TurquoiseSeas

Thank you all for your responses!!! To Dancer - because of the cost of treating RA I haven't seen a Rheumatologist since I was 18. :-\ I'm pretty lucky because I only have mild RA right now but I'm not on any form of medication for it. My only prescription drug is Acyclovir. I plan on eventually getting a doc for my RA since I do have insurance (I didn't have insurance for a while). I see we are in the same boat with significant and seventeen! I assume he was the first guy you had ever been with as well? To Dreaming - Thank you for the reassurance! I'm sorry it took so long for me to respond back but A LOT has gone on in the past week that I'll probably share momentarily, since I do need someone to talk to about it. I'm keeping the positive thoughts up! I'm also trying to share them with others! :-D

My life could be a made for TV movie with the less..unsavory details censored. I was a 17 year old girl who thought I was in love. Not only did the guy break my heart repeatedly and strung me along for a few years, he also gave me the gift that keeps on giving. HSV-2. Being the young girl I was I suffered quietly thinking it was a UTI or anything other than what it actually was until the agony didn't go away. About 4 years after my horrifying initial outbreak I tested negative. But after repeated episodes, I figured that test had to be a false negative and just this past November I decided I was officially ready to know the truth after what seemed like a 4 month long string of recurring outbreaks. I needed serious relief. Instead of the dated culture, I was given a blood test. After 48 hours I had my official diagnosis of what I had known to be true and a plan to keep my outbreaks at bay. I hoped I would be a lucky person and not get outbreaks often...wrong again! They consistently came every two months at first, the longest I'd gone was 5 months without an outbreak, and ever since joining the dating scene in 2012, there are times I'd see them every month, every two weeks, or back to back. I guess dating really is stressful. :-P Every website says it gets better as time progresses...not so in my case! Top that off with Rheumatoid Arthritis (diagnosed when I was 11) and you have a very uncomfortable situation. I'm normally so much fun, I'm upbeat, and optimistic. But lately I've been feeling down and I feel like I've just turned into a complaining, bitter, 27 almost 28 year old hag. In all actuality, I love who God made me and this thing I'm dealing with will not keep me down. Now I'm happy to know I have a place to express my frustrations and begin to cultivate a much healthier love for myself. :-)