questionable test results + symptoms

[nextsteps]

Hey! In late November, I slept with a HSV+ person. In mid-December, I slept with someone else. (dont know their status.) In late December, I got what I thought was a yeast infection (I’m prone after new partners.). Super itchy, but not painful. Took a shower in early January, and touched myself down there and felt tenderness in the inner lips (not painful, just tender.) I took a look, and saw red splotches in the inner lip. Went to get tested. I got tested January 6th, 2022. and then just recently April 10, 2022, and then I have one test I use as a reference point before I had contact with the HSV+ partner from August 2021. Since January, I have felt no other symptoms in my vagina, but I have had pain/itchiness in my butthole off and on since,(never had anal). along with my “mons pubis” being super itchy on and off as well since January. I had no pain peeing or anything that seemed aligned with a first OB. (I will note that a doctor did take a look down there at the red splotches and described them as lesions, noted my discharge, and then took my temperature and said I had a fever. At that point, I accepted I likely had herpes. Then I took the blood test, and confusion ensues from this point on and this is where I need some guidance:

AUGUST 19 2021, pre-exposure:
IGM: 0.75 HSV1IGG: 0.35 HSV2IGG: <.10
JANUARY 06 2022, 1 month since known exposure/2 weeks since potential exposure:
IGM:1.05 HSV1IGG: 0.37 HSV2IGG: 0.14
APRIL 10, 2022, 5 months post known exposure, 4 and a half months since potential:
IGM: 1.07 HSV1IGG: 0.27 HSV2IGG: 0.13
(ive tested negative for everything else.)

i want to note that i had covid mid december after my last partner. i didnt shower for a week and a half (gross i know. too sick to move, couldnt breathe) so i wonder if it couldve been a yeast infection gone rogue from poor hygiene?? but also wondering ab my pain in the ass and itchy mon pubis.

MY QUESTION: what should my next steps be? thank you!

[Terri Warren]

I very seriously doubt that you have HSV 2. So many things in your note could have caused these vague symptoms like itching and mild tenderness. Other than the western blot for confirmation, I can’t think of anything else that you can do but to accept these negative IgG results.

Red blotches are not lesions and shame on this doctor for calling them such, unless I am misinterpreting your description.

Terri

[nextsteps]

i will try and describe based off of photos i took at the time to best of my ability: 4 red raised “patches” on one side of lip. these patches consisted of smaller red points – i can make out one or two of the small red points that are in a lesion like shape. (basing this definition of lesion off of the visual of canker sores which i have had inside my mouth) again, nothing hurt – just tender to the touch. the next morning, the patches had turned white. i stopped monitoring them after i assumed i had hsv2, so i suppose it went away on its own – again, just not painful so i forgot. I have since observed down there, and nothing is out of the ordinary. They prescribed me valtrex which I haven’t been taking.

I am starting to believe that this was just a yeast infection gone bad, as I used 2 day femiclear for the anal issues the day i sent my message to you, and it seems that issue has gone away. As for the Mons Pubis issue, still lost there- but you’re right – could be so many other things, esp since the test isnt reflective of hsv2.

But since, I did pay for two followup questions and I am curious, I will continue with my first one:

1 Why did the IGM “skyrocket” so much from august 2021 to january 2022? The other numbers stayed relatively the same, but the IGM didn’t. I have a hard time not trusting a test that a doctor gave me.

Thanks again for the response, I believe I will take one more confirmatory test in June just for peace of mind since that will be the official 6 month mark since the last time I had sex. I just worry that they will give me another IGM and count me positive. (they straight up told me with my 1.05 IGM that i was positive in january, and it wasnt until joining support groups and researching that i found everything i know now out.)

[Terri Warren]

IgM tests are completely unreliable and vary greatly over time and the CDC says never to use them. Ignore it for now. I’m sorry your doctor did this test but the Mayo Clinic stopped using it and in the next three months both Quest and LabCorp will discontinue it as well.

Tell them NOT to give you and IgM, that they need to read the CDC guidelines on the HSV IgM or better, print it out for them and give it to them ahead of time, in a respectful way so they don’t get defensive.

Terri

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