tinbird

Follow up bloods track a number that’s expected to fall over time after treatment, and how fast it falls varies a lot between people. Slower than hoped is common and is a reason to keep monitoring rather than a sign treatment failed.

The reason nobody in the room was alarmed is that they see this regularly. Ask them directly what they’d want to see and by when, so you have something concrete instead of an open ended worry.

HSV-1 antibodies are extremely common in the general population and most people who have them picked it up in childhood as an oral infection, often without ever getting a visible sore. A positive antibody test tells you your body has met the virus at some point. It doesn’t tell you where, and it doesn’t tell you when.

This is why a lot of clinics don’t include herpes in a standard screen unless you have symptoms. The result frequently raises more questions than it answers, which is exactly where you are now.