Chinup

thank you dancer!! Yes, I just tried tea tree oil for relief, I def go commando and wear loose pants when I can.. Keep the area super dry.. Etc.. Haven't gotten the ammonium alum yet.. And to be honest, I'm scared to try lol! Someone else said they use rubbing alcohol, but I'm scared to do that too. I guess I'm nervous to aggravate the area more than it already is.. But I need to just pull up my britches and suck it up! At this point, trial and error is all I've got!! Rereading over your links now for more ideas!! Thank you!!!

Yea I was put on the meds with my first and it cleared up so fast and I barely had any symptoms.. This OB has been completely different and the symptoms have been much more intense. I really have no idea if the meds are working bc I'm not really feeling much relief.. But I do think it might be clearing up.. I just noticed the first bump on Friday.. Now it's 2 clusters.. But they are small bumps and don't look open anymore... But like I said, I have no freaking clue what's going on down there :-/ at the very least, the meds give me piece of mind.. How long do your OBs usually last with no meds?

Agreed!!! I just want to feel normal.. And for a while there I was feeling "normal" again.. And then this OB started and I'm back to feeling ughhhh. I know I'll get passed it and get back to my new "normal".

That was my goal.. But 1 day into this OB I decided to start on the meds.. And I'm glad I did bc even on the meds, it seems to be getting worse.. Not terrible, but 1 bump has turned into a cluster the size of a dime and now I just noticed another small little cluster on the other side.. Great! I just need to woosah and try not to stress.. But I do wonder what it would be like with no meds at all.. The bumps seem to be healing already.. At least I think? I guess I really have no clue what's going on down there..

Oh yes!!! Every time I touch in the shower, I wash my hands lol! I've never been so clean in my life.. Go figure, right? As I've also never felt so dirty.. Uhhhh the stigma.. Trying to get passed it all.. Baby steps I suppose.. It's only been 2 months.. Still trying to figure out how to cope! I spent my 6 weeks being OB free checking 24-7 for a bump.. Every feeling I had down there, which are prob 99% in my head, had me stressed out..

Thank you @sil88 , I'll try that washing technique!! Are you taking medicine at all? I'm actually curious of the same thing @willow! I didn't have any symptoms that I know of for my initial OB, I just noticed the bump.. but now that I'm on my second, I definitely had noticible symptoms for this one.. I was off my meds for 4 weeks and every itch and tingle terrified me.. But the signs I had before this OB were a stinging sensation (pretty much where my OB is), redness in the same spot, and a shooting pain in my left butt cheek.. Both OBs have been on my left side of my lady parts. I was assuming that was my prodrome.. What symptoms did you have with your OBs?

Lather**

Thank you @willow for your feedback!! I would hope that it's not that easy to spread it, or else we would all have it everywhere lol! I'll have to go look for that creme.. I started putting tea tree oil on them yesterday and that definitely had a nice cooling effect. Hopefully it clears up asap.. This certainly is the pitts! Trying to rest as much as possible, but keeping up with a 2 and a half year old is lots of work :-/ as for keeping it clean, I have been showering twice a day.. Is it ok for me to larger up with soap and wash all over down there? Can I spread it that way? I read that once it comes into contact with soap it dies.. I'm just super paranoid!! Thanks!!!

So I'm currently experiencing my second OB.. And it's much different than the first one. My first OB was 1 tiny bump, was not painful or itchy, and was cleared up in a few days after being put on Valtrex.. This OB is a small cluster of bumps, close to the original bump, but is much more painful and irritating than the first was. I know that OBs can vary, but i guess my concern is that maybe I've spread it around on accident from washing. I was diagnosed in August and I'm still trying to figure out how my body is going to react and handle the virus. Since my first OB was so mild and short, I was hoping future OBs would be even less, but I was proven wrong. Definitely feeling discouraged at the moment waiting on this OB to clear up :-/ Has this happened to anyone else? Anything I should be doing to avoid spreading this all over my lady parts? Aside from the obvious, no touching lol!! Thanks in advance for your input :-)

Oh wow!!! That's crazy!!! Thank you @helzbelz88 :-)

Yea I've heard that too!! Definitely going to pass on the flu shot

That's wonderful!!!! Happy for you!!!! So great to read positive disclosure stories on here! I haven't disclosed yet, but reading these stories helps me prepare for that day!! Best of luck with everything :-) congrats!! Have fun tomorrow lol!!!!

Love love love your story!!!! Thank you for sharing.. I feel hopeless at the moment, but I know it will pass with time and I look forward to hopefully being in a happy relationship one day.. Regardless of my H status. Thank you again!!!!

Ok :-) thank you, dancer! I'll stick to my "no flu shot" plan lol!!

Yea I've never had one, and wasn't planning on getting one.. I've always had a pretty good immune system and rarely get sick.. But now that my immune system is busy fighting this thing, I was unsure if id be more susceptible to colds and/or the flu.. I'll just hold off and see how I do this flu season. I just started taking the airborne immune booster + multi vitamin, so hopefully that will help too!! :-) thanks @inka for your input!!!

Yes, I resent the coward that gave me this.. Because I was not given the choice to decide.. But at this point, I resent myself just as much for being stupid and irresponsible enough to put myself into a situation to be taken advantage of. As much as I hate him, I hate myself more. I am trying to learn how to forgive myself for my awful mistakes. That is the hard part.. I don't need to find forgiveness for him, I'm searching for the strength to forgive myself so I can attempt at moving on with my life. Some days are certainly easier than others..

