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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Herpes / November 2004Valtrex question
Hello group, My doctor suspects I have genital herpes, given the discomfort (slight itching, feeling to urinate) I am experiencing in my penis. A blood test showed a high presence of HSV1 antibodies, and that's the basis for the doctor's diagnosis. My penis shows no outwards signs of herpes, and my urologist is not quite sure my GP is correct. Anyway, I'm in the process of seeing an infectious disease expert, to get this issue settled once and for all. Anyway, my GP put me on Valtrex, and since I have been on it, I have not experienced any decrease in my symptoms. Is that normal? After finishing a daily 1 gram dose for 10 days, shouldn't these symptoms have diminished or ended, if this is actually herpes? Thanks for your advice, Jeff Just a comment; considering you've purchased this prescription drug, you should be entitled to get help from the company that sells valtrex. I don't know at valtrex.com customer service or something like that? Perl von Molson > Hello group, > My doctor suspects I have genital herpes, given the discomfort (slight [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks for your advice, > Jeff PRESCRIBING INFORMATION VALTREX® (valacyclovir hydrochloride) Caplets http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_valtrex.pdf here is all about valtrex This sounds like a tough call even for an Infectious Disease Specialist. The modern blood tests for hsv are reliable, so there's not much doubt you're infected with hsv-1. But a blood test can't determine whether your infection is oral or genital. Have you ever (in your entire life) had a fever blister or cold sore? If you have, even as a child, that can be the reason for the positive type 1 result of the blood test. And even if you've never had a cold sore, the infection could be an asymptomatic oral infection. So without a culture type test of genital symptoms, seems like your GP may be just guessing. Slight itching and a feeling to urinate could be symptoms of any number of problems besides Herpes. And frankly, the feeling to urinate isn't a usual herp symptom. >After finishing a >daily 1 gram dose for 10 days, shouldn't these symptoms have diminished or >ended, if this is actually herpes? Not necessarily. The later you start taking Valtrex, the less effect it will have. How long were you having symptoms when you started on the Valtrex? It's most effective if started immediately when symptoms appear or better yet, at prodrome (before symptoms appear). On the other hand, an outbreak of herpes will normally clear up on its own after a couple of weeks. Even without medication. So I wouldn't count on using your Valtrex experience as an indicator for a diagnosis one way or the other. >Thanks for your advice, Good luck with getting to the bottom of this and please let us know what your Infectious Disease doc has to say. M2 >Hello group, >My doctor suspects I have genital herpes, given the discomfort (slight >itching, feeling to urinate) I am experiencing in my penis. >A blood test showed a high presence of HSV1 antibodies, and that's the basis >for the doctor's diagnosis. >My penis shows no outwards signs of herpes, and my urologist is not quite >sure my GP is correct. Anyway, I'm in the process of seeing an infectious >disease expert, to get this issue settled once and for all. >Anyway, my GP put me on Valtrex, and since I have been on it, I have not >experienced any decrease in my symptoms. Is that normal? After finishing a >daily 1 gram dose for 10 days, shouldn't these symptoms have diminished or >ended, if this is actually herpes? >Thanks for your advice, >Jeff Hi Jeff. I meant to respond yesterday and got distracted in seven directions. I would add to what M2 said by asking what else you've been tested for? Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are the two things that come to mind with the symptoms you describe, especially if the Valtrex didn't seem to have effect. Of course, it could be herpes, and perhaps there was enough initial trauma that things are taking a while to heal. At this point I think continuing to seek out professional advice is your best bet. Take care, Mike Hello M2, Mike Thanks for your follow-up; I really do appreciate having someone to "talk" to about this. There were no outward signs of other STD's, but my doc put me on a strong course of antibiotics to clear anything up that may be lurking. He also thought it may be a prostate infection, and put me on antibiotics for that. Here's why I'm confused: -My sensitivity (slight tingling, irritation, need to urinate...) would begin within a couple hours after oral sex. (I didn't think herpes would break out that fast.) It also shows up sometimes after masturbation. (Again, friction on the urethra...) That's why my doc had thought this was some sort of urethral trauma. And to be quite honest with you, my symptoms have gradually decreased because I have cut out virtually any sex or masturbation over this past week and a half. (Interestingly, irritation has increased after I tried masturbating a couple times, so I've stopped that cold until this passes. But again, I'm thinking some sort of urethral problems, as opposed to herpes.) So, when my GP told me two weeks ago this Thursday he suspects genital herpes, given the high amount of HSV1 antibodies, (and yes, I've had cold sores before, so I already have HSV1 in me...) it just threw me for a loop.