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Flowerteacher55

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Everything posted by Flowerteacher55

  1. Hi, Friends! I hope you all are doing well. I am very sad because someone just completely rejected me when I told them I have H. They replied "Oooh," and then I asked them if they had any questions, and they said "No I'm good." Then I said, "Okay well if you would just like to be friends just let me know." Then he said, "Let's just be friends." We were talking for a few weeks and really hit it off. First, ouch... I mean you could've at least asked a question? Like, if you were worried about it then you could have asked something to learn about it and the risks. But I guess just the H word scared him away, and honestly I am just so done. It just bothers me because guys will say I am pretty or attractive, and they love what they see, but then when I tell them they are just suddenly repulsed. I definitely know I will meet the right person but today I am just annoyed! To all of you who are feeling the same way -- please know you are worthy of a positive and healthy relationship where someone accepts you for you ! ❀️ You'll find the right someone, I promise! Thank you for listening! πŸ™‚ ❀️ grace
  2. Hi! It depends! I would hope that the doctor did an IgG test, but he could done an IgM test (which would produce a false negative since these antibodies would have reduce in number if he has had it for a while). You could ask him which specific type of test the doctor did!
  3. @Orange Hello! You can still be intimate with your wife, even with HSV! So many people on this forum live happy, healthy intimate lives with their partner, and have children. You can be sexually active with herpes, you just have to be safe. To help lower the risk of transmission, you can ... 1. take suppressive antiviral medication 2. use protection, such as an external or internal condom 3. avoid physical intimacy when you are experiencing prodrome symptoms (warning signs an outbreak is about to occur) or when you are having an outbreak It will be okay! πŸ™‚ Aw, also, thank you so much, that's so kind of you. I completely empathize with you all. Even though we all have had different experiences, we all can help one another heal. So, thank you for sharing your story with us and helping others who may be in a similar situation! We are helping so many others without even knowing it! πŸ™‚
  4. Hello! I hope you are well. I am so sorry that you are stuck with this detective work. It can be very frustrating! However, it will be okay! When you were tested, was it a swab test? Or, if it was a blood test? If it was a blood test and it was an IgM blood test that was positive, that indicates a recent infection. If it was an IgG that came back positive, that indicates an infection of 12+ weeks old. It is possible that your partner's test came back as a false negative. You could reach out to past partners, however it might not be the most happy experience (it can be awkward and the past partners may be hostile or offended you asked them, which is just ridiculous!). So, if you do reach out, you could just say, "hey have you ever tested positive for herpes? I think I may be experiencing some symptoms and my doctor suggested I reach out to a past partner." I hope this helps! πŸ™‚
  5. Hello! I hope you are doing okay! Please know that you are not alone. The situation you are describing is very common. When we have HSV in the lower region, it is very common for it to pop up at other location in the lower region. Since HSV 'lives' in the big nerve bundle at the base of the spine, outbreaks can occur at any of the neural pathways connected to the bundle. It's kind of like little tributaries that branch off one main lake. If you had an irritation on your anus area, it could have triggered an outbreak to occur there. So, you didn't infect that area with H, but instead it is likely stemming from the original H infection. It is possible for you to have an outbreak at another location in the same general region, such as your genital parts. It won't happen for definite, but since there are neural pathways that branch off from the central nerve bundle to the genital parts, it is possible. I hope this helps! Every little thing is gonna be alright 🌻🌟 !! Sending blessings and prayers your way πŸ•ŠοΈπŸŒ»!! -- grace
  6. Hello, Sorry for the misunderstanding! It could be that she managed to stop the shedding of the virus before it caused any blisters. Also, I did some research on the links between HSV and diarrhea, and apparently because HSV targets the big main nerve ganglia at the base of the spine, it can impact the connected nerves, such as the nerves of the rectum, and cause diarrhea. Again, this could all be a coincidence. I am hoping for the best!
