I have been reading postings on this newsgroup over the last couple of
weeks and have decided that I need to post to get some support and
maybe some answers.

A month or two ago (best I can remember but not sure) I noticed a
couple spots on my left testicle that looked like a bug bite.  It went
away w/out me noticing it.   Around that time, but not sure exactly
when, vaugly remember wierd tingling and strange sensation on that side
that made me want to scratch or move the skin on my testicle.

About three weeks ago after a very stressfull couple of weeks, I awoke
to a sore groin that I wrote off to being a pull or a hernia from
vigerous exercise, two problems I have had before.  After about 3 days
my groin was fine, but 3 or 4 days after that got better I noticed two
spots on my left testicle, best I can tell, in nearly the exact same
place as before.  Later that day they were definitely sores, not real
big, maybe 2 or 3 mm, but a bit bigger than what I remembered them from
before.

I did some searching and after finding the many posts in this fine
newsgroup, I realized I probably had contracted genital herpes from an
oral sexual encounter with a stranger maybe 4 or 5 months prior where
there was oral contact only with my testicles.  After some serious
freaking out, I was able to get tested at a local university that was
starting a genital herpes research study.  The doctor examined me and
did cultures and blood.  At the same time of course I'm really losing
sleep over the possibility that this could be something even worse like
HIV, but the doctor says that HIV doesn't really manifest itself as
re-occurant sores like that and it's classic herpes symptoms.

Fast forward one week later, no sleep, near breakdown worrying that I
might have autoinoculated myself or transferred it to my 9 year old
daughter some how or still worse that I have HIV and I get the results
back and I'm negative in the blood test for both HSVI and HSV2 and both
cultures came back negative.  The doctor says that I probably didn't
have antibodies yet since it might have been the first outbreak and
that I was crusting when he did the swabs so he wasn't suprised.

I brought up the dreaded HIV and he calmed me by saying that HIV
doesn't manifest itself as re-occuring sores like that on the skin
unless it's a late stage.  He said to come back in a month and we can
redo the blood test because he really believes it is herpes.  He's a
research scientist for infectious disease so I'm inclined to believe
him but I got an HIV test done anyway.  The guy at the testing clinic
said the odds were pretty small I got HIV from my encounter, but I am
still am so worried and stressed over some things that don't make sense
and it's another week before I get my HIV test back.  I'd be ok at this
point with genital herpes, I'd just like to know.

I'm hoping someone might be able to help with this...

1.  That absolute most recent I could have contracted herpes sexually
was at least 18 weeks prior to the date the blood test was done.  I'm
not even positive about that I've been so busy all the days have run
together.  I keep reading 12-16 weeks as the measure of ensuring an
accurate reading.  Has anyone tested negative to the test (I'm pretty
sure it's the better of the blood tests since he said it tells which)
after this time period and later tested positive?  Anyone have any
experience where the 16 week limit was longer?

2.  Do your antibodies start building from the day you were infected or
from your first outbreak?  Is it possible that it's genital HSVI and
the antibodies would take longer to develop since the virus doesn't do
as well genitally?

3.  I never saw any blisters that I read about, these were more like
little brown spots that got a little bigger.  Never really hurt unless
you touched them.

4.  Has anyone had similar symptoms and it turned out to be something
else?

I realize this was a long post, but I'm so mentally exhausted after two
weeks that I'm hoping that sharing this I might be able to get some
answers or support or both.

Thanks in advance.