Constant tingling but no outbreak

[Blue1982]

Hey everyone!

I’m a 30 year old female who was diagnosed with GHSV in November 2019....I haven’t had an outbreak since then but I’ve had daily symptoms such as tingling, burning or itching since my first outbreak.
 

I keep hearing that it will go away once my body builds up antibodies but it’s been almost 6 months and it still is happening...I tried Valtrex for a bit but it did not help with the tingling at all. 

Has anyone else had this happen and does it ever get better? I can’t imagine having sex again when my vagina always feels irritated (and yes I got checked for BV or yeast).

thank you!!! 

[Kjlo82]

I was the same, I had my first ob in August and since then I had the same problem, I am currently on the medication, which is helping a bit but I am still getting mild symptoms.  I've felt like this, like there was no help, nothing that can be done but it does get better.  The months after my first ob, I couldn't sleep for the constant itching, I was red and I was swollen I literally couldn't concentrate on anything, this was until February, I was given aciclover, bv treatment, hydrocortisone cream and advised to take antihistamines and used a fragrance free moisturiser if needed.  Not sure if these have worked or it is my body starting to build up antibodies to help fight it. 

Do you take any supplements? I have read on here that a lot of people seem to take them.

 

[Blue1982]

Thanks for replying! I took fish oil for a while thinking the omega 3 would help with the constant inflammation, but i didn’t notice a huge difference with that. I just started taking 500mg vitamin C daily for the past 3 weeks think that has helped a little but the daily tingling/irritation is not completely gone. Some days are worse than others.

i just noticed that these daily symptoms only happen to some people and not everyone...some people only feel them right before an outbreak and I envy that...it’s so distracting and a constant daily reminder that I have HSV. 
 

I was hoping some people have gone through this within their first year and it stopped altogether eventually because it’s such a stressful thing and a total bummer to deal with this daily. 

[Kjlo82]

My daily symptoms are starting to get better, slowly but surely.  I know exactly how you feel, it's been like that for me too.  Before I had my first OB in August last year, Before that I actually had symptoms on and off for around 6 years (until I finally found out it was HSV2 when I had my OB) it was worse at the beginning for me both times.  First one was, Im assuming when I got infected lasted around a year, as we had no idea what to treat.  

I have a bit of a daily regime now (if you can call it that) which I am working on.  I try hard to eat as well as possible, I have found that if I eat/add a table spoon each of Flex/lin seed and pumpkin seeds starting from the first day of my period for 2 weeks then for 2 weeks after that I eat/add table spoon of both sunflower seeds and sesame seeds to my food.  I take vitamins b and d, an acidophilus and an antihistamine daily and I read somewhere that vitamin E can help, which I will probably try soon.  I've found that sugar is a trigger for me, which I am struggling to give up, I really need to work on it.  I cant drink gin but I'm ok with alcohol in moderation.  

Keep a diary or make notes of what youve eaten/drank on the day when you feel worse as this might give you an idea of what can trigger your symptoms. 

I'm sorry I've gone on a bit there and I hope that some of it will help you.  

 

 

[Jjj444]

The things that have helped me most are Magnesium 400mg daily and a high quality refrigerated probiotic. I still have tons of outbreaks (helpppp) but the tingling and burning sensations are overall more manageable. 

[Blue1982]

Thank you for the advice. I will try the magnesium. The daily tingling has started to slowly go down over the past 6 months but still not completely gone.

Still scared to have sex for the first time since my first outbreak....it’s so strange how some people only get tingling right before an outbreak but others get it daily after initial outbreak...

I wish doctors knew more about this virus instead of dismissing my symptoms to being all in my head. 

[Missmissy]

I’m not sure if it’s the same but I have hsv1 & had constant burning /tingling on my lips for 11 months. I started taking a vitamin and my symptoms went away in a couple weeks. I don’t even take the vitamin every day any more bc I forget since I don’t have the feeling anymore. 
 

the vitamin I take is nature mades b-complex with vitamin c and zinc. It says it’s a stress reliever but it has so many vitamins in it that help with healthy nerve functioning. Hopefully it works for you too!

[Blue1982]

Thank you @Missmissy for your suggestion! I am going to look for the stress b complex!

i was also thinking about maybe going off my birth control? I notice the tingling sort of dies down more during my period and wonder if my birth control is affecting my hormones and maybe attributing to vaginal dryness and irritation more now than I have HSV.

kind of hard to talk to my doctor right now due to the virus and appointments being cancelled! 

[Shelz]

Check out Lysine as well! It's a natural medicine.  I have HSV1 on my Vagina. I rarely have outbreaks and if I feel anything, I take Lysine. I also would consider looking into Candida in your body if your Vagina is always irritated as well. You might have to change your diet because Candida loves sugar. But living a healthy lifestyle is always a plus for living with HSV 1  or 2! 

[Blue1982]

@Shelz thank you for the response! I take a probiotic daily and have had a Pap done recently and they said I don’t have yeast or BV.

but I have noticed that when I’m on my period, the tingling is less. I think maybe the GHSV1 made my vagina lubricate less in general and maybe that’s causing the daily irritation?

i just hit the 6 months mark since my diagnosis and the tingling has definitely gone down a lot and I haven’t had an outbreak since my initial one.

i am meeting with a new gyno soon who specializes in holistic medicines so I’m interested to see her take on the HSV virus!