Hey everyone! I'm still new into my H diagnosis (aug 2014) and like so many of you, I have spent countless hours researching about the virus. Obviously we all know that a healthy immune system is needed to fight this thing. So my question is, how many of you get a flu shot?? I have never gotten one and to my knowledge, I've never had the flu. Thankfully (knock on wood) I'm typically pretty healthy and rarely get sick.. However, going into this cold season with my new diagnosis, I can't decide if I should get one or not to protect myself. I'm also nervous that the flu shot itself will send my body into wack and cause an OB if I decide to get one.. What have your experiences been? Do you recommend a flu shot? Thank you!!! :-)

I guess my concern is that I am currently separated from my hubby and we have 1 child.. 1 bad, terrible, awful night happened during that time and now I'm H+.. There are times when I think we are on a path to reconciliation, but I struggle EVERY DAY with the thought of telling him.. While I do think he is mature enough to research and learn the facts, I'm just not sure he will ever accept me back like this.. The guilt and disappointment I feel.. I don't know if I can ever bring myself to tell him at all.. I don't want this to hold me back from life, but it already is.. I think about how we would ever have more kids.. If he would be comfortable enough to have unprotected sex (while on antivirals, of course).. I also wonder if he would laugh at me and shrug it off as "well, that's what you get for leaving me".. The stress from it all is overwhelming... The stress of telling anyone is overwhelming.. I think I just need more time with this to see how it affects me before I can disclose.. I still need to accept it myself! Sex and kids are so far away at this point for me lol!! Maybe someone will want me again one day :-/ Thank you all for your support :-)

Yea I see things every day that put me in my place when I'm feeling down.. Every day that I look at my beautiful healthy daughter, I can't help but be thankful that this is all I have and that it could be much worse. My coworker was just diagnosed with a liver disease and we cried together when she told me.. I feel so awful for her.. Luckily they think she can handle it with meds, meds she may have to take forever.. But it's better than the alternative, sort of like H.. I'm still new to all this and I thought I was doing pretty well with it until I heard a few negative comments from people about STDS.. Since then I've been in a dark place mentally and emotionally and I think that could have triggered my second OB.. That or breaking my toe.. Or stress from family visiting from out of town.. Oh hell, I don't know what caused it but I do know it's got me down.. Trying to stay as positive as I can so it will heal as quickly as possible.. Thank you all for the support, as always!! And keep the positivity coming :-)

Thank you @dancer I agree! Why suffer for no reason? If you don't mind me asking, how often do you have OBs these days? Everything I've read says over time they become few and far between as your body learns how to fight it better.. Has that proven true for you? As always, thank you for your support :-) reading those links now!!!

I have a 2.5 year old daughter and I can totally relate to the feeling of being a "walking virus".. When I was going through my first OB I was so paranoid to touch her.. Even though I knew i had washed my hands and what not.. After it cleared up, I was able to relax a little and was starting to feel semi normal again.. I think I may have even gone a few days where I didn't even think or worry about H at all.. Now that I'm having my second OB I'm feeling paranoid and down again.. But I know I just have to be smart about it and use good hygiene and she will be fine. I am currently separated from my husband and I do worry about the future and if I'll ever be lucky enough to have more children.. I guess my question is this.. Sorry if this is stupid, but If I'm H+ and my potential future partner is H-, how do we have unprotected sex to have a baby without risking transmission? These are the kinds of things that keep me stressed out and sad :-( I'll tell you one thing, thank goodness for my daughter.. On the really dark days I seriously don't know if I could deal without her.. She is my rock!

Correction.. I was med free almost 4 weeks!!

I agree.. Thank you for your positive post @ihaveittoo1975 ! I feel like I could have written that post myself when I was first diagnosed, except from a woman's persoective lol!! I was just diagnosed in August and was feeling super positive myself.. I was really trying to reevaluate how I looked at life and experiences to make each day better.. And I was constantly telling myself that it could be so much worse. However, my positivity has since faded as I am now currently having my second OB.. Just wanted you to know that your post was a pleasure to read and I'm REALLY trying to put my positive pants back on and face the world with a smile again..

That's great to hear! Are you taking 1 500mg Valtrex twice a day? When I was first diagnosed in August I was put on valtrex.. First script was 500mg twice a day for 3 days.. Then it was 1000mg twice a day for 10 days.. They gave me a suppressive script and I ended up using it to wean myself down from 2000mg a day to nothing.. I've been med free for almost 3 weeks and now I'm having my second OB.. Started off as a very uncomfortable spot down there that looked like nothing for a few days (prodrome?) and today has turned into a bump.. I was going to see if my body could knock it out on its own, but I decided to take my meds to help. I just didn't know if I should take 2 500mg a day or bump it up to the 1000mg twice a day.. Any advice on the dosage? My dr wasnt too helpful.. Just told me to take it how I wanted, either as suppressive or episodic.. It looks like I have a little cluster of small bumps forming and I'm freaking out.. My first OB was only one and after the meds it was gone in 3 days.. I just still can't believe this is real :-( any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!! And I'm glad to hear the episodic treatment worked for you! I'm also trying to let my body build up a defense so I'm hoping that something built up in the 3 weeks j didn't take anything.. And I'm trying to figure out what I did to cause this OB.. Stress or food or just part of the process? Either way, time to take better care of myself and get through this OB without losing my marbles :-/

I needed this post today!!!!! Thank you for your positivity :-) currently experiencing my second OB and feeling like its the end of the world.. Thank you for reminding me that it's not.. I am so sorry to hear about your coworkers!! Thats so crazy, but it definitely put this skin condition into perspective at a time when it's hard to see the positivity in anything. Thank you again for the post!!!