MalicePalace

I went to get this looked at but by the time I was able to get in to the clinic the blister was scanned over. Now it's completely gone...I got blood tests done while I was there and they didn't come back positive. So, as of now I am assuming still that I have hsv but that the antibodies aren't at levels high enough to be detected yet. But I was discussing this with my mother the other day and shingles came up. She mentioned that maybe it was a small outbreak of shingles brought on by the stress of the herpes diagnosis. I guess it's possible? In all of my research of herpes I am still vet confused of the relationship between shingles and herpes simplex. If I get any more blisters like that one, I will go in as soon as I see it and get it swabbed, otherwise I'm going to be getting a blood test again in a month and will update for anyone who cares to follow :)

I've often found that when something goes wrong in my life, I feel like it all piles on and it's just one negative thing after another. It could be in my head and it could just be bad luck but there's always an end to everything. Good or bad. I'm not sure if that's even encouraging, but when you think back on things that seemed like the end of your world at the time it was happening and now you think back on it as if it was just a small hiccup in your plans. Each of these events will seem like that some day too. I have also found that when I have a positive outlook on events in my life or just a general optimism, it's more likely that I'll experience good things, interact with good people, and find good qualitites in myself. Chin up. This won't be easy, but it will be okay.

I got my blood drawn on Monday and was told it would take about a week. I'm sure it just depends on the clinic or office's hours and where they get the testing done. Give it a week. You can always call them back afterward to confirm, too.

I don't have any information that would help in this instance, because I've only had h for a couple months but I just wanted to say congrats on the sex without h interruption! I'm hoping to get there someday sooner than later! :) One thought actually; how long have you and your boyfriend been having sex? Because I have had sexual partners with whom my pH had gotten thrown off and I would sometimes experience some discomfort after unprotected sex. It just took a while for our systems to get in sync and work together. But then again it never lasted as long as hours...sorry I'm not much help!

Hello all, I've posted a couple other times with questions and concerns. Now I'm posting just because I feel like I've made some progress in the right direction. When I was first "diagnosed" (I put this in quotations because it was only a visual diagnosis) I was devastated and scared and confused and angry. The feelings that every one of you are familiar with I'm sure. I eventually told 4 people about this new discovery, only two of those disclosures were in person and with both I had a very hard time actually saying the word herpes. I broke out into a borderline hysterical sob both times and could look at the person I was telling. Yesterday I went into the clinic to get blood work done. I also had hoped to get a swab of a suspicious blister on my leg, but by the time I was able to get in to the clinic the sore was healed. Anyway, as I was sitting in the exam room with the nursing assistant she asked what my reason for my visit was. I saw on the form that was printed at the front desk that it said "skin condition". So she inquired what kind of skin condition I was experiencing. At first I was hesitant because I didn't want to tell anyone other than the clinician. But I explained briefly that I most likely have the herpes virus genitally and that I found another blister in an odd place on my leg. I was expecting a look of disgust or maybe even a response of pity or something like that but it never came. She nodded as if I just told her I had a scrape on my knee or something! She didn't begin speaking to me differently or run away or immediately wash her hands. I was so relieved. AND I didn't cry! I'm still awaiting my test results and I may have to get another test in a month just because I am just on the brink if when it may or may not be showing up in blood tests. But, I said the word herpes twice in one visit without any tears and without any negative reactions. I've also been able to mention it out loud to one of my closest friends now in otherwise normal conversation. Some days I feel like I'm still doomed and get really down about it, other days I come close to forgetting about it, but it's days like yesterday when I feel hopeful because I'm taking small steps toward acceptance. Thanks for reading! :)

I just wanted to say my piece on the positive dating sites. I signed up for the free membership one when I first found out that I have h because I felt completely alone and wanted to know that others are in my position as well. I Also hoped that maybe I would happen upon a friend or a romantic interest on there. I stumbled upon the profile of a girl I went to high school with. I thought about messaging her because I felt so alone in this (we were never close or even much more than acquaintances) but decided not to. Anyway, I emailed back and forth with a guy for a while and we decided to meet. There wasn't any spark in person so it ended up going nowhere from the first meeting but I told a friend of mine about him and showed her a picture and she said that he had messeged her on tinder (a generic "dating" app). That made me feel a bit more optimistic about being out in the normal dating world as opposed to limiting myself to positive sites because we still need to find people with whom we share connections on another level. not just sexually or based off of our diagnoses. I'm still very weary of dating and don't look forward to having to disclose to a potential partner but I know I won't be limiting myself just because of that fear. The rest of me is worth so much more than what someone will be risking by being sexually intimate with me so that potential partner (and I) will just need to be patient and really like each other for solid reasons. I deleted my profile from that site, but like I said it did do me some good in showing me that others in my area are also positive and that I'm not alone. I don't think there's anything wrong with using them if that's what you're comfortable with right now but I also think there is nothing wrong with putting yourself out there in the real dating world either! My best wishes to you!

Oh very interesting! Thank you for the info, seeker!

I'm pretty sure it's hsv related. It has gotten bigger and looks almost identical to what I have had in the genital area. I'm bummed but more so confused because HOW in the world would I have autoinnoculated behind my knee?!?! Ugh whatever. I have no expectations any longer when it comes to knowing or predicting what my body will do.