  7. It wasn't your intent, and you didn't know you were about to have an outbreak. It's not your fault. Forgive yourself and be kind to yourself. It is possible that the Acyclovir stopped the outbreak before it occurred, however she only took it twice, right? I would think, especially for a primary outbreak, that it would take more than just 2 400 mg pills to make it completely cease, however I guess it is hypothetically possible! I'd say watch for symptoms in the meantime, and stay hopeful. It will be ok!
  8. Hello! I'm sorry you have been struggling. Please know that you aren't any different than who you were before H. If anything, you are wiser and more compassionate. The right person will not leave you just because you disclose. So many folks on here thought they'd never find love but they did! Happy healthy marriages, children, and happiness. The same is possible for you! In regards to vaccines, there's no HSV vaccine as of yet. However, a lot of work is being done to make one! Check out University of Washington Virology Division's website to see what progress they are making 🌟. Also, you are NOT going to be alone forever. You are a wonderful human with a common virus! Don't feed the socially-cpnstructed stigma. It's created by people, it isn't Gospel. It's misinformation and judgement and fear, and none of that is true! What's true is that you can live a happy, healthy, romantic life, even with H. A big part of being in a happy relationship is believing you deserve to be in one, other we self-sabotage. You deserve a healthy relationship, with others AND with yourself. Believe this and live this 🌟🌻! Blessings!! 🌼
  9. Hello, Friends! I hope you all are doing well! Below is the full list of questions which were emailed to University of Washington Virology Division, specifically to Dr. Keith R. Jerome and Dr. David Koelle. I am really excited to see their responses! I just want to say that you all asked such AWESOME questions! Reading through them I was like, "wow these are some great questions!" The answers to these will help SO many people on the site, so thank you for asking these questions! πŸ™‚ Is there a link or correlation between Candida and Herpes outbreaks? Many people in the Herpes Community have reported increased outbreaks or more severe outbreaks after getting any of the COVID vaccinations. Is there a link? Or is it that the new virus causes the body to be under stress, which causes outbreaks? Is there any way to predict when shedding (will) occur(s)? I am asymptomatic but want to prevent transmission to my partner. Is there a way to identify where an infection sheds from (when asymptomatic) Is there a way to measure how old an HSV infection is? Can those in Australia order a Western Blot Test? If so, how? Is there a way to correlate the amount of time since an outbreak and the likelihood of transmission between partners? Is there any correlation between IgG test levels and viral shedding. e.g. If your levels are higher, do you shed less than someone with levels that are lower? Is there any correlation between number of outbreaks and your IgG level? What is the highest possible IgG level on a test? How can we get involved in any studies on HSV testing or vaccines if we don't live in the Seattle area? Why are igG tests so confusing? The higher numbers must correlate with something that has to do with the virus antibodies. The explanation I keep getting is that you may have been exposed to the virus at some point if it's positive. There has to be a difference between a 1.7 IgG positive and a 19.7 IgG positive, otherwise, why wouldn't the test just be a pass/fail, without the numbers? If antibodies are higher, does that mean fewer outbreaks due to higher immunity? How is Viral Shedding tested for in lab studies, especially in males where there's no mucous membranes? Is it just a swab(q-tip)? Does showering reduce viral shedding? Is there any way to find out your personal shedding rate? Why are there no HSV shedding kits available for home testing, similar to what we have for Covid? Are there any supplements that help with radiculopathy from HSV-2? Everything on the internet says the first outbreak is the worst, but I'm pretty sure I've had one before five years ago. I'm currently experiencing another and it's worse than ever and I've been having symptoms without lesions for 12 weeks. Can the virus be more intense if it lies dormant for many years? Can low lymphocyte levels impact outbreaks? Can Celiac's disease impact outbreaks? Why do some people have extreme post-herpetic neuralgia? What causes this and why does the nerve damage never seem to stop? What are some treatments to help with this? Why do some doctors refuse to acknowledge that HSV can cause this? I will let you all know ASAP when I have a response πŸ™‚ Blessings to all! ❀️ - grace
  10. Hello, Thanks for the additional information. It is possible that you passed it to her, however we cannot be sure unless she either experiences an outbreak or if she gets an IgM or IgG bloodtest. I hope she has been feeling better! Also, please know that this wasn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up over it. It will all be okay! Sending happy thoughts!
