Gspresq9791

I feel your pain (literally). I have had both strains for a total of 20 years now. After the horrific first outbreak, I rarely ever had outbreaks and if I did, it was a single bump that looked like a zit. I was exposed to mold for several years and then after a particularly bad basement flood at my job, I started to have back to back outbreaks (still mild in severity), but still annoying nonetheless. It has now been a few years since that flood and I have never been in worse health than I am in now. The nerve pain is debilitating; it has robbed me of my short term memory, my cognitive and Comprehensive abilities have been severely diminished; I’m exhausted all the time and every time I orgasm it makes all my symptoms worse. It is absolute, pure hell. A lesion is now the least of my worries/problems. I am on a rapid decline that I am afraid will lead to cancer, Alzheimer’s or both. I have been to tons of different specialists and have gotten many second opinions and no one can find any other causes for all of my physical symptoms and cognitive decline. I am only 39 and yet, I feel like an old, tired, (and sometimes, bitter) woman. I feel the same way as you in regards to my mate. He is 50, neither of us have been married and we don’t have kids. He knows I have herpes and has chosen to continue to date me. (We’ve been exclusively dating almost 3 years). We are both somewhat religious and haven’t had sex yet (with each other, I mean). It doesn’t bother me because we have other forms of intimacy. We are getting closer and closer to an engagement, but if he knew the true extent of what this disease has done to me, he would freak the f**k out and I couldn’t blame him. When I initially revealed my status to him three years ago, I didn’t connect all of my nerve pain and cognitive decline, etc. to this disease. I know more now than I did then and I’m conflicted as to how to continue our relationship. So, I can relate to where you are coming from and I empathize with you.

@happyman I disagree with what you’ve claimed in your above submission. It MAY occur less frequently as time goes on and it MAY not bother you 99% of the time and maybe you’re only commenting on your personal experiences, but here’s mine: I have had both strains for a total of 20 years now. After the horrific first outbreak, I rarely ever had outbreaks and if I did, it was a single bump that looked like a zit. I was exposed to mold for several years and then after a particularly bad basement flood at my job, I started to have back to back outbreaks (still mild in severity), but still annoying nonetheless. It has now been a few years since that flood and I have never been in worse health than I am in now. The nerve pain is debilitating; it has robbed me of my short term memory, my cognitive and Comprehensive abilities have been severely diminished; I’m exhausted all the time and every time I orgasm it makes all my symptoms worse. It is absolute, pure hell. A lesion is now the least of my worries/problems. I am on a rapid decline that I am afraid will lead to cancer, Alzheimer’s or both. I have been to tons of different specialists and have gotten many second opinions and no one can find any other causes for all of my physical symptoms and cognitive decline. I am only 39 and yet, I feel like an old, tired, (and sometimes, bitter) woman.

Thank you for your speedy response. You've given me some insight into why he may still be sticking around. BTW, the ironic thing here is he has HSV-1 and revealed it when I revealed my HSV 2 status after 2 months of exposing me!! I never pointed that out because I couldn't care less, but just find it a little ironic. To my knowledge, he still hasn't been tested for type 2.

I've been dating a wonderful man for just over 4 months now. We're very much alike in all the ways that count, but my herpes is holding him back from taking things to the next level. I revealed to him that I've had herpes for 16 years 2 months into dating him at about 1 date per week. He was shocked and needed time to do research and we went out a week later to discuss where we were at. He said he still wanted to continue dating me because I was worth it. Fast forward another 2 months. I found his profile back online and asked him about it, which is when he said he was debating on taking things to the next level with me and it was the herpes that was giving him pause. Says he still wants to date me, but he's still unsure of where this is going. We went though an amazing Christmas, Valentine's day and my birthday where he even baked vegan cupcakes for me. He has acted like a perfect boyfriend in every area of our budding relationship, yet, he clearly is not my boyfriend. He has never disrespected me and we have never had an argument. It has been blissful. I can see this whole situation from his perspective and I've concluded that he's sticking around to see if my positive qualities outweigh that one colossal negative. So, how much longer do I give this man? I think it's obvious we care very deeply for one another, but he can't get over this fear. Will he ever? Should I cut my losses? Give him more time and get sucked in deeper emotionally? (Just to be clear, we still have not made it past upper waist fooling around.) He's in his 40's and I'm in my 30's and neither of us have been married and have no kids. Thanks.