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benzgtx

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  1. It's unlikely that something is wrong with your immune system (by the way I thought exactly the same way and went to see an immunologist for it and all was disappointingly normal) it's just the nature of this viral infection that this forum deem as a "skin condition that has unfair public shaming." It is WAY bigger and WAY more serious than this and I hope the editors here realize that one day even before the doctors so they can raise the right awareness for the disease. Just search Google for hsv vaccine. The article is in USA News. This is something that will take years to materialize but it's a positive step definitely. Regards
  2. Unfortunately it's not the 0.3%. The reality of the pain we're all going through has an explanation. The virus like everything else on this planet goes through evolution and builds up resistance with time. Our immune system is very clever but unfortunately gets exhausted with time from fighting the virus and the virus continues to try to find ways to escape the immune system until it eventually succeed. Now this doesn't happen with everyone obviously but as I am reading in this website A LOT of people after 5 years time start to experience even worse symptoms than what they had before. I haven't hit that milestone yet but I am dreading it already since I have continuous symptoms now so I can only imagine how much worse things will get. There is hope with a new vaccine against HSV2 that was announced to have 98% success rate in mice. May I ask what type do you have? Feel better
  3. Please read about Spinal Ascension of the virus. Believe it or not this so called "skin condition" virus has the ability to migrate up the spinal cord and especially if it is HSV1 since the cranial ganglia is more of its place of preference. What makes me wonder is the ability to attack and cause new symptoms in new places after we have "supposedly" mounted immunity.
  4. Please Read about the concept of spinal Ascension. Unfortunately, in this forum a lot of people are oblivious to this fact. Herpes simplex virus type-1 will try to locate into its center of preference which is the central nervous system. To do that the virus goes through spinal Ascension through the neurons of the spinal cord infecting everything on its way. This phenomenon is being implemented in studying efficacy of vaccines in stopping the virus from ascension through the cord and it is clearly demonstrated in rats. So to answer your question: No, you don't get infected twice. It's the same infection getting disseminated. I suffer from the exact same condition (and yes started to get cold sores for the first time in my life) except that unfortunately I have symptoms from head to toe non-stop 24/7 for more than two years now (daily headaches, visual symptoms, vertigo, tinnitus, multiple oral and tongue ulcers, peripheral neuropathy in upper and lower extremities and non stop irritation in the genital area; I believe the virus has messed up every living nerve cell in my body by now). Feel better
  5. That sounds reasonable but again.. Where is that study? Was it ever done? And if so why there aren't more follow up studies? The CDC releases updated prevalence of herpes every few years but does not indicate how they came up with that number? For example the most recent number indicated less prevalence which contradict the current notion that more herpes cases are happening especially with more oral sex etc... I am not sure that herpes is as common as it is advertised.
  6. You will read in many literatures that genital herpes is pretty common. A question would be how did they know it's that common since no one checks for it routinely and most people who have don't know they do? Couldn't find an answer to that. I have not find a solid literature to the contrary. I have my suspensions that this condition is not as common as it was said before. I would say that it's either rather uncommon altogether or that it's prevalent in certain subgroups of society especially in low education and low socio-economic status with a standard deviation of shedding/transmission rates of course. Having said that, I would like to read a convincing literature on how this condition is common.
  7. It all depends on your symptoms. You'll find more reassurance whether on this forum or somewhere else but really everything is dependent on how symptomatic you will be. If you have no symptoms then you'll have more confidence and it will show that this is no issue for you whether for potential partners or for your own sanity and you'll be able to move past it fairly quickly. The contrary is true also. Rejection is sad but completely understandable and part of our potential reality. True love will surpass this definitely but there will always be a risk for transmission that should be addressed with open discussion. Best of luck
  8. Hello, I have symptoms that have been ongoing for the past 20 months nonstop. Daily. With and without medications and supplements. I don't know if my nerves were permanently damaged from the virus constantly living and attacking or if it's just multiple "micro-flare-ups" back to back for 20 months. There is no day that would go by without me having symptoms. I am not sure if it will ever stop. Like you, I opted not to take Gabapentin for nerve pain not because of the possible side effects but because the idea of being dependent on it FOREVER scares me as hell. I hope you feel better and that your symptoms would just stop! Best
  9. @Dreamer07It's most likely a reaction from your body. Your body is producing increasing numbers of lymphocytes to fight the virus. For which the regional lymph nodes get enlarged. They should continue to go down with time. However if you are new to the disease and you are experiencing closer outbrakes the lymph nodes might take longer to shrink back to the original size. Nevertheless I would recommend seeking a professional opinion as history and physical examination can give the provider a more complete picture. Get well soon.
