UPDATE: Received my Western Blot results

Updating this thread from two weeks ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HSVfalsepositive/comments/1ar2qi7/update_just_took_the_inhibition_assay/

I just received my Western Blot results 10 minutes ago and it's "Indeterminate" for HSV2, negative for HSV1. No one from the clinic has called me yet, but this is super interesting to me.

For some background on my experience getting the WB done & speaking with the clinician:

I went in on February 16th to have the WB done. I went to University of Washington at Harborview, where all WB tests are sent for testing. The doctor I spoke with was definitely knowledgeable on HSV. She mentioned Terri Warren's forum by name and talked me through my previous results. For reference, my results were:

  • 1/31 blood draw - 4.09 IgG for HSV2

  • 2/7 blood draw - 5.19 IgG for HSV2, positive inhibition

She said given those results, they would typically view that as 85%-90% chance of being positive. She said the difference in values was pretty insignificant, and did not indicate an increasing antibody count at that time.

She also mentioned she wasn't familiar with the Quest Inhibition Assay, which was a bit of a yellow flag/raised eyebrow, but again this was UW so I trust her still.

One callout she had was the impact antivirals could have on the WB test. I had started taking Valacyclovir the previous day, and had taken three 1g pills. She said that normally they request someone be off antivirals for 4 months before taking the test, but that given how short of a time period I'd been on them it was probably fine.

My thoughts on this, in no particular order:

  • It's possible I took the WB too soon after contracting HSV. I'm not positive when I exactly could have caught it, but my last risky exposure was 42 days/7 weeks prior to the WB. I expect them to recommend I get tested again in a few months and go off antivirals in the mean time.
  • I've had no major outbreaks. Two weeks ago I had what I thought was prodromal symptoms, including tingling in the genital region, but it could have been in my head.
  • My first two IgG I was taking a multivitamin that had over 100% daily recommended amount of biotin. I'm iffy on that causing major issues, but it's a possibility.
  • I've seen it floated around here that eczema can cause false positives on the IgG. I've had dry skin most of my life so that's a real possibility.

So yeah... That's where I stand now. I'll update the thread when/if they give me a call to discuss the results.