Negative Igm test...what does it mean? - Herpes Message Board

Malvoe · 03-22-2004, 03:38 PM

I had an encounter with a girl I was worried about over 2 weeks ago (you can see my story below). I got blood drawn 10 days after the incident when I went to see my urologist about 3 tiny red bumps on the head of my penis that seemed to be causing sensitivity. I just got my blood test results back, and it turns out they did the IgM test. I tested NEGATIVE for IgM, both types. I asked the Dr about this not being an accurate test, and he agreed if the results are positive, since you cannot know the type. However, he said that since it came back negative for both, that I am good. He also said that since I had formed bumps by the time the test was taken, a new attack would have showed up in the test. I realize that many Drs have no clue about this virus, but he seemed very knowledgable. DOES WHAT HE SAID SOUND RIGHT??? Also, is he right that this test would have indicated an old infection, too? Thanks.

veryworriedguy · 03-23-2004, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malvoe

I had an encounter with a girl I was worried about over 2 weeks ago (you can see my story below). I got blood drawn 10 days after the incident when I went to see my urologist about 3 tiny red bumps on the head of my penis that seemed to be causing sensitivity. I just got my blood test results back, and it turns out they did the IgM test. I tested NEGATIVE for IgM, both types. I asked the Dr about this not being an accurate test, and he agreed if the results are positive, since you cannot know the type. However, he said that since it came back negative for both, that I am good. He also said that since I had formed bumps by the time the test was taken, a new attack would have showed up in the test. I realize that many Drs have no clue about this virus, but he seemed very knowledgable. DOES WHAT HE SAID SOUND RIGHT??? Also, is he right that this test would have indicated an old infection, too? Thanks.

IgM is pretty useless for the most part. You should probably wait a little while and try the IgG...it is much more accurate. However, you cant be 100% sure about your IgG test until 6 months has passed. This is how long it can take for your body to build up the antibodies which the test detects.

As for now...hey, be happy about your IgM results, a negative is surely better then a positive. But to be sure, you should definitely wait a little while and get the IgG.

umm yea · 04-07-2004, 04:59 PM

what if the IGM is posotive but the IGG is negative?

veryworriedguy · 04-07-2004, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umm yea

what if the IGM is posotive but the IGG is negative?

A positive IgM and a negative IgG means that indicates that you are have a new herpes infection. In other words, you were recently infected with herpes...(your body hasn't quite had a chance to build enough antibodies to be detected by the IgG test, however the IgM test is sensitive enough to detect them). You should wait 8-12 weeks, and get a Type-Specific IgG exam to find out if its HSV-1 or HSV-2. (The IgM simples tells you that you have one of the types, but not which one). Good luck.

veryworriedguy · 04-07-2004, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umm yea

what if the IGM is posotive but the IGG is negative?

By the way, since you were recently infected...you should contact your most recent partner and have him/her tested for herpes as well. It looks like thats where you picked it up from (unless youve had multiple partners recently??).