kseelarky

I appreciate all of these words of encouragement :) Thank you so much for sharing your experiences as well, as it helps me gain the courage to tell him.. If he isn't worth it, then I will know by his reaction.

I have been living with herpes for two years now. I am not an expert, but i have done research on it. I shave, and it has not spread anywhere else so far. I am very very careful about washing my hands constantly, and if I have come into contact with any sores, i do not touch anything until I have washed my hands. But it is a possibility to spread herpes into the eye if you're not careful.

I found out I had herpes about two years ago. I was with my boyfriend at the time that i was diagnosed with it. We broke up almost a year ago, and it was an abusive situation so I have been single since. I have started talking to a new man, and things are progressing. I have not told any man that I have herpes, since my last boyfriend, because I haven't had to. I find that there is so much stigma attached to STI's, that I am very scared to tell him. Even though I have been living with this for two years, I am still very new to this. I have been trying to come to grips with the fact that I have it myself. I had it very bad for the first year, where I would have an outbreak last for a month, go away for a couple of days and then return for another month. I didn't have too many non-outbreak days in the first year.I find that now it is getting better with the time in between outbreaks, but they still last two to three weeks. But I do get a break in between for a couple months, which is great now. I live in Ontario, and valtrax is not covered for me. I have tried other medications, but they only made me sick. But it would be great to take valtrax everyday to help with the severity of my outbreaks. But the medication from month to month is very expensive, and being a single mother, I cannot afford the extra expense. I fear that if I get into a relationship, I will be scared to spread it along, and I wouldn't want to do that. I fear that when I tell this man that I have herpes, that I will be rejected. I fear that I have to put my guard down and seem vulnerable to any kind of judgements. He is a great man so far, and it may not happen, but what if? I fear that because of all my fears, I will back down, shut him out, and once again feel like I don't deserve to be with anyone because of this. I sometimes feel like it would be easier to date someone who also has herpes, because they would feel everything I do, and the understanding would be there. I try not to judge others, and this is not why I am writing. I am wondering if anyone else has these fears when stepping into a new relationship, and any advice that can be given would be greatly appreciated. :)