confused

[Lady_j988]

So as I stated before I was diagnosed with herpes last Friday, and im terribly confused about so much. Instead of asking questions, I ketted out of the doctors office. So here is my question, im not sure this is a herpes outbreak.i have3 what look like 3 scar likes bumps on my clitoris, there is no itching, birning, tingling, etc symptons that supposedly come along with genital herpes. There just there, I would have never known they were there until my boyfriend spotted it. Also how long does your first outbreak last, ive been on my medication for almost a week now, (valtrex,500mg, twice a day) for almost a week and they look the same as they did last week.just wondering if this could be something else or is this normal or even heard of.thanks alot

[WCSDancer2010]

So how were you diagnosed? Visual? (which is worthless) Swab (very accurate) or Bloodwork (mostly accurate).

 

Herpes doesn't play by any hard and fast rules so it's possible they ARE H ... but possible they are not. A swab if your best option if they can get a good culture from the sores. How long does the OB last? Totally different for each person - hopefully no more than a few weeks at the worst.

[Lady_j988]

Bloodwork diagnosed me, im not going to lie I had a 3 some with my boyfriend and another gitl and assuming these symptoms came on 3 weeks to a month after doing that, that it came from her. But if your saying it takes month for it to show up.in your blood work, then ive had it for years and never knew. Is it possible to have gave it to my boyfriend in those years time without having an outbreak

[Lady_j988]

Thank you dancer2010, you've been a great help to me and made this challenging time somewhat easier. My boyfriend keeps asking me, when is it ok to have sex and althou ive been upfront and honest about everything, I dont exactly know how to tell him, it'll never be ok to have sex unprotected again. Is it known how often the virus sheds and what is the percentage you could catch it while its shedding and does the shedding, shed less and less the longer you have it.like I said, alot of questions

[WCSDancer2010]

Well a lot of the answers to your questions are in the Hnadouts, e-book, and a video that Adrial made, so I'm going to link to those first and then we can aswer more questions... but just for the record, you CAN have unprotected sex ... you can take anti-viral meds for instance that cut the risk of transmission in half (or more) ... the thing is that your partner needs to know his RISK factors then make a decision about whether he wants to use a condom or not based on that. There is risk in ALL of life. Every time you get in your car there is a risk of accident, injury, or dying. I have a blog on just that which may help you see things from that perspective.

 

The bottom line is we need to be educated, then make educated decisions based on that knowledge. Many couples use no protection whatsoever and the partner is H-free because they are very very careful .... and likely the H- partner has a very healthy immune system ;) But they know their risks and are willing to live with them.

 

Here's the links - start there then come back with whatever you don't understand... and you can print out the handouts and e-book for your BF

 

(((HUGS)))

 

http://supporttruthanddialog.com/driving-yourself-crazy/

 

http://herpeslife.com/genital-hsv-1-herpes-and-oral-sex/

 

FAQs:

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1758/frequently-asked-questions-on-herpes-and-popular-conversations/p1

 

Handouts + disclosure e-book:

http://eepurl.com/b4IPP

 

http://herpeslife.com/how-can-you-get-herpes/

 

Herpes facts video

[Lady_j988]

I finished my medication, the one sore is still there, but almost completely healed.is that normal to still have the outbreak visible and have finished your medicine. When can I have set again, when is it OK to have set again. On another note, how accurate is it that this virus sheds. I've been with the same man since March of 2012 and he doesn't have herpes, but I do...and we've never used a condom. And another quick question, is it possible for me to have caught herpes a month prior to my first out break or it wouldn't of shown up in my blood work by then? Also I read the and watched the videos you sent me links too. Thanks so much dancer

[WCSDancer2010]

Yes - it's normal. A lot depends on YOUR immune system and how well it's fighting the virus .... the meds are just there to help it along. You can go through another course whenever you need to of the meds ... just call your Dr. Many people are permanently on them ... you need to talk to your Dr about your situation and whether you should consider suppressive therapy ... if you have a partner or your OB's are so debilitating that you can't function, that's a good reason to go on them full time. Otherwise, another short course may be all you need. In your case, you need to also talk to your partner about HIS feelings about his risks ...

 

The shedding stats come from a study that followed a number (I can't remember how many) of people and they had to swab daily for several months as I remember (I guess there is some way to grow the virus or detect it from a very small catch out there but it's likely a very very expensive process so it's not main stream sadly :( ). Those stats are the stats you will be given by any Dr ... they are accepted as being as accurate as we can understand the virus right now. I say that because I've had this 35 yrs and seen a lot of changes in the information we have ... but that's true of every illness and disease out there.

 

is it possible for me to have caught herpes a month prior to my first out break or it wouldn't of shown up in my blood work by then?

 

You say you have been with your BF since 2010 and he is H- ... so unless you played elsewhere, you couldn't have got H in the month before your first OB. It's ENTIRELY possible to have H for quite some time without OB's and then suddenly have your primary OB. I have a client who had it for 30 yrs before her first one (she's been married that long so that's how we know she couldn't have got it more recently). So how do you know your BF is H-? Has he (definitely) been tested? Odds are unless he asked for it, it was never done in the regular STD panel.... :/

 

(((HUGS)))

[Lady_j988]

His test results came back negative for the herpes virus he just got it back last Friday, crazy how in almost 3 years I never gave it to him, the doctor said it's because I didn't have an outbreak. And I will go back to the doctor, I have medical or medicaid and all those doctors are quacks, they don't help me. And I am not having see again until every thing is cleared up down there. My boyfriend knows his risk and we've also decided to proprotection from now on. Sometimes I wonder if what I experienced was even an outbreak. But thank you, yes I will go back to the doctors office. Just doesn't seem like they know what there talking about! Thanks again!

[WCSDancer2010]

Make sure you go to an OBGYN - not a General Practitioner. You are much more likely to get clear, straight answers there because they deal with this every day ;)

[Lady_j988]

Thanks for the info