So, some more questions and a little rant.

[Sparklepony]

First for the rant: I called my "doctor" yesterday (for the record, she's a PAC in a ob/gyno office) and her nurse had no idea what was going on basically and said she was out of the office for the rest of the day and to call tomorrow. Okay, no big deal. So I called this morning and told the nurse I had been put on 5 days of Valtrex (also for the record, I'm not sure if this is standard first time procedure or not but everything I've read says 7-10 days is the norm) and that I felt like it wasn't helping as much as it should and would like another prescription before this one runs out if that was possible. I also informed the nurse that I had some questions. Nurse informed me that the "doctor" (I keep using quotations because I don't know what to call her) was with a patient and to call back in an hour. So I did, got the same run around except this time the nurse took a message and said they would call back in about an hour. Three hours later, nothing. So I called yet again, only to find out that the office closes early on Friday.... Now, I am usually not one to annoy my doctor, but I feel like this is extremely sensitive matter that requires a little more doctor to patient attention soon after diagnosis. I obviously don't expect her to drop everything for "just another herpes case" when she is obviously busy, but I think two days of calls should get some sort of attention. I'm obviously worried that the lapse in meds will cause my outbreak to get worse, and after Mondays not so informative appointment, I'm seriously considering asking to see someone else.

 

Now for the questions:

 

- Will stopping meds after just 5 days cause the outbreak to get worse? I read somewhere that it takes 10 days for the meds to really kick in. I think I read it somewhere on here. Maybe I'm mistaken.

 

- I now have a red spot, almost like the aftermath of a bee sting on the back of my thigh. Is that a herpes thing or am I driving myself batshit crazy?

 

- I took an epsiome salt bath last night and went commando for awhile today. It felt a little less like being burned at the stake when I peed this afternoon. What else can I do to dry these suckas up?

 

- I know that stress is HUUUUUGE when it comes to controlling outbreaks, does anyone know if things like intense workouts can cause outbreaks? (I'm talking crossfit, half marathon runs and training, weight lifting)

 

Sorry for pelting you guys with questions. I just really feel a lot better about a situation when I'm well informed. Tried Dr. Google and it's just a bunch of nope. That shit is scary.

[WCSDancer2010]

#1 - Go into a Planned Parenthood and see if they can help today - if you have your diagnosis printed out, take it with you...they may be able to get you the script and also give you better info anyway. If your funds are limited, tell them and they should give you a sliding scale and you make payments for the balance at your pace.

 

Will stopping meds after just 5 days cause the outbreak to get worse?

 

yet again - it varies from one to another - I think some Dr's give a short, high dose script and others give a more moderate dose for longer. With many ailments, there are differing opinions about the best course of action ...hell, Lyme Dr's still can't come to an agreement about how to treat Lyme and there are many different "protocols" for treating various cancers.... but I would want to keep a bottle of the Antivirals handy, esp in the first year anyway so they should have at least called a new script in for you :(

 

Beesting= yeah - you are overthinking things my dear :p

 

Stress - I'd say mental stress is a bigger trigger than physical stress but again, "results vary from one person to another". So you just have to find out what works for YOUR body.

 

And STAY OFF GOOGLE!!!! If your Dr starts berating "the internet" tell them the one group you are working with agrees that 99% is crap...but we have Dr Leone (who works with the Herpes movement) as one of our resources (along with the CDC, Mayo Clinic, etc) ...and you can show them the handout so they see that we are not scare-mongering and spreading crap.... in fact, you could ask if they would give the handout to others who are just diagnosed...tell them we work to help people to stop the "freak-out" period a lot faster, which will help them out in the end ;)

[thisisgoingtobeokay (previ]

google will scare the hell out of you if you aren't mentally ready to read all that crap out there. I would know. Just come here or see a doctor that actually knows their shit. We will always help the best we can!

 

Epsom salt baths for the win. My life saving technique during that first outbreak. Up it to twice a day or as many as you can stand it. And use a bunch of the salt. I put a ton in there literally to the point where the bottom of the tub was gritty because it wouldn't dissolve. Epsom salt really isn't going to hurt you so get at it. Spread your junk. Yes, literally. When I did them, (my bumps were up my butt crack only one on my lady jungle), I spread my area down there and sat Indian style and flushed the water through the area, I did this to make sure the salt water reached the entire area. I would sit for 20 minutes in it. I've read you can sit less time, but it was actually calming and peaceful for me. Here is something else I did, I don't know if it helped but...I think it did. Once I got to the point where I could stand touching my area, I used hard soap, antibacterial dial soap and washed the area. I used my brain. (one...help keep bacteria out of the sores as that is a true concern. two... soap naturally will dry your skin out if its hard soap like that, so my thought was well... maybe it will dry out my skin, thus dry up the blisters) I think doing that along with epsom salt really helped me.

[Sparklepony]

I totally did the Epsom salt baths and went commando and it was cleared up within a few days. I'm almost two weeks into noticing the first sore and I'm almost completely better..... and then I get bronchitis so fuck my life. I'm feeling a lot better though!!

[WCSDancer2010]

Wonderful! Makes a whole lotta difference if you can get it to dry out :)

 

Try warm salt water gargles and get some chewable Airborne (get the chewable and suck on them - puts the goods right on the throat. Another great product is Broncolin --- its a honey based syrup with herbs... I just keep it nearby and take tiny sips as needed...

 

(((HUGS)))