  11. Hello! First, just breathe. It will be alright! Remember this essential idea πŸ’‘: Correlation does not equal causation. It is hypothetically possible you transmitted H to her, but you may not have. You could have been shedding the virus on your nose when you touched it, or you may not have. And, even if you were shedding, it is possible you did not touch the area where the virus was shedding, so it didn't get on your hand. It is possible she had these symptoms because of something else, such as hormones. For me personally, I have bathroom issues and odd discharge around my period. The brown spot on the discharge could actually be blood. Brown discharge can be brown from 'old' dried blood that didn't come out from the previous period. Headaches are also common to have from hormones as well. She could have also been coming down with a cold or flu. Did she have a fever or any other symptoms? Also, did she notice any skin symptoms, such as burning or itching? If she would like, she can get an IgM test ASAP or wait 12+ weeks for an IgG test to see if she has antibodies. I hope this helps! Blessings!
  12. Hello, I'm so sorry about all of this. Don't give up hope! This situation is very difficult but communication, honesty, and sincere apologies with effort to make positive change all help the situation get better. Honesty is the best policy. Sit down with your wife and talk to her about it. Obviously, refrain from sex and intimacy for right now so you don't pass it to her. When you tell her, choose a time where she isn't distracted or already exhausted by work, the baby, etc. She may be hurt, angry, confused, etc, and she is allowed to feel that way. She may need space and that's okay, too. Ask her what you can do to help this heal. She may ask you to stop drinking, if drinking creates problems in your life. You need to express you did something wrong, and you hurt her and your family by doing so. Own up to the mistake and ask for forgiveness, which she may not be ready to give yet, and that's okay. Healing, understanding, and comprehending a situation takes time. I also wanted to ask why you hooked up with someone. A drunk man's actions are often a sober man's thoughts, and sadly alcohol can influence people to act on these thoughts. Really think about why you did this, identify why it happened, and really genuinely work to help your relationship heal. Stay strong and be honest. I'm praying for you and your family.
  13. Hello, I am so sorry you are facing this news. Please know you are not alone. You are not dirty. You are not bad. You are pure and good. It will be okay. It is possible for HSV to lay dormant for many years and then pop up suddenly. How were you diagnosed? Did you have symptoms or were you just getting routine blood work? Do you have HSV-2 or HSV-1, and do you know the location of where (you can have either at either region of the body). Please know that you are not a danger to your baby or your wife. You are safe. HSV is shared via skin to skin contact with the infected area, and this risk increases when the virus is shedding or you are having an outbreak. You can still do laundry, share a shower, and share a home with your loved ones and not have them get infected. The social stigma fuels fear and judgement and incorrect stereotypes about HSV, but these aren't true. Stay focused on the facts, that this is a common virus that doesn't have any power unless you give it power! Disclosing it to your wife may seem so scary. However, you are strong, and so is love. H cannot beat love! Kindness and compassion and love conquer all the fears and doubts and worries about H. Your wife will understand, and I'm sure she can help you overcome the emotional stress from the diagnosis. We are here for you!! If you need help figuring out what to say to tell your wife, we can help you draft a disclosure script. Be kind to yourself. It will all be okay. Sending prayers and blessings to you and your family!
