Beowy

Awesome. Thank you, WCSDancer2010.

Thank you, WCSDancer2010! I'm weighing it for sure. granted, my 2 outbreaks were a year apart, but I don't want any - plus, I would like to cut down the risk of gifting my partner with it. :)

After a discussion with another member here about suppressive therapy (FitGirl mentioned it has been a life changer for her) I thought I would throw out the question: What are the chances that taking low dose Acyclovir daily for suppressive therapy would eventually lead to building a tolerance/resistance to the drug like taking certain antibiotics does? I'm seriously considering going on suppressive therapy but the last thing I want is to build a tolerance to where I have no place to turn if the OBs start coming back, or a bad one hits. If you are or have been on suppressive therapy, can you share your experience with me? The pros and cons? I take BP and cholesterol meds daily, so adding one more pill is not a big deal to me. Thank you in advance.

Most definitely will consider that. I know even getting these things yearly is very depressing for me. My doc feels 100% sure I was infected by my ex over 20 years ago - he had Herpes and disclosed, but he also said he knew when an OB was coming and we would avoid sex. So I'm thinking all is well. 20 years later (last year) I get a grandaddy of a first OB so I'm 9 kinds of confused, especially when my 'now partner' tested negative. I have a good tolerance for most drugs, and even this high dose Tx doesn't really bother me, so I will be calling today to see about the possibility of suppressive therapy.

Thank you, fitgirl. Actually, my MD originally put me on 800mg 3x day for 14 days! I was much farther along in my outbreak then, too - almost a week in. I was hoping that taking this dose for 3 - 5 days would lessen the symptoms and duration. *sigh* Last time it took a full 3 weeks to heal. To me that's a long time.

It's been almost a year since I joined the forum upon having had what I think was my primary (definitely my worst) OB - haven't had one since until now. I have Sacral Herpes, and the sores (4 or 5 small spots on either side) stay up high at the tail bone or just inside the buttocks about an inch down from the tailbone (sorry to be so graphic). I thought I felt prodrome symptoms 2 days ago, but it's hard for me to distinguish because I also have piriformis strain that triggers the same kind of pain in the same area, hip/sciatic, etc. Then I started to feel the mild itching up at the top of my crack (uh oh) so I did the 2-mirror look, and there was a red spot forming on the place where the worst sore was last time. None of the others yet, just the one. I jumped right into my supply of Acyclovir, 800mg 3 x daily, hoping to keep this at bay, reverse it, minimize it, or whatever. I noticed the breakout yesterday eve, I took 2 pills before going to bed, and 2 pills so far today. The sore is worse and beginning to look open already, and I've had 3,200 mg of Acyclovir. This kind of disappointed me. I thought if I hit it right away it would recede right away, or at least not get any worse. Did I wait too late? I started the meds as soon as I saw the sore, which appeared seemingly hours after the itching. Ugh. If I keep hammering the meds for a few days is it possible I may still keep this to one spot, and maybe abbreviate the duration of the OB? Speed the healing? What has been your experience? Also, my partner is aware of my HV2 - I was afraid I had exposed him last year but he tested negative. We are both in our 50's. He is supportive of me and this is in no way a deal breaker for him. He's happy as a clam just getting a good back scratch. But he does love to give me fun. We do not live together, so we don't always get to choose our times together. With the location of my OB (I never get any on my actual ladybits) is staying front-to-front, and keep him away from my sacral/lower back area a viable option to have sex? We often bypass penetration anyway, and just give each other oral or pleasure by hand (which is probably why I didn't infect him last year when I had a full-blown, rip-snorting OB, before I knew what I had. Thank you for any and all feedback.

Thank you. I've emailed my doc for a refill. :)

I'm reading where it's normal to start people with genital herpes on 200mg 3 to 5x daily - or 1000mg/day max for 5 days? My doc hammered me with 800mg of acyclovir 3x daily. That's 2,400mg per day, for 14 days. I just took my last one today and I still have visible spots (upper butt crack/tailbone is where I break out). The skin is pink and new, but I'm sure I'm still shedding and unsafe for sex yet. This could be because I was 10 days into the OB before starting the meds, but you would think that dose would knock it out better than it did. If my initial OB was June 19 and I am still not completely healed over, I'm thinking the acyclovir was ineffective, period, and I am healing at the rate I would have without treatment. Any feedback? I'm also thinking I should request a second Rx to keep on hand - I think I know my prodrome symptoms now - pain down the back of one leg. I went decades without am OB (or one that I would notice), so I'm hoping it's decades before another one. At 58 I'll be 6 feet under by then (lol). And I'm hoping that this grandaddy of an OB is not an omen that I will be getting them more frequently now. But if so, I'm thinking I'd better have something on hand.

I can attest to Dancer on that. I've been on Acyclovir for 10 days now for what I think is my first OB, and I can still see the spots (broke out on tailbone area). They are getting better every day, but I was out of state when I broke out and didn't start the meds until I got home and went to the doctor. By then the OB already had a good toe hold. Sometimes I don't think they're ever going to heal up completely. I have 3 days left of this stuff and I'm thinking about asking for one more script just to keep handy until I see how often I have OBs. Sorry, didn't men to hijack this, but i wanted to attest to Dancer's early treatment statement.

Huzzah! Thanks for sharing! (That's really encouraging. :) )

That's exactly what my breast cancer surgeon said. When I went for my initial exam with her after the biopsy and Dx, she felt some swelling of the nodes under the armpit on that side. She said I was having "reactive nodes" due to having been poked, prodded, squished and biopsied. Apparently they don't like all that harrassment that and will swell in protest. ;) Since they have a lab right there, they went ahead took a biopsy of the nodes to be sure, but they were negative - just pissed.

Awesome.

I'm grateful for the knowledge that I am not a being who's been flung out to sea alone, but rather a link in a remarkable, loving human chain. Thank you for this place.

Thank you both for the feedback. I'm not suffering too badly so I will ride it out - I have a week left. There's always Tylenol and Immodium. :D

Awww, thank you. He has been absolutely amazing considering our situation. He's been a rock. I'm kinda like you. I think if I wore bottoms and laid on my tummy instead of my back, I could at least finish out the sessions I paid for. The last couple of times I went I upped the time to a full 20 minutes, trying to darken my tan before the Florida trip, and I could feel the heat hard on my tailbone, but i didn't think anything about it since that's the part of me that bears the weight up against the bed when I lie on my back like that.