Question:
I dated a woman 20 years ago for a couple of years. Right after we dated she discovered that she had Herpes. I never had any symptoms so I never worried about it.

I am now showing symptoms and got tested. I was told that the test was equivocal (not sure what that means).

Could it be possible to have the infection show up after 20 years?

Answer:
I read somewhere in a post on this board that equivocal means it's in between the negative & positive levels. Neg is anything under .9 and positive is over 1.04? Something like that or close. It sounds like (if I have this correct) that you are inbetween. Were your blood test levels right in there somewhere? If I'm wrong, someone please correct me...

Answer:
I contracted it from a woman by the same means. We'd been sleeping together, then 3 months after we'd ended our relationship she told me she'd discovered she had HSV. I went to get checked and the doctor told me that if I hadn't developed any symptoms yet, then chances were very unlikely that I had contracted the virus. 3 Years later, I got my first outbreak.

So yes it is possible for it to lie dormant in your system for any amount of time before you get your first outbreak. It is also possible to have the virus where all your breakouts are so minor they go unoticed. The statistics say something like 90% of the 50 million people in the US who have HVS are completely unaware thay have it as they've never had an outbreak (don't quote me on those numbers).

D.

Answer:
I got equivocal results.....Under .90 is neg and over 1.10 is positive anywhere in between is equivocal....equivocal can means a couple things... the actual definition means "unknown" here are some reasons that the results came out equivocal (I to came out equiv and researched alot) 1. You are going through seroconversion which is the process by which you are developing antibodies and are converting from neg to pos. this usually happens right after you have been exposed 2.Cross-reactivity which means the test that you took could have mixed up the results with similar antibodies(hsv1, hpv, etc) and 3. they could have messed up the test. if the lab didnt store your blood properly the results would be unknown.

You say that you "supposedly" got it 2 years ago? my guess is that your body would have built up more antibodies then being equivocal. equivocal usually means recent exposure (or they messed up testing) they say you need to retest when given eqiuvocal results. So keep your head up, you stil might have a chance......

My equivocal results came out to be negative when i retested.....GOOD LUCK

Answer:
QT, or anyone, from what you just said, do the levels have anything to do with the length of time you've had it? If my IGG was 1.95 and IGM was undetected, does this tell you anything about when I may have been exposed?

Answer:
I was told that antibody levels do not make a difference but i was also told that if it is a low level such as .90-2.0 it most likely means recent exposure. anything slightly over .90 could be because you are sero-converting which means going from neg to pos. when i had my 1.04 they told me that i was exposed to the virus no more than 5 months before i got the results. they say that it can take up to 5 months to develope antbody levels when exposed to the virus therefore the low antibody level could be due to recent exposure. Because you are at such a low level i think that you should probably get retested in a couple months.

DId you do both type 1 and 2 tests? If you did which one do you have? I was told that i had hsv-2 at a 1.04 level, but i retested and it came back .50 (big difference). I think that first time i took the test they either left my blood out to long, or they couldnt distinguish b/w my hsv-1, and hsv-2 antibodies.

Conclusion-get retested :D

Answer:
QT... thanks for your thoughts. I'm going to get retesd again, I'll wait another month.

My results a few weeks ago were:

HS1: IGG 4.95 (IGM detected, which I expected as I grew up with fever blisters)
HS2: IGG 1.95 (IGM undetected)

So we'll see if it goes up or down, or whatever it does... I've had lots of coffee & stress to say the least! Still no outbreaks that I'm aware of. I feel like I almost want to taunt it, dare it to come out. Maybe it's a part of denial, like I'm still half fighting the belief that I have it. Even though it's always on my mind. I'm trying to get past the questions phase, ya know, the "how" and "why"... I'll get there eventually. Future tests and the closure they will bring, along with that added dreaded confirmation will get me there. :) Even though 1.95 is enough to convince me. A duck is a duck is a duck.

But I tell ya, every little itch or twinge is freaking me out!! Can we, as humans with this HSV, every have normal itches & twinges that are JUST normal twinges and itches? LOL