Question:
Hi there, I was wondering if anyone knows about bloodwork. Wheni got diagnosed last week at theER they took a swab of a sore, and it came back positive for hsv2 about a week later. the doctor at the er told me it takes about a week from exposure to outbreak and then my obgyn said it takes 0-30 days for exposure to outbreak, so obviously in either case, i know who gave it to me. He has no signs or symptoms so im figuring i got it from subclinical shedding. But now he claims he went to the clinic and they did blood work and they said he was negative. so he thinks im lying and he thinks i got it from someone else. im starting to doubt myself now.... but from what ive read on this site, it sounds like it might take in some men for it to actually show up in the blood. but wouldnt a decent doctor have explained this to him? Someone please explain,

Answer:
it can be anywhere from 2 days to 20 years, for you to have your first outbreak so in each case both the doctors are wrong. but the 2nd one is usually the average you will read about. so really, you could have gotten it from anyone, and just now had a outbreak.

since he got tested you should ask to see the results, because really anything that isnt a 0 on the test is positive, exposure is exposure, means you have got it, doesnt mean you will have outbreaks etc etc but youve got it.

decent doctors are hard to find for everyone, even the ones you saw told you the wrong information.

Answer:
I am not sure that I understand your question completely but I'll explain what I understand.

Not everyone who is exposed gets an ob. the time frame that most dr's refer to is the standard example of exposure to initial ob. It could take 2 days for an initial ob or it could take longer. if your immune system is stellar you may not have a noticeable initial ob. I never had an initial ob.

If you were never exposed to hsv you would not have any antibodies against this virus and if you went today and had a blood test for hsv it would be negative because it looks for specific antibodies.

From the minute you are first exposed your body begins to react to the virus and develop antibodies but this can take anywhere from about 4 weeks to as many as 8 months (according to real people on this forum) to have a blood test that reads positive.

Some tests are more sensitive and will detect the virus earlier. The usual test results show percentages of antibodies and from these numbers the dr's interpret whether someone has a positive exposure to the virus.

There are two kinds of herpes simplex virus and either one can be an infection of the mouth (coldsores, fever blisters) or of the genitals. Testing should be for both of those viruses not just one or the other to know for certain if someone is infected. In other words it is not true that cold sores are always hsv1 and it is not true that genital infections are always hsv2. You can have either or both strands of virus in either location or anywhere else on your body but usually where there is moisture.

About 25% of the population over the age of 12 in the US has genital herpes. Anywhere from 50-80% of the population has oral herpes.

Many dr's are misinformed about hsv and hsv testing. Not all of them understand the fine points.

Answer:
ok so let me see if i got this straight... confusing as it all is. I didnt necessarily get it from him because the doctors gave me the wrong time frame? and also... he may infact have given it to me and have hsv, but still come up with negative blood results if it hasnt been long enough and hes never had an ob? :confused:

Answer:
It is possible that you had it before this partner. It is also possible that your current partner doesn't have it. Can he show you evidence that he went and had testing done recently?

There have been cases of people who are infected with hsv that have had the virus become dormant or latent and not show up in tests but this is not the norm. Usually to transmit it to another person the virus has to be active.

Answer:
He claims he has the paper at home and i am still weaiting to see it.. so i guess i'll have to wait. i thought i heard of men on this website that said they had the virus and nothing showed up in bloodwork for like 8-10 months later?

Answer:
what I have seen time and again is that someone is exposed and has an ob or symptoms they are quite sure is herpes so they go to their dr and have bloodtests but don't get the actual positive result until many months later. This can happen to either gender, male or female.

Then there are the folks who never have a symptom go in for routine std testing including hsv and test positive. They don't even know if it is oral or genital.

Someone who never has an ob or symptoms and has no reason to believe they have been exposed to hsv may very well have true negative test results.

The fact that you have a positive result and have been sexually active with your boy friend leads me to believe that he may have been exposed at least by you. It is no guarantee that he actually has contracted it but more likely than if he never had a partner who had tested positive. You could continue to have sexual relations for years and he could still never contract it from you.

There are couples where one partner has it and the other doesn't. Just look at the Valtrex commercials.

Answer:
Hi - My doc got my results last week and said she could tell the exposure was recent -- within a month or so. I asked, "But isn't it possible for the symptoms to remain dormant long after exposure?" She said yes, but the test shows a TYPE of antibodies that mobilizes specifically for initial exposure, and it is different from whatever would have been elevated if I'd had this for awhile. Has anyone ever heard of this before? The paper still hasn't arrived in the mail.

That sucks these guys are irresponsible/weak/liars. Especially if they're gonna keep infecting people. My source partner made me feel so much better about this once he was over the initial disbelief and apologies. If he hadn't been cool, I know I would have wasted a lot of energy being frustrated at him. Just remember these uncool guys are going to end up rotting in their own denial one way or another. And you don't need them, because you have us!

Answer:
alfalfa - Those are the IgM results which several people have pointed out that the CDC finds to be unreliable.

as I understand it our bodies have an initial response to any unknown pathogen and those are the antibodies that are detected in the IgM but they could be from things other than hsv so I don't know how any dr can say unequivically that they are only from hsv. What if you just had a cold or the flu I think those would merit a similar antibody response as they are caused by viruses also. Plus I've read that if you had a true dormant or latent infection you could still have that antibody response.

I could be wrong but this is how I understand it. Anyone? Is this right?

The IgG shows herpes specific antibodies.