Ugh still anxious

[anixety365]

Hi Terri! I worked with you a little while back to obtain the Western Blot. I (female) had one protected encounter with a man who later told me had herpes. I decided to just get a western blot because I was concerned about the problems with the IGG. I got the test done over six months after the exposure and did not sleep with anyone in the interim.

My WB came back negative for both hsv1 and hsv2. I’m still struggling with a bit of anxiety over the potential for a false negative.

My main questions are:

1. Are false negatives pretty rare with Western Blot completed months after exposure? (mostly concerned about hsv2). I know intermediates sometimes turn out to be positive but negatives are generally pretty reliable, correct?

2. Would a false Negative for hsv2 be less likely in a patient that also tested negative for type 1.

3. (maybe you won’t have an answer to this) I paid for overnight shipping to UW but I got my blood drawn too late in the day and Enzo labs said they had to ship it the next day. I called University of Washington and they said the sample would be fine as long as it arrived in under 7 days and remained cold. I got my blood drawn on 10/20 and my WB said it was collected on 10/24. If there was an issue such as the sample not arriving in an adequate time or if was not cold anymore, the lab likely wouldn’t run the test, correct? The lab tech at Enzo knew the sample had to be cold. I’m just having anxiety because the test arrived later than I expected.

Lastly, I cannot thank you enough Terri for your help and your expertise. I live in New York and for months I thought it was impossible to get a WB in New York because of shipping laws until I found your site.

[anixety365]

oh also, I remember either in the instructions or on our call that even though I paid through you I may get a bill from UW after the test was run. I never got a bill from them. Is that odd or not really since I paid you directly? Thank you 🙂

[Terri Warren]

1. Are false negatives pretty rare with Western Blot completed months after exposure? (mostly concerned about hsv2). I know intermediates sometimes turn out to be positive but negatives are generally pretty reliable, correct?
I have yet to see an indeterminate turn positive, for the record. False negative are incredibly rare.

2. Would a false Negative for hsv2 be less likely in a patient that also tested negative for type 1.
No

3. (maybe you won’t have an answer to this) I paid for overnight shipping to UW but I got my blood drawn too late in the day and Enzo labs said they had to ship it the next day. I called University of Washington and they said the sample would be fine as long as it arrived in under 7 days and remained cold. I got my blood drawn on 10/20 and my WB said it was collected on 10/24. If there was an issue such as the sample not arriving in an adequate time or if was not cold anymore, the lab likely wouldn’t run the test, correct? The lab tech at Enzo knew the sample had to be cold. I’m just having anxiety because the test arrived later than I expected.
If the test sample was inadequate in any way, UW would have rejected it.

It is not odd that you weren’t billed – it is perfect

Terri

[anixety365]

Okay, thank you so much Terri. I saw someone on Reddit who had been confirmed positive via swab say they still test negative on the IGG a year after they were diagnosed.

Is that a far less likely scenario with the blot? Would I still make antibodies even if I never had symptoms?

Does the University of Washington ever do rereads of samples to be more certain of results?

Thank you for all your help Terri. I know I should accept my results but I can’t shake the worry that I will accidentally give it to my next partner despite my blot results.

[Terri Warren]

The IgG test misses 8% of HSV 2 infections compared to the western blot
Far less likely with blot, correct. You will still make antibody even if you are not having symptoms.
No, not unless there is some significant question to be answered about the sample
If you waited 12 weeks from any concerning encounter to do the blot, I think you should believe the blot. If not, you could retest.

Terri

[anixety365]

Okay, Thank you Terri. It was over 6 months since the encounter when I did the blot. The Western Blot is 99.9 percent accurate at detecting HSV2, correct? So the chance of a false positive would be 1 in 1000?

[anixety365]

Also, the partner who later informed me he had hsv2 also said he had hsv1 orally. We made out on a few occasions (never when he had symptoms). Does it seem odd that he never transferred it to me? My WB was negative for hsv1.

[Terri Warren]

Sorry, you are out of questions

Terri

• This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by Terri Warren.

[Author]

Posts