I could have sworn that I checked into the Herpes hotel seven years ago. I
had a one night stand, wearing a condom,  and then three weeks later I had
an outbreak of many little blisters on my upper inner thigh.  It wasn't
painful or itchy but rather sensitive to the touch.  Funny thing is that I
have no feeling left on the skin in the area of the outbreak.  After three
days, I had a culture taken but that proved negative, so I thought OK I
did not have herpes.  Following that outbreak, I started to feel rather
unwell - with flulike symptoms, fatigue, muscle weakness,  a low grade
fever, headaches - symptoms that persist to this day as if I have chronic
fatigue syndrome. Then after a while there were little outbreaks on my
other thigh too.  This herpes was apparently jumping around from thigh to
thigh.  I never had an outbreak return to the site of the original
outbreak though.  I guess all the nerve endings on the skin there are dead
and therefore no go zones for the virus. Anyway, to this day, I still feel
an itch here and there on both my inner thighs that last a few seconds and
then disappear.

Anyway, after much reading about HSV 2, I realised that culture testing is
rather unreliable, so I got a non specific type test done about a year and
a half later and to my surprise it came back negative.  Ofcourse I did not
believe the results there as well given my persistent flulike symptoms and
various twitches, twinges, aches, itches and other assorted prodomal
feelings that I feel to this day.

Over the course of several years I got tested for many other viral  
infections including HIV, Hepatitis etc.  All those results where negative
save for CMV.  That one showed that I had a past infection sometime in my
life.

And last week I got a new non specific IGG/IGM HSV 1 and 2 test and that
came out negative as well.  I have read that if the non specific HSV 1 and
2 test is negative on both IGG and IGM antibodes then I do not HSV 1 nor
HSV 2 - past nor present.  I understand if the test result had come back
positive then a type specific test would be necessary.  But since I have
no antibodies to either HSV 1 or 2, then can I assume it to be a reliable
indicator of no past or present HSV 1 or 2 infection. Or am I one of those
oddballs that just does not produce antibodies to either type of HSV?  

So to sum up, I have had three herpes tests, in the last seven years and
all of them come back negative.  But given the way I feel and having all
these 'herpes' symptoms, I wonder if all these tests could have come back
as false negatives.  Is that possible?

Is asking for a type specific test the next step or is that a waste of
time and money given that I tested negative on the non type tests?  My
doctor already thinks that I am an anxiety-ridden hypochondriac who needs
to go on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds to get rid of my supposed
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  

I don't know what to think anymore.  Could those blisters have been
shingles?  I hope someone can shed some light on this matter.

Someboy