  10. Sorry about what you're going through. This is very typical. The first outbreak can definitely last more than 4 weeks. For me it lasted for eight weeks. Yes, you will continue to feel the tingling and burning in the genital area during that time. It's not a defect in your immune system but unfortunately the first outbreak is bad. Like you I thought that type one would be less aggressive but it's a new infection and your immune system is adjusting to it. I would recommend symptomatic relief, cotton clothing, keeping the area dry and clean. Are you having a new skin lesions? Don't worry you'll feel better just give it some time. Try to stay healthy and well hydrated. Sleep very well. Take daily vitamins and Lysine to augment your immune system. Get well soon
  11. @AmandoJust to give you more insight. I had one classic outbreak in the genital area and that's it. My symptoms are more related to the nervous system. My eyes have been affected by the virus as well as my ears, balance and more recently peripheral neuropathy affecting my whole body. If that's not life changing I don't know what is. You talk nicely about how people would accept virus positive partners for love but that's from their point of view. Having the virus and knowing it could behave differently from person to the other I'm not sure how we can justify disclosure versus risk. It's just unrealistic match to reality. We would be putting our partners under so much more than we disclose to. I don't think you had the chance to read about the association with dementia. I bet you would more convinced once you read about the subject. Thank you and I like your optimism. It reminds me of my old self.
  12. @Amando Thank you for your reply Amando. I hate to disappoint you but I don't consider having the virus for 3 years a fairly new situation and believe me I am not the kind of person who complains easily. Positivity is the way to go, yes but you need foundation for that. Not the same with you having severe ongoing symptoms. That will obscure your vision from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Comparison however is a different thing. I won't feel better by seeing someone who lost a limb and think that I am in a better situation. That doesn't do it for me. I am a man of quality. When I say life is too short for herpes it's because it pollutes the good times I'm having. If I don't get to enjoy life then I don't count on the times spent suffering. You can read about ongoing solidified research on how herpes and particularly HSV1 links to and possibly cause dementia and about diminishing IQs in the affected persons on the years after the infection. That's in the general population of course. This is exactly what I see we're lacking here, a scientific approach to the disease and not just habitual coping mechanisms. I can only embrace a situation when I fully understand it and that's why I have done my homework on this subject. Sorry for your rejection experience. Do you agree with me that this condition cannot be truly described unless contracted? Knowing what you know about herpes can you justify disclosure for the risk of infection? Thank you and good luck to you too
  13. @New2GH You're welcome. You described a lot of what I feel for being a shell of the man I was like. I have a medical background and if I only knew the possibility of such effects occurring from sex I would have abstained from it because it's definitely not worth losing my old self to it. I'm like you, been to many doctors and many specialists in each speciality without a clue. Everyone is denying the possibility of this being caused by herpes as I am perfectly healthy otherwise. If you read through the literature viral theory is getting more and more enforced but in order for it to be considered we will losing valuable time. Can you please tell me about the symptoms you're experiencing? Thank you for your reply.
