HSV 2 - Recurrent outbreak expectations?

[njosnavelin]

Hi there,

I was recently diagnosed with HSV-2. I am still recovering emotionally from the diagnosis as well as how the person who gave it to me treated me. I'm a 34 year old woman. I have had such trouble dating and finding someone that I am going through all the typical thoughts of "well how will I ever find someone now?". I am very independent and have a lot of passions that I am turning to - though before my diagnosis I had come to a realization that a lot of my independence was rooted in denying that I wanted love and this past year I really opened up to finding love again. I feel as if my turning to my passions is a bit of a fake pony trick now with the realization that I do want love so it's lost a bit of it's luster.

My real question is to ask those who have GHSV2 - how was their first year, second year, etc? I know everyone's body is different, but I am trying to understand what to expect in number of outbreaks. I would love some personal stories to consider.

How long do the new outbreaks take to heal? Did you get as many sores as before?

My first outbreak took about 2 weeks for the sores to heal with anti-virals and then 2 weeks for the "itching" stage to subside. I am just now in a sense of "normalcy" physically speaking.

I started to change my diet quite a lot, but then I also found myself stressing over the diet change and decided that perhaps I would start with eating a bit more normally and from there see what happens rather than living in fear. I'm curious if any of you had strict diet changes.

Thank you.

[Jessica88]

Hi! 
I’m also a 34f, single, independent, but still looking for someone special. It’s tough! I had my first diagnosis in June 2022, however, I had suspicions for about a year. My first outbreak was (if my suspicions were correct) May 2021, and I probably had an outbreak every other month after that for 6 months and usually around my period. This past winter/spring, my OBs were about every 3 months. However, since my official diagnosis in June, I haven’t had one, at least that I am aware of. All of my subsequent OBs were maybe 1-2 sores, and gone within the week. Every now and then I’ve had some tingling in that region suggesting I might have one, but then it goes away and nothing happens.  I don’t think about it as often and I also do not take an antiviral as a suppressive therapy, because my OBs have been so mild. Tbh, the only reason I’ve even noticed some of my OBs was due to urine hitting an open sore. It was like “oh I guess I had an OB” 🤷🏼‍♀️. I’m more anxious about disclosing to any new potential partners than I am about my OBs at this point. Hope this helps shed some light!