Thanks you two! I do know that I'm highly oversensitive now to anything going on with my skin and my body. As if I wasn't already a bit of a hypochondriac... :-/ ha well I feel a bit better about it and if another pops up I'll try to get in to get a swab immediately

So I've only had one outbreak (the initial one). I have yet to get any testing done but the doc was quite positive and I've had quite a few of the most common symptoms. One thing that I'm concerned about right now is that a couple days after my outbreak in the genital area had cleared up, I noticed two small red spots on my lower calves. One on each leg, they were mirror images..so weird. Anyway at first I thought they were ingrown hairs, but then a day or two later I noticed they were more like blisters (still very small, about the size of the head of a pin). I noticed another of the same things the other day, this time behind my knee. I searched for information about this stuff online and could only find people saying that it is unlikely for hsv to be in places outside of the boxer area and others saying that herpes wouldn't thrive in that part of the body...I'm kind of freaking out about it. Am I going to continue to get these? Does that mean that my entire legs could be an area where I could spread it from? As I'm asking these questions I feel like they sound silly, but I need to know what kind of contact to avoid or if there's ssomething I am missing here. Has anyone else experienced this or know anything about it?

Hey Fairisle, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I luckily have not had to miss any of my obligations because of an outbreak, but then again I have only had one. I can, though, empathize with your feelings of depression. It's natural for a person who is under as much stress as you are to continue building on those negative feelings. I do it all the time too. We can't expect others to know what we are going through unless we are open with them about it. I would suggest taking some time to sort through your emotions and really get a good idea of where they are coming from. Does it all stem from the physical discomfort of your outbreak, or maybe you're mostly stressing out about school and missing days. If your ultimate stressor is your relationship, I recommend expressing those worries with your partner. Just be sure to approach it without blaming your feelings on him. Use the conversation as an opportunity to better explain where you are emotionally and let him know that you need his support. Maybe you could come up with a couple examples of how he can help in case his response is something along the lines of "I don't know how else to support you". Hopefully you can both come to some sort of compromise and if not, at least you will have that opportunity to get all of your thoughts and feelings out. As far as slipping into a depression, I feel you there! My situation is very different than yours but I also find myself questioning my mental state when I'm over thinking my life and how it has now changed because of hsv. I have been considering using St. John's Wort. Apparently it has been found to be useful in treating depression short term. It also has antiviral qualities so it could help to hold outbreaks at bay during stressful times (recommended to use it for 6 months at a time). It does have some negative interactions with other medications tho, so if you do want to try it out, do your research first! Maybe some others here have used it or know more about it. Hopefully this helps a bit! Feel free to directly message me, too if you just want someone to chat with. :) good luck with school and all of this!

Hey everyone, I'm brand new to this site and new to herpes as well. I just found out about two weeks ago and I have had a very rough time getting used to even the idea of having herpes for the rest of my life, let alone all the things that may come with it now and in the future. I have a lot of general questions, and many of them have to do with sex from now on. Surprise surprise! :-P I've basically developed a fear of my own body. I feel as though I've been trapped and restricted by it because of my contraction of herpes. I'm very paranoid about auto innoculation even though I have been made aware that I'm taking the necessary preventative measures. How soon after an initial outbreak can I begin to try being sexually active again, or even masturbating? If sex and masturbation turn out to be a trigger for outbreaks for me, will a second outbreak within my first three months cause the virus to be worse than it might already be? Because I realize that it takes time for the antibodies to develop in the body, so I don't want to do anything while that is happening to worsen the condition or symptoms. I'm also curious about suppressive meds. My doctor was very optimistic and told me that my initial outbreak was very mild. After reading some stories of others experiencing unbearable pain I am grateful for that! But when she was talking about medication, she prescribed acyclovir for ten days and just told me that we would discuss suppressive medication if I have more than 6 outbreaks a year. But it seems that many of you are on suppressive meds in order to lower transmission rates/risk. Is this something I need to do if I plan on being sexually active or is it only necessary if I do experience more frequent outbreaks? If it's something I should do no matter how often I have outbreaks, then when would I be able to start those meds? Immediately? (Note that I have yet to get blood testing done because I had only been a couple weeks) Thanks so much to anyone who can help give me some insight to these issues! I have already greatly benefitted from this site and all of your stories and advice!

Hello everyone, I have been reading the discussions and information on this site for a couple weeks now, since I found out I have herpes. I have yet to get a blood test and am slowly coming to terms with the idea of having this new condition in my life. Slowly, but surely. Anyway, I've found a lot of what people have shared on this site to be so helpful in these first scary and confusing weeks! I would love to have someone with whom I can chat individually! Hopefully it will spark a friendship and build on both our support systems. I'm a 23 year old female living in the twin cities, Minnesota. I don't have a preference of my buddy's gender. I would love to find someone in my area so that maybe we could eventually meet and hang out in person, but I welcome anyone who would like to message me to reach out. I would greatly appreciate someone who has a bit more knowledge and experience than I do. And perhaps it would be nice to speak with someone who is also single, because my biggest obstacle right now is the thought of the inevitable disclosure discussions that will be occurring at some point and I'm very curious about anyone's experiences with a less ccommitted sexual lifestyle (friends with benefits, occassional sexual partners, etc.). Thanks to anyone who takes an interest and I hope to hear from someone :)