Re: HERPES /question for Jodi

[Guest guest]

Jodi,

I would like to read about this directly. Which

message board did you read? Could you provide the

link?

Thanks,

Candace

--- Teddyrpin@... wrote:

> Hi...

> It's me again...I was reading on a

> message board for Vulvodynia

> and one girl wrote in and said she tested negative

> for everything including

> Herpes and she asked her doctor if she could just

> try the medicine ( Valtrax)

> to see if it would work. He said it wouldn't hurt

> her if she 'didn't' have

> herpes. So she used it for 2 weeks and then once a

> week thereafter. She

> said she's cured. Unless she really had

> Herpes...I'm interested in this.

> Any opinions/responses?

>

> thanks,

> Jodi

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

I found that message on AOL Health channel...here it is....

Subject: Re: new

Date: 9/7/00 3:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From: <A HREF= " aol://3548:MarmieCH " >MarmieCH</A>

Message-id:

Yes Yes Yes!!!!! I highly recommend Valtrex (herpes medicine)because it

works!!! I tested neg. for herpes many times but I tried the medicine anyway

and it worked I am totally pain free and have been for months!!!!!!

and here is another one (from the same person i think)....

Subject: Re: vulvodynia

Date: 9/7/00 10:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From: <A HREF= " aol://3548:MarmieCH " >MarmieCH</A>

Message-id:

Please just try Valtrex- it is herpes medicine and even if you test negative

for herpes like I did, just try it - it will not hurt you and it will maybe

cure you - it did me!!!!! I hope you don't have to suffer any more.......

[Guest guest]

For what it's worth, I've taken several courses of Valtrex for recurrent cold

sores. There's been no change in my vulvar symptoms.

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I'm curious - those of you who have tested negative

for 'all std's' - were you tested for HSV - herpes -

and was it a culture or a blood test? (especially

those who later tested positive for it and/or

anti-viral therapies helped you?) I had two negative

cultures and a blood test which was negative for both

types - can I trust these results??

My doctor doesn't seem concerned, but won't go into

details as to why. I'd be happier knowing if and why I

can trust the tests. I just started dating someone,

and when we get to that point, I'd hate to say " oh,

I'm fine " if in fact I've good reason to suspect I

might not be (in terms of what he could pick up from

me...whether or not I actually CAN have sex is a

separate issue, of course! *sigh*.)

Doctors can be so weird sometimes...you'd think they'd

be interested in examining all angles, but I've heard

" you can't have anything - you are such a nice girl! "

Maybe I should wear a see-through blouse to my next

appointment...!

wryly, but with best wishes to everyone,

Emma

p.s. Does anyone find their symptoms alleviated - even

temporarily - by exercise? Sometimes it seems like

getting up and getting my blood flowing helps things

for a while.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

I had two negative

>cultures and a blood test which was negative for both

>types - can I trust these results??

The word on cultures is that it is SOOOOOO easy to get a false negative that

you basically don't prove anything at all by swabbing someone who turns out

to be negative (in a culture). Cultures only come up positive when the virus

is actually shedding, which happens in the first few days of the flare (it

can be difficult enough getting an emergenct gyn appointment to end all

chance of catching on to it this way), but not always. Some people only

stand a chance of testing positive during the first days of the first flare

they ever get, some never at all, even though they do have the virus.

So, the negative cultures, I wouldn't trust (on the other hand, it's

extremely difficult to get a false positive, so if you ever come up positive

on a culture, you really do know where you stand).

If the blood test was negative, you're in good shape. Here's why:

the herpes blood test, like most/all viral blood tests, looks for antibodies

in your blood stream. If your body has ever even SEEN HSV (which is a whole

'nother story from whether you actually Contracted it), you will come up

positive. A positive blood test for HSV doesn't mean much, and in fact the

vast majority of the population will test positive for HSV 1 and 2. If

you've tested negative, however, welcome to the minority. You can

conclusively say you don't have HSV.

Good luck!

-

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