  14. I'm sorry for what you are going through. From my understanding, it is the nature of this virus to evade the immune system. And classically after 15 to 20 years time the virus seems to find a new way to manifest itself and outsmart our immune system. I am noticing that more and more people are having their symptoms back or much worse after years of being asymptomatic. Aside from viral evasion hormonal changes could play a role. Unfortunately there is no measure to say for sure which is which. How long did you try each antiviral for? Stay strong
  15. Spoiler alert: Negative (yet realistic) thoughts ahead. Proceed at your own risk. No it's not an opportunity. It's not. There is no one good thing about having this virus. Being healthy defies every single excuse for making this a positive experience. The "wingman" theory? A couple of life experiences would take care of that. You don't need a lifetime suffering to have that precious wingman by your side. Okay maybe not a lifetime in some cases but years? Still not worth it at all. Knowing yourself worth? It's not going to be better because you either have self esteem or you don't. A virus would not instill that in you and it certainly wouldn't make it better for months or even years (you need to get past accepting your new reality first) . It may bring couples closer? Just imagine how better your quality of living would be with both of you HEALTHY and having nothing to worry about. Nothing replaces a good health. Nothing feels better like a good health. This is the true wealth that got chipped if not cracked by this virus. For the rest of your life. And no, normalcy is not guaranteed for many aspects afterwards. What people don't tell you is that the "it gets better" part involves and in a big degree a "getting used to the situation" element. It's not an opportunity. It's an adversity. A big one actually. The people who are able to pick up and move on with their lives are the ones who have a disease limited to the skin that is just going to cause remitting skin inconveniences. Which I realize, is the majority of cases but it also casts the rest of the more severe ones into the dark where no consolation can provide comfort. The people who get inspired by this disease to improve themselves, do so as there condition permits. And of course with a handful of willingness. It is by no means however an advantage over the more severe cases. The virus afflicts you in a way that no one can truly understand without having the same situation. Even the ones who already are symptomatic have no clue how it feels to be much worse. Mind you your significant other.... I understand that part of the notion of this forum is to de-stigmatize this condition and reduce it to the controllable skin condition most claim it is. So far, great job. They do so, however, without much science involved in the process. The supervisors here have no medical backgrounds and of course that limits their ability to answer questions and provide explanations. But truth be told they're honest. They appropriately deny knowledge yet unfortunately continue to provide opinions about the etiology of symptoms and whether they are caused by herpes or not. Like strongly denying that herpes could ever cause vertigo, eye pain or a burning sensation in the legs. But based on what? Nothing! Science itself is only scratching the surface on what this virus could possibly do. Science is taking baby steps in managing herpes and stands absolutely helpless and clueless about what to do with anything other than acyclovir for which newer strains are growing more and more resistant to. And therefore it is natural to blame everything you have on "stress" and "psycho somatic" symptoms even by the smartest doctors and you can run into. For my fellow herpes sufferers with query symptoms I say one thing.. Ask yourself.. Why now?! Why am I having all of these symptoms now and not 5 years earlier when I was virus free?? You got your answer (provides that you've done the appropriate medical workup with fruitless results). No body seems to be knowledgeable enough about this thing. The westover height clinic, for example, denied a mode of transmission from touching a private part by the hand then touching your private part. If you touch a vesicle with the viral fluid inside and you touch a skin surface then the carried out virus in the vesicular fluid would penetrate any skin or mucosal tear and try to start an infection. A 30 plus year experience got that part wrong. How disappointing. Nobody here talks about how herpes is infecting the brain and by doing so your immune system is continuously destroying the infected areas and irreversibly taking away more and more of your brain function. Part of the reason why this virus is strongly linked to dementia. The approach of "take a deep breath this is not caused by herpes" contradicts the very second reason these forums are about which is to know more about the virus. If you don't have a scientific reference to back up your opinion then don't say it. If you don't know enough about the human anatomy then stop denying the correlation to herpes. It misleads people and delays them seeking appropriate medical attention. Herpes is common? Yes but this is not a general statement. It is more common in certain demographics than others. Socioeconomic status and level of education are inversely related to the situation. If you read reports it varies by the race as well and some articles attribute this to gene variation and thus immune system variation. If no one is checking for herpes then how are we getting real numbers? We did get that in the past by cadaver biopsies but now it's all figurative guessing. That's why we talk about it being underestimated but have you considered overestimation? Think again. Additionally, the commonality of the situation does not make sense with the transmission rates. One of these numbers are wrong. On to the dreaded disclosure part. The act itself is hard. But I would like to congratulate most of us on doing it and yes it is difficult every time you do it. The question is: is disclosure enough? Is disclosure enough to put that happy virus free lover in the hell we're going through. No one could ever imagine how this thing feels without getting it. So no matter how much you explain it's still a defective process. Plus, the virus treats each one of us differently, right? Okay. Do we have control on how that virus will behave? No. What if you infect your partner and they end up with chronic post herpetic neuralgia? Ocular herpes or even die or be neurologically disabled from viral encephalitis. And no these cases don't exclusively happen in the immune-comprised groups. Do you justify disclosure for that risk? I would love to hear an answer to this. Bottom line is life is too short to have herpes. It just takes away so much time and quality that really impacts the whole experience. Again it's not what I make of the situation because if your eyes hurt, vision continues to deteriorate, hearing and balance impaired and various parts of your body ache and burn most of the time then what else do you have to enjoy and be YOU for all the people in your life? To have the mental clarity to be productive. You can prove to yourself that you came out with the best results possible but again imagine all the potential you had without it. I wish I can be wrong on this one.
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