ann122

I eat relatively healthy - healthy 70% and 30% whatever I want probably. But regardless I eat a lot of nuts, peanut butter, oatmeal, drink almond milk and a good amount of wine sometimes...pretty much everything everyone says to avoid I eat/drink. and it never affects me....I am on daily suppressives and make sure that I take lysine every day (extra sometime if I ate a little more arginine than usual that day). Does food not affect anyone else though? Or does it kind of come and go and one day I'll wake up and it will affect me.

Hello all, I had a bit of a pregnancy scare recently and although it would have been completely unplanned, the only thing that I was immediately terrified of was giving birth with herpes. How many moms have given birth on here and were successful in not transmitting the virus to their babies? I was diagnosed in march 2014 with ghsv1, so I have had the virus a while now, but once I realized I wasn't pregnant I still can't shake how much this is bothering me. I know that there are many different disabilities, diseases, viruses etc. out there, but if I were to hurt my child because of some STD that I was unlucky enough to catch, I dont know if I could live with myself. I'm not planning on having children for a few years at least....but its just been on my mind lately. thanks guys!

I can't really say on the liver damage, but since alcohol causes liver damage on its own I'm going to say yes haha. But the dosage is listed as is to be the most effective. If you do not take it as directed then it is not going to work as well as it is made to. I think your best bet is to either take the suppressive as directed or take it episodically and only take it when you're having an outbreak. I believe I have seen some people say that they will take like one pill if they feel prodromes and it helps (rather than take it for a few days as suppressive) but its not like a regular thing. Are you concerned with long term usage of the drug? I worry about that sometimes too...

was it type 1 or 2? If it was type 1 it could just be oral herpes which you could have contracted as a child. And if you think you've seen a blister before then that could have been an outbreak (type 2 or type 1 genitally)....they can be pretty mild which is why most people don't know they have it.

this is awesome my friend, thank you I needed this :)

she offered the suppressive meds, she told me that it was impossible to give it to my boyfriend if he had antibodies and that it wasn't necessary to take the meds. However, after reading up on here I realize that there IS a chance (a very very small one) but regardless, i asked for the suppressive meds. last weekend I was on vacation with two girlfriends and when I was in the bathroom I noticed a pill thing in a clear hanging toiletry thing. When I went to look away I realized it said valtrex on it, 500 mg 2x daily. It really surprised me....I had no idea she had it and have always felt so alone thinking about it. I didn't mention it to her yet....but it was comforting to see. More people definitely have it than you think. It will all get better in time :)

hello! I was diagnosed last march and had one other very minor outbreak (leg pain and a paper cut sore) about 6 months later. Nothing since then though! I take daily suppressive meds, l lysine and vitamin c daily. Every now and then I get prodromes but it was definitely worse the first few months after being diagnosed. Its way more manageable that i thought it would be, sometimes I have to remind myself that I even have it. It's tough to deal with at first, youre making a good choice by seeing a therapist. It does get better though, I hear herpes jokes all the time and have learned to not let it bother me. I throw the stats out there and try to educate people a bit and thats it. The risks of transmitting genital hsv1 are incredibly low (not sure of the exact numbers) but it definitely helps with disclosing to people, and the fewer outbreaks that usually follow are a plus too. Hope you feel better, feel free to message me to chat!

I'd get it swabbed by a different doctor. Planned parenthood is great for that...if oyur blood test came up positive for type 1 then it could be from cold sores. If it's an initial outbreak of hsv2 it wouldnt show up yet on a blood test. So a swab test is definitely your best bet. hope that helps!

hello all! I'm a 24 year old from boston, ma. I was diagnosed last march with genital HSV1, and have since had a hard time with depression. I feel like I'm not the person I was before and would love to talk to someone in the area who feels the same way or tips for getting over it.....thanks guys!

I got hsv1-g about a year ago and went on suppressive meds to protect my boyfriend. He gets cold sores so he already has some protection, but we had already ditched condoms about a year ago so we didn't want to get back into using them. We havent had any scares and I have not transmitted it to him since I was diagnosed last march.

Doctors differ in what they tell you about antivirals.....from what i've read on here they can significantly reduce risks of transmission. Not positive on the percentages, @wcsdancer can help with that one! Im in a relationship now with a ghsv1 negative guy (but who has it orally) so I chose to do suppressive just to minimize the risk of transmission to almost 0%. If i wasnt in a relationship I would probably not be on them though. I hate taking meds every day, and I'd like to see how my body handles the virus on its own. as for foods to avoid..I have read that chocolate and nuts are bad for herpes viruses. However Im a peanut butter fiend, and enjoy chocolate as well. I havent cut either out of my diet. I work out 4-5 times a week, eat healthy (minus occasional sweets), and take vitamin c, l lysine and the suppressive meds. I've only had my initial outbreak and nothing since (which was over a year ago). What this all means to me is take care of yourself and keep your stress levels low and your body can fight this virus pretty well :) hope this helps!

i was diagnosed with genital hsv1 last march and have been on suppressive meds ever since. I got it from my boyfriend who gets cold sores. Since starting the meds I have only had the one visible outbreak, one time period of some prodrome, and have not passed it to my boyfriend (although he has antibodies from the cold sores). hope that helps!

