boot_fist

Turns out it was the stress and had nothing to do with the virus itself. I'm very aware they're not healed yet, but I hadn't really had any problems with them up until then. So for future reference, anyone that might be having issues with piercings healing after getting H, it's probably not H itself, but the emotional stress.

Hey again, all. It's been a while since I've been on but now that I am I'm thinking of all these questions. Since I got my confirmation, and before that, during my outbreak, I've been having issues with my nipple piercings. I was warned by my friend before I got them done that they would get randomly angry for the first year or so (I've had them for about 6 months), but since I got this silly virus they've really been acting up. I could very well be paranoid that H is the cause of this and it's actually normal, but I was wondering if anyone else has had issues with piercings since getting the virus? All my other piercings are just on my ears/cartilage and I haven't really had problems with those. Google tells me nothing, but I'm talking to my piercer next weekend so maybe that can solve it.

Another note about STD testing: a lot of places won't actually test you for herpes (or will argue with you about it) if you've never had an outbreak. My giver, and we're actually still really close, was consistent with getting tested and the clinic never suggested to her she get a test. She asked about it and they told her they saw no reason for it because she'd never had an outbreak. She was pretty upset by the news because she never wanted to do that to me or anyone else involved, but she had no way of knowing, either.

I started out by telling a few close friends, and they all took it really well. I guess you can say it was for practice. I've been kind of seeing someone lately but I haven't really let it progress because I wasn't ready to tell him. Today I was already in a godawful mood and decided if I was going to get rejected, I might as well do it now. He took it really well. I probably could have been a liiiiittle more positive, but I started out with "Did you know that the cold sore virus can be passed even if you don't know you have it?" and just kind of took it from there. I feel like "cold sore virus" is a little less intimidating than "HSV type 1" and my results seem to agree. I DID end up disclosing through text, but that's mostly how we've been talking lately anyway and it felt appropriate in this situation. I'm not sure where the relationship is gonna go from here, but I'm glad to know my friends and interests don't see me as a total outcast.

Faysharlene, your boyfriend can easily have HSV and never have symptoms, but pass it to you through viral shedding. There are often no symptoms (at least none that someone that has no idea would notice), but the virus sloughs off through the skin. I got HSV-1 genitally through oral because of viral shedding. My partner had no idea she had it, and very likely got it when she was just a kid, since her sister and dad both actively get cold sores. To answer the thread question, mine was pretty bad. I got sores as a kid, but only one or two max, and it turns out they're pretty common in pre-pubescent girls who are juuuust starting puberty, so I didn't think too much of it at first (this was only about 2-3 weeks ago). Once a few more popped up, I knew. I was really hoping it wasn't H, but I knew deep down. It was incredibly painful. I've always gotten headaches, especially sinus and tension headaches, so I didn't think much of that, either. A lymph node in my neck swelled two days into it, and it freaked me out but it's not usual for my lymph nodes to swell. When the ones in my pelvis swelled, I was sure. I got to a doctor in time for her to culture them, and she said that since my blood still came back negative it was a very recent infection. Honestly I was more devastated the weekend I had to wait (labor day, of course) than I was when I got the official news. All my sores are healed, but I'm still a little itchy, although I suspect that's more mental than anything. I told my friend what happened and she felt horrible about it, but there's no way she could have known. We're luckily still best friends. I was more worried about our other friend who was also involved, and although his initial reaction was freaking out, he's also accepted it and we're all pretty much back to normal. He hasn't had any outbreaks, but he's going to get a blood test soon just in case he did get it. They only kissed and he had no open sores anywhere, so we're hoping for the best for him.

To VirgoGirl, I go to Walgreens for mine, and generic Valtrex (Valacyclovir) is $10 per refill, that I'm aware. I'm not in a relationship and kind of want to see how my body reacts before I decide to go on daily suppressive therapy, but if you can ger generics of anything they're usually way cheaper. I think brand-name Valtrex is $45 through Walgreens, which is ridiculous.

