glacierdaisy

I wanted to give my own perspective on this. I am married for nearly 20 years and only in the past 4 months discovered I have HSV2, you guessed it, due to cold sores on my lips and in my mouth (as well as my eyes, hand, legs, and genitals). My husband has never had any cold sores and does not have HSV1 or HSV2, and until this summer, I would have thought the same of myself. We have both had blood tests to confirm this. So, faithful wife has HSV2. I've been through 3 months of outbreaks on suppressive therapy and now I've got a 4th month about to start, breaking out on my hand again. I'm just waiting for next week for the eyes and mouth and everything else to join in. If you have HSV2 and get oral, you can pass this on to a partner to his/her mouth. While I have not passed this to my husband in all of this time, I would not risk it if I had an open sore anywhere on my body. I believe I've had this virus for probably 25-30 years and this summer just happened to be the tipping point for my immune system. It is frustrating to be the "rare" person who has HSV2 above and below the waist, but I doubt I'm really that unusual. This is something people assume, including doctors. I do everything possible to not expose my husband, children, and unsuspecting friends, family, and strangers to this virus. I wish someone had been been as vigilant as I am and not given it to me. :-/

Thank you for your response. I fear the ER docs would also look at me as a drug seeker as there are no lesions on my genitals. It's "just" sensitive. I have lesions on my lips, in my mouth in my nose, my hands, my legs... It's ironic that HSV2 attacks me with a vengeance in non-genital areas (though I've had it there, too, just not as much this time). ER docs looked at me last month like, hmm, why are you here? it's just some cold sores and weird blisters on your shoulder and leg that we don't have a clue about. My SIL is a nurse and is suggesting an infectious disease doctor.

I'm on my 3rd month of outbreaks. I'd never had this (that I realized) before in about 30 years and my husband of almost 19 years does not have HSV1 or HSV2. It most likely was contracted when I was raped as a 12 year old girl. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! :-( So, I have cold sores, mouth sores, eye sores, sores in both nostrils, discomfort in/around vagina - though this time there are no lesions/bleeding vaginally that I can see, and I have lesions all over my body in nickel sized spots. I am NOT the usual HSV2 patient. I also have red spots on my hands and a couple of places that are likely to turn into blisters... we'll see in the next week. Motrin and tylenol are NOT helpful as far as pain goes. I am now on Valtrex as suppressive therapy. I tried to call for Rx pain meds today from my doctor and have yet to get help in that area. I'm considering going to the ER tomorrow, no matter the co-pay. In July I was sent there by my doctor due to worries that I was acting "loopy" and they worried I was having psych symptoms. I have fibromyalgia and I feel as though I'm being looked at as a drug seeker by my doc. :-( I saw her on Tuesday for a regular appointment, started prodrome symptoms that night, and by Thursday had cold sores and other ugliness. Every day I look worse. I go to my eye doc on Wed. to have her look at my eyes. Fun. How do you address pain management, especially if suppression meds are not working for you? I'm to tears and it seems as though no one I know or love gives AF. :-( I can't sleep; It hurts to sit, stand, and going to the toilet? OMGosh... Wiping is TERROR. I try not to eliminate to give myself a break. Washing my face hurts, etc. I'm sure many of you can empathize with the symptoms and pain. I have 3 children - ages 20, 15, and 7. My 7 year old has autism and he is the ONLY one who treats me the same and is the sweet loving boy he's always been. I'm so grateful for him!!!! I can't believe I'm sharing all of this. What do you do for pain? What point would you go to the ER? (esp for pain?) I'm getting to the point that I just can't take it any more and I'm tired of being treated like a druggie when I'm not. :-( Thanks for input. I really need it. :-) GlacierDaisy

Thanks! I've been on Valtrex for the episodes, and now I'm on it as suppressive therapy. I don't know if it's not had enough time to work up to a supressive daily dose or if I'm one of the "lucky" ones who it doesn't work for as a suppressive therapy. I'm having a super bad day w/ my family and so I'm struggling. AND my doc's office did not get back to me after they called at 4:40pm and now it's 6:30pm, meaning I'm toast for pain meds. Sigh.