@judith I have to ask, did you catch genital hsv1 when you already tested positive for antibodies? Or did you give it to someone else who had antibodies to it.....I get so scared of this happening to my boyfriend so I'd love to hear how that went for you just for some peace of mind :/

i have hpv and genital hsv1 too, guess we're unlucky twins haha. but yes its possible its from oral sex, and its possible it was dormant. you'll honestly never know. but if he has had cold sores than he has some immunity to the virus since he already has antibodies to it, so he is less likely to get genital hsv1 from you than and uninfected person. So thats one bright side for you! my boyfriend gave it to me through a cold sore and I had one outbreak in my first year. going on year 2 and none yet :) its sucks having two, I feel your pain. but just keep in mind that genital hsv1 tends to shed less and occur less frequently. and also 80% of the population has antibodies to it already as well.

i got it from an oral cold sore that my boyfriend had, so because of this he has some immunity to the virus. That was a year ago and he hasn't had any signs of genital hsv1 from me. So its definitely really low....with suppressive meds its like a 1% chance or something crazy like that.

that is absolutely infuriating. what a horrible doctor. my primary care was very nice to me, I essentially sobbed while she comforted me and told me that she has had cold sores her whole life and that her husband has never gotten them etc. She was great and I wish that everyone could have an experience like mine....but thank god for this site to tell you how wrong your doctors were though!

thanks @wcsdancer2010, I just gotta figure out a way to tell him now. I appreciate it though

side note....he knows I carry the virus. Just not where.

So I was diagnosed with type 1 genital last march. I havent had an outbreak since. But every now and then I do get symptoms (most commonly swollen lymph nodes). I know I got it from my boyfriend because he had a cold sore the next morning and he did a blood test for hsv1 which came back positive. INITIALLY i was told that it was impossibly for him to get it from me genitally because he already has the antibodies for it. But at a recent appointment my doctor said its not impossible, just highly unlikely. I CANT STAND UNCERTAINTY. This is driving me crazy. I'm on suppressive antivirals but we never use condoms. What are the odds of him actually getting it from me? To be honest I never told him I have it genitally because I was so embarassed and start sobbing if I even think about it. Since I thought it was impossible to transmit it I just never told him. Now that I know its possible its just eating away at me. I feel horrible and feel like I have to disclose even though it happened a year ago. If he gets it without me telling him I would hate myself forever. This has completely changed my life and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. Just looking for some stats and advice :/

@blueskysagitarrius i'm from mass too, I just went to planned parenthood. My boyfriend got tested at his primary care and while he was there he texted me saying they refused to give him the test. I literally was like "PUT THAT NURSE ON THE PHONE" and talked her into letting him do a blood test. That's what it took there, which drove me insane. they thought it was so unnecessary. At planned parenthood they handled it way better.

He sounds like a smart guy to me. Honestly before I was diagnosed if someone I was interested in told me they had herpes i would 100% have walked away. I was uneducated and too paranoid to ever have possibly been okay with it. Now that I know what I do now I would react differently...so to me if he's coming to terms with it then he either looked into it (unless you gave him a bunch of info on herpes once you disclosed), or just realized what really matters here: you as a person. You're not being a hypocrite by being guarded....thats a really shitty feeling to have someone choose to not date you due to something out of your control. Just enjoy the night with him, be yourself and don't be guarded. He clearly wants to get to know you, and herpes doesn't define you. Just be prepared for when he is ready to discuss it with you. Best of luck!

that has never had any affect on me. I work out 4 times a week and it's never caused an outbreak. I say go for it, just ease into it. Putting your body under too much stress at first may be a bad idea, so gradually build up to where you want to be.

So today at work this girl showed up with a very visible cold sore on her lip. Not a big deal obviously but she came right up to us and goes "ugh guys wanna know something gross...i have herpes on my lip". And I immediately told her it wasn't that bad, it'd be gone in a few days, and asked if she was taking anything for it. The girl next to me goes "like what, valtrex?! thats for the gross kind of herpes" and everyone started dying laughing. I held my tongue for the most part. but seriously? she has hsv1 on her face and everyones laughing like oh boy you really lucked out! She goes oh ya I don't have it down there no ones coming near me with a cold sore!! a.) you already have it. and may have given it to someone else because you carry it (god knows where on them either) b.) its the same virus c.) people are so ignorant. had to vent for a second. never fails to bother me when I hear 3 girls make fun of it (all of whom may I add, i know to be very promiscuous) when i'm stuck with this after only having been with a few people in my life. Its been a year and I'm over it for the most part, just frustrating. I piped in to say that most people have it anyway cause I think she started to feel bad too. But regardless....makes me ashamed that I would have joined in on that before I was diagnosed. Why is it no one knows until its too late? end. rant.

I'm happy to chat anytime you want :) How did your partner take it? Mine took it surprisingly well. He went and got a blood test and it came back positive so that took a lot of stress off my shoulders. I know what you mean though I still think every little thing I feel is an outbreak coming on. But no blisters for me in a year (knock on wood) so I think I only had the one. it also took 2 weeks to clear up. The worst part for me was the leg pain anyway...not even the blisters.

hey! i got the lovely news of my diagnosis about a year ago. I know how you feel...its the worst feeling in the entire world. But i'm being completely honest when I tell you it gets better. It really does I promise. The med thing sucks, for me the only side affect was an upset stomach and I noticed more hair falling out in the shower. But dont fret there a million other ways to suppress the virus via vitamins etc. L lysine, vitamin c, and acyclovir when I feel tingling has lead to me never having another outbreak. Just the one last march. If you need someone to talk to feel free to message me! Theres a ton of posts on here about other ways to control outbreaks besides antivirals. I wish I could directly site them but its been a while since i've been on here. stay strong, we're all here with you and have felt/are feeling just like you!