[Question #10041] Anxiety and stds
26 months ago
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Hello,I previously asked a question before under “question #9844 hpv and hsv”. I am still paranoid and that’s why I took the western blot for hsv at 18.5 weeks and I came back positive for hsv1 (as a child I think /I asked my mom) and negative for hsv2. I already asked Terri and I don’t want to bother her with my questions so from your point of view how safely can I say that I don’t have hsv-2? I heard that the western blot could take up to 6 months to detect infections and also some people have herpes symptoms yet still test negative on the WB. Also I took an std test for everything (chlam gono hiv) at 11 weeks and now I’m reading it’s only conclusive at 6 months. I also only did a urine test as a female since I didn’t want anything to penetrate me. Do I need to go back now (at 6 months) and get retested ? Also I went to a gay clinic and got tested for gono and chlam in my throat, and it came back negative. I had a very bad throat this year but it was a while after the encounters (like a month). My main isssue is I don’t trust the test results at all, is it possible I do have throat gono or something like that? I feel normal but I know all stds are asymptomatic mostly. I can’t live my life normally and I don’t know if I should go back and retest for everything, the western blot was also expensive and I’m scared that maybe if I test again after a year I’d get a positive or if it just misses my infection forever (false negatives). I never had symptoms suggestive of anything weird down there but you never know (my encounters were oral sex (giving) , receiving maybe twice, and genital to genital rubbing (not rough) on a few occasions). I know most of them sleep around a lot and I swallowed their cum too. It just seems like too many encounters in one year and I don’t know if it’s possible that I got nothing from it. I wanna get married and not pass on anything to him. I just wanna live again
26 months ago
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Also when they did the swab test for gono and chlam how are they sure that the swab they took is enough? Like he only took it from the back of my throat, what if it’s in the middle or what if the swab itself just didn’t pick it up and the infection was somewhere else? The doctor told me you can take antibiotics if you are that scared but I refused because I didn’t want to have resistance. Some of the guys I know don’t have anything but there are 2 out of the 6 that I’m mostly scared of because our genitals did rub for a bit and also because they sleep around A LOT so again I’m sure they had something because I doubt they get tested or care about others (they’ve shown that through their actions).
26 months ago
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Also for the HIV test and the rest of the tests I did, I don’t know what generation it was or anything like that. I just went to the Jewish hospital here (it’s a respectable hospital) although the tests were free (paid by the government I guess) so does that mean they are reliable? Or maybe they use a different test that’s not so reliable as the 4th gen? I never asked her what she used. The doctor was a bit surprised I was there too which shows me that he doesn’t really know the risk that I could’ve had something. Sorry I’m asking a lot of questions but the way I’m living right now is just constant fear
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
26 months ago
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Welcome back to the Forum. I'm sorry that you continue to worry. Let me address your specific questions first:
HSV. Believe you Western blot. As I explained earlier your oral exposure and frottage do not put you at risk for HSV-2. It is not surprising that you have HSV-1 as move than half of adults do. Given your NO RISK exposures and test results, you can be sure that you do not have HSV-2.
Regarding your tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia- believe them. These tests are among the most sensitive tests in medicine. Falsely negative tests are extraordinarily low and again, as explained in our earlier interaction, your risk for these infections, despite the nature of your partners, should be believed. One of the great advances over the past 20 years is that tests have become so very reliable that falsely negative tests are no longer a realistic concern. Specimen adequacy is simply not a concern.
The same can be said about your HIV tests. Your exposures were virtually no risk and globally (you never told me what country you are writing from) reliable 4th generation tests are used. Again, you should believe your test results.
---Now for the most important thing I can tell you. As I said before- "Your posts suggest that you have been searching the internet related to your fears. I urge you not to do this. Much of what you will find there is incorrect, either because it is out of date, taken out of context of all too often, just plain wrong. The internet will mislead you. I urge you to move forward without concern. " I also said, "Your sense of guilt is likewise apparent in your posts. I urge you to talk through your concerns with a confidential, trained counselor to help you move forward.". These statements remain true and it is apparent from your posts that your family's conservative background and your own guilt over your sexuality are leading you to incorrectly doubt the accuracy of your test results. I urge you to address your anxiety and paranoia by finding a professional, confidential mental health counselor who you can talk to. The time and resources you expend to address your concerns would be a far better use of your time that inappropriately worrying about the accuracy of your very, very reliable tests. Counseling will also help you to define a sexually healthy way forward for yourself. EWH
26 months ago
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I really don’t want to interfere with the opinions of different MDs but I asked about genital to genital rubbing and I heard it is limited risk but not zero. There’s also a case of a girl who caught it that way. So I don’t know if I can say my encounters are not a risk for hsv-2.. but if you really think i don’t have it then that’s good, so the scenario of me passing it onto my future husband is fake? Also would you say there are no false negatives in the blot for hsv-2?
Thank you
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
26 months ago
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I apologize if my earlier response was unclear. Genital-genital rubbing (frottage) is a no risk exposure for acquisition of HIV and other STIs (this was indicated in our earlier interaction). While there is theoretical risk that such activity might result in transmission of lesion diseases such as herpes (which your negative tests PROVE you do not have) or syphilis, this is theoretical in the same sense that it is theoretically possible that you will be struck by lightening while reading this response. The U.S. CDC and the WHO as well as experts all agree that there is NO realistic risk for any STI, including HIV from frottage. You are worrying unnecessarily. EWH---
26 months ago
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Well your replies are making me feel better but then I get instances where I remember for example in January (after 20 days from the last time I. Had genitAl contact ) I had a red bump on my inner thigh and I only noticed it because I was looking at my body (it didn’t hurt) and then I squeezed it and white puss came out and then blood, and then it took a while to heal because I had damaged it. It also felt super hard so I am assuming it was just a boil? Surely if it was hsv-2 the blot would’ve been positive right? I don’t know how to get this out of my head it’s causing me major distress . Also I’m in Montreal , Canada. Thanks
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
26 months ago
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Sigh. You are really having trouble moving on, aren’t you. The lesion you describe in no way suggests herpes and is a classical description, as well as a classical location for a boil. I urge you to stopped reliving the past and going down a “ what if” rabbit hole. Counseling is readily available in Montreal and is what would help you most, in my opinion. Please seek counseling.
This completes this thread which will be closed shortly. EWH
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