Hey all, I've probably had HSV for 30 years (I'm in my early 40s, so that is way too young). I never knew the occasional tiny bump on my finger or irritation on my vagina (it didn't hurt - I thought the seam of my underwear was rubbing me raw in a spot) was actually the dreaded genital herpes. In June I broke out with cold sores, a mouth full of sores that were a new form of torture, and I had red spots on my skin (palm, outer thigh, and outer calf) the size of a dime, that didn't hurt, just looked ugly. (Red spots had been showing up on other places for 2+ years, but not blistered or hurt, so I left them alone and didn't worry about them... I am a DOPE!) It happened again the same week of hormones and month in July. Then it added a couple of blisters to those red spots, more red spots (on outer thigh, outer calf, on hand), a spot on my shoulder that turned into a super beautiful blister, a red spot that became a blister on my left index finger, and some anal fissures to the mix. That was SUPER fun. :-( Oh I forgot to share the eye issue, too. It was June, July and NOW, too! Where you get "sleep" in your eyes? I had pain and eventually scabs. I looked GORGEOUS!! LOL I've been to the ER because my doc didn't like the way I was acting - thinking I was loopy/perhaps having HSV in my brain. BUT I didn't get any help at the ER... Surprise! LOL They told me they had NEVER seen HSV present in the red spots and large blisters like mine. Just 4 days ago I was symptom free. Now I'm a right mess. I'm in too much pain to sleep and not necessarily in the vaginal/anal area. Those areas are the least affected, though my special lady area is tender and irritated. There are no fissures/lesions. Just enough to get some lovely pain at wiping... no blood. In July, my booty bled. OMGosh. Talk about PAIN. . It's my mouth and skin that is the worst. It's frustrating that everything I read says that the primary outbreak tends to be the worst (NOT FOR ME!!!!), HSV1 above the waist, HSV2 below (Again, NOT FOR ME!!!), etc etc. I am a mother of 3. I have an almost 20 year old, a 15 year old, (both girls) and a 7 year old boy who has autism. It's very hard to refrain from the holding and hugging and kisses for my son. The older girls? Ah, they are to an age where they don't want affection from mom, anyway! LOL To be honest, I'm struggling with my family. Not that I have HSV2, but that they don't really they take it as being something to concern themselves with unless it interrupts their lives. I'm either treated like I have the plague and every bump (I have teenagers... ugh) is the "you must have given me herpes!!!!" or my husband vacillates between obsessing over every spot, bump, etc must be herpes that I gave him (it's NOTTTTT) OR he is so horny he doesn't care and is wanting to tempt fate, even when I'm like THIS and breaking out! I tell him absolutely NOT and that he has no idea the pain. Oh, and my oldest daughter is mostly concerned that she might get it and give it to her boyfriend or his family. I wanted to smack her, but I kept my cool. I do my best to remember that I was a self-centered 21 year old, too! LOL I would not wish this crap on anyone. The pain is horrible and the stigma... Just the stigma alone.... Almost 19 years of unprotected sex, my husband is negative on HSV1 and HSV2. I am negative on HSV1. I know I've had this (due to the mild symptoms that I never recognized for what they were) when I was a very young teenager. I'm fairly certain where I contracted it, and unfortunately that puts a whole other painful element to this experience. A rapist should not get to affect whether I can hug and hold my son 30 years later! :-( (sorry, I'm crying) Anyway, so that is my crummy story. I will get through this. I remind myself that it is not fatal, it is just another virus, just like shingles. I got through the pain of shingles and felt no shame in the chickenpox or shingles. But this afternoon I'm in a lot of mental and physical pain and I just want to be me again; going to church, going to the grocery store, making dinner, having sex with my husband when I want, and most of all hugging and kissing my kids. I know it will get better... But even with suppression therapy it has broken out again and I'm so scared I'm going to go through this same BS next month. I'm trying to forgive... I'm trying SO VERY HARD!!! But I will get through this. My track record for crappy things is pretty good!! :-) Thanks for reading! :-) GlacierDaisy P.S. Is it too much to ask for my Doc to get me Rx pain meds for me or my hubby, I know narcs have to be a paper script -- she knows him and it's not like he's going to go sell the pills, etc, though I would get my daughter or hubs to drive me if necessary -- instead of ANOTHER in-office appointment? I JUST SAW HER!!! (besides the "magic mouthwash"?)?? I am so sick of going to the doctor week after week after week! In fact I have an appt with my eye doc on Wednesday about the HSV in my eyes, though it is not on the "eye ball" but the lower lid/inner tear duct area. Again, THIS is not typical of occular herpes and I don't find into on the web. That's me... I can't do things the usual way!! LOL Thanks for reading. It's been good to release it!! :-)