Unsure of what to think with test results. Do I really have something?

[devgirl]

I recently left a monogamous relationship of 12 years. I have had unprotected sex with 3 people in the past 10 months. Two of them I know well, and both have claimed they do not have any STD’s and the other I did not know anything about their sexual past.

This third partner, that I do not know, I had the unprotected sex was 3 weeks ago. Because I did not know his history, I decided to go in and get blood drawn a week ago.

The test results came back from the HSV 1 and/or 2 Abs, IgM by ELISA and my results came in at 1.19

The doctor says it’s a possible infection but I have to go back in two weeks for another blood draw to determine if it is an actual positive test.

What does this mean? Is it a gray area where it is a possibility that I may or may not have HSV? Is there something else that can trigger a positive result like that?

I do not have any sores although I am itchy at times in the last week but I don’t know if it’s just in my head. I have, for the past 20 years, had pimple like sores that show up randomly on my labia minora. . It’s rare and only one (not clustered) and I can pop it and it will heal right away. I’ve never had it crust over, be painful or take weeks to heal. Not ever suspecting HSV, I’ve just chalked it up to being a pimple or from exercise or irritation.

I have actually never had an HSV test before. Is this something that I may have recently contracted or could it have been dormant for a long time?

[devgirl]

Also, I had this test result

HSV 2 Glycoprotein G Ab, IgG <=0.90 IV and my Value is 0.08

[Terri Warren]

The IgG is the test result that you want to pay attention to an that is clearly negative at this point. The IgM has many false positive results and the Centers for Disease control does NOT recommend that it be done because of it’s poor quality. However, testing with the IgG this soon after the encounter will not give you a results that is necessarily accurate. If you test at 6 weeks out, the result that you get, if negative, will stay that way with about 70% certainty. If you test at 4 months post exposure, that will be the most accurate result you can receive.

Terri

[devgirl]

After some research, I am getting a clearer understanding of the IGM tests and the IGG tests and what they mean.
When I consulted back with the Doctor, he said I definitely have HSV present, I assume he is basing that off the IGM test, but can’t say if it’s Oral or Genital until I come back in 2 weeks to do another blood test.
Today I did go in and do another blood draw that I paid for myself which is now about 1 week from when I had the initial draw done. I assume, with another IGG test and the numbers have risen then I can be fairly certain that I have HSV and just need to determine which type? The draw I had today did indicate that they are IGG tests.

I know you deal with this a lot and people obsessing over the results but I’m devastated. I had the unprotected encounter about 3 weeks ago and at the same time, I also have been having unprotected sex with another partner which has been going on for about 8 months. But would I be able to narrow it down which partner it came from?

I had a whole range of the STD testing done and all those are coming back negative. I also had a uterine swab and cultured and my white blood count came back at 2+ and bacteria at 4+
Would this be cause for suspect that I could have HSV?

I understand at this point, all I can do is wait and do more tests in another 6 weeks and another 4 months to have a better picture of what is going on.

Thank you

[Terri Warren]

Well, with all due respect, your doctor should not have told you that you have HSV based on the IgM test. And two weeks is clearly not enough time to be certain that you are or are not going to make antibody to HSV via IgG. I also have no reason to think that your uterus was swabbed but perhaps your cervix was. And the white blood cell count and bacteria was likely done from urine, not from a swab test. If the urine was not a clean catch sample, then it is hard to know what to make of it but it looks like it might be indicating a UTI. Did he say that?

Terri

[devgirl]

It was from a POC wet mount so I just assumed it was swabbing the cervix but I did give a urine sample too, I was unsure what the POC wet mount test consisted of whether urine sample or swabbing.

I do hear these IGM tests are not reliable and can cause a lot of unnecessary grief which I hope is the case and a lesson learned. He did not mention anything about a UTI though.

I have many questions but they are more about the undetermined future that I might be facing. Thank you for your help.

[Terri Warren]

The wet mount looks for trich, bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections, normally.
I think it would be worth calling and asking about the bacteria and WBC – were they from the urine or the wet mount? You can see bacteria and WBC on a wet mount, but usually, those are identified from urine.
I hope you will pursue IgG testing when the time is appropriate. And try not to worry too much about the pesky IgM test.
This is our final post on this subscription. If you have more questions, feel free to renew.

Terri

[devgirl]

I renewed my subscription.

I do have an additional question.

The partner that I’m concerned about exposure with. He told me he has been in a relationship for 1.5 years and during that same weekend I had unprotected sex with him, he also had sex with another unknown person but he says he used a condom with her although he performed oral with her.
The next night, I had sex with him and no condom and I don’t remember if he performed oral on me.

Is it possible for me to get herpes that quickly from him with his activity from the previous night? He is going in to get tested and but can I assume if he has a negative IgG result, how high are the chances I would have it now?
If he has a positive result, definitely a higher chance that I have contracted the disease?

[devgirl]

I forgot to add this information. My initial IgG test was done on 6/23 and it had a result of .08

Out of fear and trying to find some comfort, I paid for another test on 6/29 which is also the IgG test.

If the levels have gone up, would it be an indicator that I have HSV2?

[Terri Warren]

There is nothing really to make of your question about the man who had sex with two of you in the same time frame. If he contracted herpes from the other person, he could be infectious to you certainly because he would have new infection and that is pretty contagious. But the condom would certainly help. The antibody test would not be reliable for him yet. If he has a positive antibody test that means he was not infected really recently – like within the past week or 10 days.

The index value can vacillate all over the place so no, an upward tick of a small amount would not be meaningful.

Terri

[devgirl]

Thank you for the information.

Is it evident or obvious when you have sores from a HSV2 breakout? I keep reading symptoms but it seems it can be tricky because you can have major symptoms all the way to no symptoms.

Is it HSV1 that most adults have that antibody? And even kids can get this? Is that basically the cold sores that people get? Is this why the IgM test is also so unreliable because it doesn’t differentiate between 1 and 2? It sounds like Type 1 is extremely hard to avoid and you would want to be preventative if you have a current breakout? And that it is possible for the HSV1 antibody to show up on the IgM test and that is why it is caution not to worry about that test when testing for Type 2?

I guess at this time, I won’t put any reliability to the IgM test and just wait it out until I can test again with the IgG to make sure.

I appreciate your expertise!

[devgirl]

Regarding my questions concerning HSV1 in previous post. I tested positive at 1.70
What does this mean? I’ve never had a cold sore in my life.

[Terri Warren]

The 1.70 is in the low positive range and therefore needs confirmation to know if it is real or not. Yes, the majority of adults do have HSV 1 infection. Do you live in the US? If yes you may wish to obtain a herpes western blot antibody test.

Yes, ignore the IgM completely and wait until the IgG is accurate, correct.

Terri

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