  14. Hello, First, yay for overcoming stigma and loving yourself! That is amazing and you deserve to be happy and respected ❀️ I am so so so happy that you voiced the TRUTH! Even though many of the people reacted in a completely inappropriate, disgusting, and disrespectful fashion, you spoke the truth and presented facts that debunk the stigmas. It all starts with voicing that. So, thank you ❀️ Please know that you did nothing wrong, in fact, you did the right thing! I am SO sorry that they attacked you in such a terrible way. That shows who THEY are, not who we, people with HSV, are. Sadly, Facebook is a platform that seems to cause a lot more harm than good, and it's really disturbing how people can spew such harmful words and mockery with such ease. I mean... what the heck is wrong with people? These are people you don't even know, and they think they have the right to make assumptions and judge you and others. That is just not okay. That is part of the problem. We can choose to either be part of the problem or part of the solution, every day with every choice we make. I have had some experiences where people made jokes about HSV when I was in the room but they didn't know I have HSV, which is awkward and hurts my feelings. This all goes to show we need WAY more comprehensive sexual and health education in our schools, and people need to be kinder to each other. Socially constructed stereotypes and assumptions about HSV are not okay, and just as they are created by society, they can be changed by society, too, by education, advocating the truth, and starting conversations about the silenced topic of HSV. Don;t let the haters get you down. You are a warrior! ❀️ Sending prayers and happy energy your way! 🌈 Blessings, grace
  15. Hello, I hope you are well. Please know that you are not a bad person for having HSV! You are a wonderful human ❀️. If someone preforms oral on you, they could possibly get it, however the risk reduces when you follow safety procedures. Safety procedures include disclosure so the person knows the risks, possibly using oral protection (such as a dental dam), abstaining from oral and penetrative intercourse during outbreaks or when you have prodrome symptoms (burning, tingling, itching, numbness, etc which is the body's way of signaling an outbreak it about to occur and the virus is shedding), and possibly using suppressive medication to help reduce the risk of outbreaks. I hope this helps! Blessings, Grace
  16. Hello, Friends! @RingofFire Sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience! I am about to send the questions list via email to the head of HSV Resistance, Dr. David M. Koelle, and the head of Virology, Dr. Keith R. Jerome. I will follow up with a call and report back! 🌻 Blessings to All!! πŸ•ŠοΈπŸŒŸ
  17. Hello! No apologies needed for posting, EVER! Your questions not only help you get answers, but so many others could have the same question! I'm sorry to hear your sores still haven't cleared up. Please know this isn't unusual for a first outbreak to linger or for it to leave different-colored skin marks where sores were (this is just new skin growth!). You said the outbreak is lasting 4 weeks-- do you mean new sores are popping up, or the original sores are just taking a super long time to heal? Also, have the cream/supplement offered any relief? I know it can be frustrating to wait for an outbreak to go away. However, you and your partner can still be intimate in other ways that just don't involve your outbreak area! Also, has your partner been tested for HSV? It will all be alright. It's not your fault, and your partner should be accepting of that. Don't be mad at your body, since the body is working hard to adjust to H. Your body is for you, not against you, even though it may not seem like it. Hang in there!! We are here for you! 🌻
  18. Hello! @Lotusblossom I hope you are well, and welcome to the forum! πŸ™‚ Ethical and moral responsibilities are SO essential to being a good person, and to being respectful of other's freewill to choose. Plus, disclosing is something that should be as easy as taking a breath (it isn't though, because of societal pressures and stigma and fears). We have nothing to be ashamed of when we disclose! ❀️ And the right person will respond with respect and kindness and acceptance! Someone who doesn't isn't someone deserving of you in the first place! Their loss! Blessings, grace
  19. Hello, Friends! I hope everyone is well 🌻. I wanted to reach out and spread some positivity, and an opportunity to make the world a better place! During the early stages of the pandemic, I began drawing happy messages on the sidewalk around my neighborhood with chalk. People really enjoyed them, but of course when it would rain the pictures would wash away. So, I thought, "I'll write it on a rock and it'll stay there!" So, I spent my time working on these rocks. The art therapy really helped me cope with having some issues with my OCD flaring up big time (my OCD also focuses on my HSV) and depression. I made dozens of rocks and placed them all around my neighborhood and people were so happy! It feels good to spread kindness. 🌻 Kindness is free, and it's a gift we all can afford to give πŸ’›. Flash forward a year, I decided to make rock gardens for my college graduation project, and I have turned my little project into ... River Rocks of Kindness! This may sound similar to the Kindness Rocks Project (which it is!). You may be familiar with the Kindness Rocks Project, which was started by Megan Murphy when she decided to write positive messages on stones along the beach. The movement has since grown into a huge global movement which works to spread kindness and optimism to people. The right message at just the right time can change someone's day, perspective, and even their life! I took the ideas of kindness and combined them with nature, creating a new theory I call EcoKindness. When we love the earth and love others and ourselves, we are letting kindness flow! I know so many of us on the forum may be struggling. But please know that there is so much good in the world. You are never alone. You are a beautiful person and you deserve to be happy! Painting rocks with positive messages is an amazing activity to do with children or family members or friends! Then, you can place them anywhere and everywhere for the right people to see πŸ’›. Feel free to follow @RiverRocksofKindness on Instagram to join the kindness movement! πŸ’› I was thinking of even doing some type of HSV awareness rock design, too, let me know if you have any ideas! Blessings!!✌🏼 grace
  20. Hi!!! Thank you so much for the update! It's great to know that Prednisone is prescribed for skin rashes such as HSV. Thank you for sharing this! It's awesome you are seeing improvement! Hooray! Sending healing vibes your way 🌻!
