kathy

I'm feeling really shitty right now. I had unprotected sex with a guy yesterday, didn't tell him that I *maybe* have herpes. I'm still not sure because if I have it. It's itchy and bumpy almost all the time, but my IgM and Igg tests were both negative after 3 months+1 week. I'm going to ask for a blood test again in 2 weeks (fingers crossed that my doctor will let me take it). By then it will have been almost 5 months. Anyway, I didn't remove my underwear because all my itching and bumps have been on my mons pubis. I have no idea what I'm going to do if I infected him. I know that I screwed up badly and I should have told him about my possible H, and now I just wanna crawl into a cave and stay there forever..

I'm itching constantly and it's driving me CRAZY!! How do you guys relieve itching? Any helpful tips?

Sorry to hear you had an uninformed doctor as well! It's so frustrating! I just want a final answer. I'll be going to the doctor in April (mid-end-ish) and demand a blood test! Do you think the answer on that one will be correct? By that time I will be 5 months since my last sexual encounter. I told my doctor that I knew for a fact that anti-viral medication would lower the transmission risk greatly, but she didn't listen and continued insisting that I can only infect other people when I have an open sore.. Unbelievable and kinda scary to think how little informed some of these doctors are about herpes. Hmm, medical tourism is something I've never heard of, but I'll def look into it if my next doctor's visit is unsuccessfull. Thanks for the tip! ;) I will update again in April/May when (or should I say IF) I get my blood test results back! :)

Thanks for the answers everyone! :) Unfortunately I'm in Europe, so going to the US for a STD check would be a bit expensive :P

Oh and I thought the Western Blot was only available in the US? Is that correct?

yeah I know he's really a douchebag. I haven't had any genital warts luckily *knock on wood*. But the body (normally) gets rid of the HPV by itself after a few years right? The last doctor I went to was an OBGYN, since my family doctor was not updated on herpes AT ALL! She claimed you could only be infected if there was an open sore, she didn't know you could have a blood test for herpes among other things :p The fact is that in this country, it's extremely hard to get tested for anything other than chlamydia. I went to the family doctor 3 times before giving up and going to the private OBGYN. If you ask to be tested for STD's, most likely they will only test you for chlamydia. That's what I have experienced 2 times before. If I ever asked for a *gasp* HIV test I would have to lie and tell them I've had sex with a gay guy (haha I know..) or someone from a country where it is widespread. If I have herpes, I probably won't get suppressive medication even if I want it. This is the problem with universal public health care in a country.

My first symptom was extreme itching exactly two weeks after having sex. I got a sore there which I think was from all the itching. And then I got impetigo as well, which confused me and the doctor even more :p I was only treated for the impetigo (antibiotics). There have been only around 1,5-2 weeks of days (combined, not after each other!) where I have been itch- and symptom free. After the impetigo I had severe itching, and a tingly feeling, like a worm under my skin. I had a few (3-4 maybe) red-ish blisters that turned to small sores, and this is the only time I've had the "classical" herpes outbreak. That eventually healed, but now I'm stuck with (almost) constant itching, some days are worse than others. Sometimes I get small bumps, but I haven't had any more sores. The doctor I got the blood test from thought it was folliculitis, because all the itching/bumps/sores have been on my mons pubis where the hair grows. No, I haven't asked him after I got the symptoms, but I did ask him before we had sex. He claimed he was STD free (oh EXCEPT for the genital warts he confessed to when I noticed them).

