedding. We had unprotected vaginal and oral sex(performed by me). Following said encounter things felt “off” for many months: itching, burning and stabbing pains in my penis, testes, perineum, and aunus. I never noticed anything that looked like an outbreak. I was visually inspected and tested by 3 doctors including a urologist. I did a full std panel through Quest one month after exposure.

HSV-1: 2.46 IGG positive
HSV-2: <0.90 IGG negative

Eventually symptoms resided after many months and I retested in late April after another encounter with a new woman. Unprotected vaginal and oral(both).

HSV-1: 1.33 positive
HSV-2: <0.90 negative

Two and half weeks ago those same symptoms came back after another unprotected encounter with a different woman. I took another test which would’ve been 11.5 weeks since the April encounter.

HSV-1 1.12 positive
HSV-2 <0.90 negative

[abc123def456]

I, like many others here, deal with health anxieties particularly STD anxiety. I’m currently in therapy to try to help with it and it has been going well. I know I need to be more responsible with my sex life.

1. I believe I have had cold sores in the past like many others but I could be mistaken. In your experience with IGG numbers decreasing over 9 months into almost an equivocal level what are the chances I could be getting a false positive for HSV-1?

I know the majority of the population has antibodies for HSV-1 so I’m not overly concerned about doing a western blot per se especially bc I can’t remember having any cold sores in a long time or any sort of outbreak genitally.

2. Having gotten negative results for HSV-2 every time I’ve tested would you be fairly certain that I do not have HSV-2 from those first two partners: tested 4 weeks and 6 months after the first partner and basically 12 weeks after the second.

3. If these symptoms are not herpes related what could it be? I’ve started looking into pelvic floor dysfunction for men and some of these symptoms line up. Do you have any knowledge/experience with that subject?

Im sure my anxiety is playing a larger role in this than anything else. I guess I’m just looking for some guidance moving forward.

Thank you for your time and all that you do for this community.

[Terri Warren]

1. I believe I have had cold sores in the past like many others but I could be mistaken. In your experience with IGG numbers decreasing over 9 months into almost an equivocal level what are the chances I could be getting a false positive for HSV-1?
At those levels, there is a chance of a false positive HSV 1, particularly if you aren’t certain you’ve ever had a cold sore.

I know the majority of the population has antibodies for HSV-1 so I’m not overly concerned about doing a western blot per se especially bc I can’t remember having any cold sores in a long time or any sort of outbreak genitally.

About 46% of the population has HSV 1, just to be clear.

2. Having gotten negative results for HSV-2 every time I’ve tested would you be fairly certain that I do not have HSV-2 from those first two partners: tested 4 weeks and 6 months after the first partner and basically 12 weeks after the second.
I agree, with 92% certainty

3. If these symptoms are not herpes related what could it be? I’ve started looking into pelvic floor dysfunction for men and some of these symptoms line up. Do you have any knowledge/experience with that subject?
I do have male patients who seek physical therapy for pelvic floor issues, yes, but not my area of expertise, I’m afraid.

Terri

[abc123def456]

What’s the difference between an IGG test and the supplemental test to confirm the IGG? How accurate are supplementals in comparison to the western blot?

I know a western blot test is the gold standard and I might consider that down the line but Ive never taken a supplemental test yet seeing as this has all been done on my own time without any doctors involvement.

Like many others, without any visible outbreaks, doctors have shrugged off the idea of herpes and continually suggested urethritis and prostatitis every time I’ve gone into the office.

[Terri Warren]

The supplemental test used by labCorp is also susceptible to false positives – I now have 75 people who test positive on the supplemental test and negative on the western blot. So be cautious what you use to try to confirm this value for HSV 1. Your HSV 2 has been consistently negative, I see.

Terri

[Author]

Posts