(To be honest with you, my intermittent irritation became constant within a couple hours of him telling me this; he's got me so freaked out I think my mind could be part of the problem.) And this has always felt like something inside my penis, not on the skin, if that makes any sense. I also met with my urologist, who looked me over and saw no outward signs of genital herpes. She's not quite sure what I'm describing is genital herpes, either. So, I'm in the process of scheduling an appt with an infectious disease doctor. Anyway, thanks for listening. That helps immensely. Jeff >>Hello group, >>My doctor suspects I have genital herpes, given the discomfort (slight [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Mike >Hello M2, Mike >Thanks for your follow-up; I really do appreciate having someone to "talk" >to about this. >There were no outward signs of other STD's, but my doc put me on a strong >course of antibiotics to clear anything up that may be lurking. >He also thought it may be a prostate infection, and put me on antibiotics >for that. >Here's why I'm confused: >-My sensitivity (slight tingling, irritation, need to urinate...) would >begin within a couple hours after oral sex. (I didn't think herpes would [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >this passes. But again, I'm thinking some sort of urethral problems, as >opposed to herpes.) >So, when my GP told me two weeks ago this Thursday he suspects genital >herpes, given the high amount of HSV1 antibodies, (and yes, I've had cold [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >think my mind could be part of the problem.) And this has always felt like >something inside my penis, not on the skin, if that makes any sense. >I also met with my urologist, who looked me over and saw no outward signs of >genital herpes. She's not quite sure what I'm describing is genital herpes, >either. >So, I'm in the process of scheduling an appt with an infectious disease >doctor. >Anyway, thanks for listening. That helps immensely. >Jeff Hey Jeff. Sounds like your doc is considering the other alternatives. It also sounds to me that, with whatever disease, if any, that you recently picked up, there was some physical trauma associated with it or that occurred coincidentally. Mild tissue damage or less mild inflammation or bruising or other irritation would be slower to heal than the time it takes to knock different bacteria out of the body (or for Valtrex to take the steam out of any HSV activity.) My experience with STDs and antibiotics is that marked improvement is noticeable within a day or so (though, of course, one must continue taking the stuff for however long the doc prescribes.) It's not outside the realm of possibility that a male can have a yeast infection, too. As far as herpes goes, it is possible that you carry the HSV 1 antibodies from an earlier infection (maybe years earlier) and that you have recently encountered HSV 2. While having HSV1 antibodies floating around affords some protection against picking up HSV2, the protection is probably limited. But the thing is, a recent HSV2 infection might not show antibodies for some twelve to sixteen weeks, so any blood tests before then might show only the older established HSV1 infection. I suppose it's possible, too, that you previously had an HSV1 oral infection, and might have recently acquired it genitally, in which case it might not give too many outward signs but could be zooming up and down your nerves until it figures out that that's about all it's going to do. It should also be mentioned that it's very common to be hyper-sensitive about every itch and pain that you'll feel now that your mind is so focussed on wondering what you've got. I think all of us here have gone through THAT. But still, it couldn't hurt to take it easy for a bit to give your body a chance to heal. Take care, Mike Mike, Thanks for your response. Yes, I am giving the old guy a chance to heal.... It's also very possible this could be a combination of things. May it be the most benign combination - at least that's what I'm hoping. Thanks, again, for your insights. Jeff >>Hello M2, Mike > [quoted text clipped - 80 lines] > > Mike |
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