Hello everyone =) Let me just start off by saying that I've never actually had an "official" herpes-diagnosis. Despite this I was so sure that I had herpes. Nothing I could think of could have given me the same symptoms. When I went to my doctor she claimed that the only way to diagnose herpes was by swabbing an open sore. She wouldn't give a blood test so I had to pay to see a private doctor, who finally agreed to a blood test. At this point I just wanted to get the diagnosis and the medication because the symptoms were unbearable at times. The blood test was done 3 months + 1 week after my last sexual encounter. It came back negative for both HSV-1 and HSV-2?! Wtf?! Is it normal that 3 months isn't enough time to develop enough antibodies to be picked up on a blood test? I'm ultra confused by these results. Of course I hope they're correct, but I have my doubts as my herpes-like symptoms bother me on a daily basis. Any input is appreciated, thanks! :)

Hello everyone :) I know this is probably going to seem sort of random because I'm not a regular poster on this forum... I had a pretty nasty first OB last December and as many other people do, I turned to google which eventually lead me here (thank god!). I lurked (and still do :P ) on this forum for a while, reading as many threads as I could. My first thought was probably something like "Are these people crazy? How can you all be okay with having H?!" But as I read more stories and advice I've learned that H doesn't have to define who I am, it doesn't have to ruin my life and my future relationships (even though it feels like it sometimes). It feels good knowing that if I'm wondering about something regarding H, I can come here and no one will judge me, it's like a safe-haven for me! Even though you are strangers and you have no idea who I am, you have done SO MUCH to help me in this difficult time of my life. I'm not saying I've truly accepted my HSV-pos status yet, but you guys give me hope! I don't mean to sound too sappy here but I really wanted to thank you for being awesome people! Keep up the good work :D Hugs from a grateful fellow HSV-buddy.

Hi! :) I'm a 20 year old female. I had my first outbreak last December, and I'm still struggling with the contiuous outbreaks I'm having. I'd love to chat to anyone, no matter what age or sex :)

I want to go tanning to even out/hide the ugly pigmentation scars that I've gotten, but I read somewhere that tanning can cause an outbreak of oral herpes (HSV-1). Just wondering if you guys had any experience with this and know if same thing goes for genital herpes (HSV-2)?

@Yadira Okay, Thanks for the answer :D

My doctor told me the only way to find out if i have herpes is to swab a sore, but I've read everywhere that it can also be detected with a bloodtest. I've also read different things about whether a bloodtest can detect the difference between HSV-1 and HSV-2. So now I'm pretty confused if it can tell me if I have HSV-1 or HSV-2 or possibly both?

@victoriaxxx I'm not brave enough to tell my friends about it. I'm so scared that I'll get the responses that you got, which are horrible and I can't believe someone would actually write that to you.. and from people that pretended to be your friends! That is awful :(

@bookworm21 I truly hope that one day I can joke about it openly and not be so worried about what other people think of me. I will let you know when that day comes! :D

wow, you are all so wonderful! =) thank you for spending time of your day to help and support a stranger. I really appreciate it :)

Hi everyone! :) First off, I just wanted to say how glad I am to have found this forum! I'm almost certain that I have herpes even though I haven't gotten an "official" diagnosis from a doctor. During the time of my first outbreak I also had impetigo, and my doctor assumed that the itchy rash I had downstairs was also impetigo. I wanted to believe her, but I had a feeling it was herpes. I have had a horrible tingly/itchy feeling for over a month now, and I feel like I'm going to go insane! Right now I'm having another outbreak and I keep thinking that if I'm going to have outbreaks this often I might as well jump off a bridge now. There are some moments were I think "well herpes isn't THAT bad! I can do this!" but then my negative mindset kicks in and I'm stuck with feeling dirty, ashamed, unwanted and disgusting. Most of the time it feels like a horrible nightmare. I'm reminded of it all the time because it won't stop itching and tingling!! On top of that I also have scarring from the sores, which will take forever to fade. I think one of the worst aspects of getting this is the fact that I got it from someone who didn't care about me at all! The guy also had genital warts that he never bothered telling me about and he claimed that he was disease-free. I know it's also my fault, for not using protection and believing that he cared about me. I had actually started to see that he just wanted me for sex and had decided to not sleep with him again. Well a little too late! Two weeks after my last encounter with him I started itching.. I have no idea how I will ever be able to tell someone I'm dating about this. I'm going to end up an itchy forever alone old lady. I can't tell my friends, because they all think herpes is disgusting. Why can't someone just figure out a cure for this thing that is ruining my life?! Gosh, sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest!