Herpes or?

[Regrets2021]

9 months ago I had a massage from a new friend. It developed into some contact between my buttocks and his penis, but no penetration and no direct contact with my anus.

2 days later I had shooting pain through my buttock on one side and down my leg into my knee and toes. I went to the doctor after 2 weeks of this and was treated with steroid shot which seemed to help. For months I had multiple episodes of this, and more days with pain than without. This includes a mix of deep nerve pain, shooting pain, skin burning, and tingling. I have a history of shingles as well as back issues including a fracture.

There were no skin symptoms until this fall. Coincidentally I have lost some weight from a diet, and I do set more on my tailbone now. I developed red and dry skin at the base of my tailbone/top of buttocks. At first it was independent of the leg pain, at times when there was none. I saw another doctor and inquired twice about shingles, which DR said it didn’t look like. November I went to a DR that did IGM. Neg on HSV but low + for Varicella. I was given a steroid pack and valtrex for 1 week. It didn’t seem to have much effect.

Up and down pain through Dec., and in Jan tried a diff DR for IGG test. They also said nothing but an area of slightly red skin at the base of my tailbone. Varicella IGM was slightly elevated, IGG was over 3,000. HSV IGM was equivocal, and HSV IGG was negative on both types 8.5 mo after the contact.

I have more pain days than not. I have a slight red and dry area that comes and goes. Nerve pain, and shooting pain into my feet. Low back pain is pretty constant and is an ache but occasionally like a clamp around my spine. Several days into an episode I have pain come around my side toward bellybutton.

I can’t decide what treatment to seek. Does this sound like a really bad series of outbreaks, possibly shingles, or back issues with the red skin being not connected? Pain is worse after hard work, and mostly when sitting or laying.

[Regrets2021]

Terri- please weigh in on these concerns.

Q1. Admittedly the contact was very mild and brief as well as non mucous membrane, and the person denies being HSV+. My only real indicator pointing to HSV is that symptoms started 2 days after the encounter and I didn’t know the person well. Would this scenario be of a high likelihood of transmission?

Q2. With an 8.5 month negative test, no blisters, and 3 doctors saying it looks non herpetic, as will as a 1 week course of antivirals with no real benefit, would you be comfortable saying I probably should be looking at other causes of my pain, and quit beating myself with this?

Q3. Considering the following facts, would this even be typical symptoms of HSV….2 day turnaround between contact to severe pain, with no initial skin lesions, no actual blisters ever, and have severe almost debilitating outbreaks one on top of the other, sometimes unidentifiable from the previous one, while also producing no antibodies, and symptoms becoming more persistent with time instead of better with time. So the question here is: Would any of this actually be suggestive of herpes?

In summary, I’m afraid I’m beating myself up over a regrettable encounter. I have a history of other injuries more likely to cause sciatic type symptoms than genital herpes in my opinion. The pain is worsened by sitting. I’m literally sitting on my tailbone all the time, and the dry skin area favors an early stage bed/pressure sore more than it does heretic outbreak. The more I rationalize it, I feel like after losing 40 pounds over the summer, I’m just simply sitting on my tailbone now and it’s rubbing sores that are coincidentally where I had mild sexual contact.

I posted several days ago, please help me and weigh in.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by Regrets2021.

[Terri Warren]

Q1. Admittedly the contact was very mild and brief as well as non mucous membrane, and the person denies being HSV+. My only real indicator pointing to HSV is that symptoms started 2 days after the encounter and I didn’t know the person well. Would this scenario be of a high likelihood of transmission?
Absolutely no!

Q2. With an 8.5 month negative test, no blisters, and 3 doctors saying it looks non herpetic, as will as a 1 week course of antivirals with no real benefit, would you be comfortable saying I probably should be looking at other causes of my pain, and quit beating myself with this?
Yes, you should be looking at other causes of this pain

Q3. Considering the following facts, would this even be typical symptoms of HSV….2 day turnaround between contact to severe pain, with no initial skin lesions, no actual blisters ever, and have severe almost debilitating outbreaks one on top of the other, sometimes unidentifiable from the previous one, while also producing no antibodies, and symptoms becoming more persistent with time instead of better with time. So the question here is: Would any of this actually be suggestive of herpes?
No, they would not. You need to put this worry behind you. We always go back to the encounter that started the concern and this encounter was a no risk encounter.

Terri

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