MissWorld

Yes! I get this too! My entire butt and back of my thighs will start to ache really bad if I sit on it for too long and then it gets insanely itchy feeling and tingly. I know it’s herpes related though bc I sit a lot all day at work and during my commute, and this phenomenon only happens when I’m ovulating though (thank god). This also happened during my initial outbreak too but lasted for about 2 days straight.

Are you on the pill? I've been on the pill for over 15 years with no BV or yeast infections and all of a sudden about 9 months ago I began to get it about once a month. I think the trigger was when my doctor lowered the dosage of my pill because I was having other hormonal issues. I think it has to do with ovulation or right before I get my period. It usually only lasts about 2-3 days and clears on its own but is very annoying! I haven't been able to make it go away completely, even with no sex for the past 2 months and using Metrigel treatment, so I definitely think it's hormonal. My doctor recommended using Rephresh gel periodically to help rebalance my Ph and I think it helps. I was diagnosed with GHSV1 in December and I haven't noticed it making any difference with my BV flare ups.

Follow-up question: I've been on suppressive meds since my initial outbreak since I wasn't sure when my sex life would re-start and I wanted to be "covered" with meds in my system in case it was sooner rather than later since I do have 2 partners who are ok with still having a sexual relationship. How can your body build antibodies to the virus if it's being suppressed with meds? I've been on the fence about meds from the beginning because I wasn't sure if it was best to let my body try and handle it independently or to just stay on meds for 6-12 months to help my body out?

How long after your initial outbreak did you wait before having sex again? There are no specific guidelines from what I've researched. I had my initial outbreak about 6 weeks ago, no new outbreaks since then but definitely still have intermittent itching, tingling, irritation daily (although it's very tolerable and mild for which I'm thankful) which again from what I've researched, is pretty normal and will likely continue to occur for the next 6 months to a year until my body adjusts. Not gonna lie, I'm a sexual person and I'm already feeling reeeaaaallly sexually frustrated having to go this long, lol. I have a friend with benefits who keeps asking me when it's "safe" for us to have sex and I can't really give him a straight answer other than the usual statistics and rates when using condoms and antivirals, but there's no information about whether its more "dangerous" to have sex in the first 6 months to a year vs. after a year even with proper precautions. Thoughts? I'm starting to get my first taste of being made to feel like a pariah and it sucks...

So I know you can do episodic therapy vs suppressive with the main difference of that with episodic you only take meds at the onset of a prodrome instead of daily. Is it possible to only take meds right before you have sex to decrease shedding or does it have to be in your system for a few days prior to be more effective? I’d like to not take antivirals for awhile to see how my body handles the virus but I also want to protect the 2 partners I have when I’m ready to start having sex again ( I didn’t catch GHSV1 from either of them). I’m not in a committed relationship with either of them, and sex is usually a planned occurrence so I know a day or more in advance when it will happen.

So I just got diagnosed last Wednesday, 12/11/19 with GHSV1 from oral sex. All it took was a quick google image search to realize that Monday night that it was not irritation from a hot tub I was dealing with...I was an absolute wreck but at least by the time I got the "official" diagnosis from my doctor I had cried all I could. I'm trying to stay positive now and taking this as a new lease on life, to get my mental and physical well being back on track because now I don't have an excuse not to. It's been rough though. On top of having a pretty severe OB, I had contracted a stomach bug (likely also got that from the partner who gave me herpes) so I couldn't keep anything in or down for about 2 days. I'm now over that and have started a paleo diet, got some probiotics, lysine supplement, and some CBD oil to chill me out (I have a stressful job and don't want that contributing to anything). I'm so thankful I stumbled across this site and have already learned so much but lawd, do I have more questions! 1.) If I contracted GHSV1 from oral sex, why didn't I have an OB orally as well since we kissed? I guess it's possible I contracted it from actual sex, but from what I've read that's much harder to do when it's going from male to female? 2.) I'm on day 4 of meds and day 7 of my OB. Dear god I feel like this is taking forever to go away! I can finally pee now without my life flashing before my eyes too bad, but I'm still very uncomfortable when walking/sitting/standing. I legit wore a knee brace to the store today so people wouldn't think twice about me walking with a limp to keep my pants from rubbing my vag. It just feels so raw down there, but I'm wondering if some of that is nerve pain too? 3.) Any equestrians out there? I've read that friction can sometimes be a trigger for recurrent OBs and unfortunately that's a natural consequence of riding horses. Any tips on managing that or maybe it won't be a problem? 4.) I'm reading conflicting material on prolonged primary OBs vs. prodromes? I'm reading a lot of threads of people saying they have persistent tingling, sensitivity, itching etc. after the first OB sores have healed, so is that considered an actual prodrome where the virus is becoming active again since the first OB or is that just a prolonged OB that hasn't been managed? Sorry I know this is long, I'm just trying to better understand this virus so I can manage it as best as I can!