  21. Hello! First off, it is completely medically unprofessional for no one to have explained your results to you! 😾 This is also a shock because usually if someone who is about to give birth has HSV-2, doctors talk to them and ask them if they are having a current outbreak, so they can possibly deliver the baby via cesarian delivery to prevent transmission. Or, if someone is pregnant, they take antivirals close to the delivery date to reduce the likelihood of having an outbreak during delivery. I am so sorry that you have had to do all the researching and finding out for yourself. However, it's awesome that you looked back in your records to find answers. Keeping records is a really important thing to do, especially for your health! Your positive IgG count was 9.77, which falls in the positive range, which is 1.09 or higher. From this lab sheet, it says you do have HSV-2. What's interesting is they did an IgM and an IgG test. The IgM combination I/II score came back slightly above the positive range, which indicates a recent infection. However IgM antibodies typically don't result in positive scores if IgM scores are so high. IgM antibodies occur right after initial infection and then decline in number as IgG antibodies build up. You could call the lab agency and ask them to explain these results to you; since everything is digitalized now, they should definitely have a copy of these records to examine and explain to you. Personally, I would also call the doctor who requested this work and ask them why the heck they didn't tell me I had H and give them a piece of my mind, but that's just me πŸ˜‚! I am sorry that you found out this way, and I am so sorry that doctors didn't tell you you had it when you were originally tested. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!! Blessings! 🌟🌻
  22. Hi! I'm so sorry doctors weren't helpful. I hope that your OB can provide support and get the lab tests ordered for you! If they seem unwilling, you can totally pressure them for the tests. Advocate for yourself! You are the patient! ❀️ Blessings! 🌟
  23. Hello! Great question! Hypothetically yes, but the chances are very low since your body has already built up HSV-1 antibodies. So, if you have GHSV-1, your chances of contracting it anywhere else on the body is very very low. However, you still should abstain from intimacy with someone if they are having an active outbreak, even if they have the same strain as you. Now, if you have an autoimmune illness, your chances of infecting yourself with or getting HSV-1 from someone else on another area of the body increase, since autoimmune illnesses reduce the body resistance and ability to protect the body from infection. Also, you still can contract HSV-2. So, in summary, for the majority of folks who don't have any autoimmune illnesses, getting the same strain of HSV elsewhere on the body is very very very low!! I hope this helps! Blessings 🌟
  24. Hi! Okay. Yes so since it return, has an itch, and scabs, it could be HSV. Getting a swab test of the spot within the first 48 hours of when it comes back would be a great idea. You also could get an IgG blood test to see if you have HSV and if it is HSV-1 or HSV-2. You could also get a referral to see a dermatologist if you would like. If this is HSV... Since it is in a non-sexual location, bandaging it/covering it with one of those large patch band aids would perhaps be a good idea if you chose to be intimate while having an outbreak. However, it is still a good idea to disclose to a partner that it could hypothetically spread to them, even though it is not on your genitals. Before being intimate, make sure you are your partner feel comfortable taking any possible risk associated with intimacy during an outbreak, even an outbreak on the leg. I hope this helps! 🌻 Stay strong!
  25. Hi!!! I hope everything is going well. I also hope the Prednisone helped! Remember not to suddenly stop taking it, and to consult your doctor about it if you want to stop taking it, etc. 🌻 Stay well!! 🌟
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