The immune system and herpes

[curiouscurious]

Hi, I am writing to ask you a question about the immune system and herpes.

I was sick over the summer with something like strep, but I’m not sure. I know I got real sick and run down. My immune system was low, I was working too much and school was stressing me out. The ladies at work were bullies and it wracked up my social anxiety. I ended up going to the doctor because I feel like I couldn’t breathe. The doctor told me I was stressed and gave me a valium Rx. I got a cold sore many months later and I believe I also contracted genital herpes.

When I got the cold sore, I felt pain in my neck and of course was very sick with flu like symptoms. I only have experienced the cold sore on my face once.

I got my period twice and believe I had a mild genital outbreak with each period. I am concerned about my immune system. I have been experiencing muscle aches within these 10 months (of initial exposure) and within the last week more shooting pain around my neck and now my back. I woke up with a hoarse throat this morning and swollen glands and muscle aches. I am still waiting to hear back from my doctor about my herpes/HIV results.

I am concerned that I may have contracted HIV from this encounter as well, after this lasting for so long. Is it possible that this could just be from my anxiety – being run down for 10 weeks and dealing with my first case of herpes?

Is this common? Wouldn’t I have reappearing blisters on my face? Could this be because of my immune system dealing with a possible ongoing genital outbreak? Does neck/muscle pain occur after the initial herpes occurence or should this only happen once? I definitely feel it less severely than the first time I got sick, but everything I have read on the internet sounds like it usually only happens once. HIV seems to have prolonging symptoms vs. herpes.

What do you think? How much could be psychological? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[Terri Warren]

It is possible that your anxiety is causing you to see these body symptoms in a different way than you normally would, yes.

Can you tell me about the nature of the sexual encounter during which you think you may have contracted genital herpes? What are the genital symptoms that are happening that makes you think you acquired genital herpes? And what testing was recently done to try to help you sort this out?

Terri

[curiouscurious]

I experienced vaginal irritation/tinging/discharge at the same time when my cold sore came on. I have also had a tingling/burning sensation while on my period. The first period had discharge, the second did not.

I’ve read that the herpes virus can cause peripheral neuropathy, this calmed my nerves some. This explains my tingling arms and feet. Do you find that sometimes patients report sciatica pain/neck pain from the virus moving up and down the spine?

[Terri Warren]

While vaginal irritation, tingling and discharge would be genital herpes, that isn’t the first thing that comes to my mind at all. Any vaginal infection could cause these symptoms.
In my experience genital herpes never causes tingling of the arms and rarely of the legs, except for a few days prior to an outbreak. I do not have patients complaining of neck pain moving up and down the spine, no, I don’t.

I think you might be jumping to conclusions here!

What is the sexual contact that worries you so?

Terri

[curiouscurious]

I kissed and received oral sex from a man with an unknown herpes/HIV status.

We did play bite each other and I do think it is possible we exchanged some blood in the mouth.

I am trying to convince myself that this could only be herpes but I am thinking it could be something else at this point.

[Terri Warren]

Wait, you have a history of cold sores so the chances that you would acquire HSV 1 (and that’s the main risk from receiving oral sex) after having it orally is extremely low. I’m a little unclear if, when you said you’ve only had the cold sore once, I’m unclear if you meant that you had one before this or this was your first one. And you got a cold sore months later after the contact? That suggests to me that you probably didn’t acquire if from that encounter.

I don’t know what you think this might be beside herpes.

Terri

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