You know, in retrospect, being told about it didn't bother me all that much. I have a very close friend whom I slept with about a year ago, and he had something on his lip. He didn't know what it was, but suspected it was a cold sore he got from his inconsiderate sister. We avoided mouth-to-anything contact, and I was fine. Honestly I still think it was just a lip zit, but still. If the person really cares about you, they won't leave you, whether it's a friend, family member, or potential relationship. I recently got herpes from another friend who had no idea she had HSV-1, since she was asymptomatic. She likely got it from family when she was very young, as her sister has had them since she was little, too. Although I was initially incredibly upset, I'm fine now. I'm nervous about any future disclosures as well. I've found it incredibly helpful to talk to my close friends about my recent diagnoses, and I guess you can say I'm using them as practice for a relationship. I wish you the best, and I hope everything goes well!!!

I'm not really sure what advice I'm really looking for yet, but I'm sure I'll figure that out. This forum has already helped immensely. I talked to both of my friends that were involved, and although my guy friend was initially incredibly upset (because he's always kind of had bad luck, and this is an "icing on the cake" situation), he's okay now. I talked to my girl friend later, but the same day of my outbreak. We're still on really good terms. She feels like shit about it, but honestly, there was no possible way we could have known. It turns out that her sister has gotten cold sores since she was a small child and her dad gets them as well, so there's an incredibly high chance that she's had it for a long time and is just asymptomatic. We talked, and she's going to be more observant to whether or not her lips/face/piercings hurt and if they do, then she won't be doing much with her mouth, now that she knows. She's hesitant to get a blood test because what can she do with a positive result? You can be more careful without knowing for sure that you're HSV-1 positive, and I think she's decided that it's better to assume she's positive and just take all steps necessary to keep it from transmitting to anyone else. I'm way calmer now. I'm not sure if I've fully accepted it yet or if I haven't and I'm going to have another breakdown. I'm leaning towards the former, though. I'm still a little worried about the stigma around herpes. I finally told my mom what was going on, and although I could see the slight disappointment in her face, she came around and realized that since my dad gets cold sores, she, too can be positive right now and have no idea. I figure if I can talk to her about it, I can talk to anyone else about it, too. I've found it helpful to talk to some of my friends about it, and so far they've all been nothing but supportive and understanding, with a general attitude of "hey, shit happens. At least this isn't serious!"

I had my first herpes outbreak last week, and got a call from my doctor confirming it today. It's genital HSV-1, and because of the timing and type, I'm pretty sure what happened. I was on vacation with one of my best girlfriends, meeting my long-time internet guy crush for the first time. He's pretty innocent throughout this whole thing, and it's been almost 5 years since he's been with anyone in any way. I've always been pretty liberal, but safe, with my sex life, and she has as well. We ended up having a threesome and emotionally it wasn't the best idea, since she didn't know how I felt about him. He told me he wouldn't do anything unless I was involved. I wanted him, and our talk made me feel better, so I went along with it anyway. It's not the first time I've been with her, but it's been almost a year. She's the type that doesn't really get sick, but when she does, it's bad. Her sister mentioned that she got cold sores and she's the type that would take a drink out of a glass and not mention it. My friend said she's never had a cold sore, but timing-wise, I really could have only gotten it from her, as she went down on me and he didn't. He's upset and shutting down, as I expected him to do, but it's only a temporary thing and I know he'll talk about it eventually. I haven't talked to her yet, and I when I do, I don't really know what to say. I'm not really blaming her ... it's not like she knew. He hasn't had an outbreak yet, oral or genital, and she hasn't either. I'm upset because everyone I've been with has always come back clean. I still really like him, but he's just so... unemotional. He doesn't know how to handle emotions, so he just suppresses them until they go away. He doesn't want to be alone but he's introverted and down on himself to the point where he just won't date because he feels he's just going to be rejected anyway, and I feel like this is gonna make it so much worse. I'm feeling the same way right now, but this site has helped so much and I'm already feeling a little better. I'm just really lost and don't know where to go from here. Any help or advice would be welcome.