Introducing myself, New Here

[Chrissyny]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and glad to have found this forum for support. Without an official diagnosis I know, based on my symptoms and things a doc told me in what had to be an inital ob, that I do have h. It was from my ex husband who had been unfaithful.

 

I did not care though and still left him, so its been hard raising my daughter alone and mainly working for so long. I have told no one and have not had sex, fearing disclosure and rejection. But I am happy to report I am passed that now and ready to have a personal life again.

 

I am not on suppressive therapy but since I am noticing symptoms around my menstrual cycle, just curious if it is actually effective to try this to reduce this? I must admit that having no insurance makes it hard for me to cover the costs of medicaton, but I will gladly listen to the wise people here :)

 

Overall I am happy to be here and thrilled to meet new friends who will relate to what I am going through.

 

Nice meeting you all, looking forward to help and be helped.

 

 

Chrissy

[whitedaisies]

Glad you are doing so well!! And you are looking forward.

 

It is common to get outbreaks around your period. You can try antivirals to help stop the outbreaks, they may lessen them or get rid of them altogether. Valtrex never really helped me but that is rare. They do help lots of people. I would try it for a couple of months and see if it helps.

 

I wish you all the best in your disclosures. There are lots of success stories on here, so you can search!!!

 

Good luck!

 

Hugs

[Chrissyny]

Thanks! It would be nice to find some way to stop this or cut them short, feels very flu like actualy. Wondering if the Lysine for now might help?

[whitedaisies]

U can try Lysene and also reduce ur sugar intake.

 

Since its hormonal though I would say Meds r ur best bet. U don't have to go on them forever just try and see if it works. Hen u know. And in the meantime u can try other things like diet and Lysene.

 

Me personally I would take anything that would get rid of an outbreak but hats just me.

[Chrissyny]

I hear you on that, the stomach virus feeling is just yuck the last two days!

 

I have to see a doc to get a prescription because I need one... would be great if we could order them online or buy it OTC.

[whitedaisies]

I am from Canada, but I think there is a way to order on line in the states....not sure though....can't help you there. Dancer usually knows a lot about that stuff and you can pm her if you like.

 

You have a stomach virus or that's how you feel with your outbreak?

[WCSDancer2010]

I am not on suppressive therapy but since I am noticing symptoms around my menstrual cycle, just curious if it is actually effective to try this to reduce this? I must admit that having no insurance makes it hard for me to cover the costs of medicaton, but I will gladly listen to the wise people here

 

I would suggest you get the suppressive meds and take them for 2 days before the start of your period and continue for maybe 5 days to help your body when you have your period. It's just another stressor and it keeps the area more moist - the perfect environment for H ..

 

Acyclovir is less expensive than Valrex but you have to take it more often. YOu can go online... google RX discount card and you should find plenty of options ... I get 60% off my costs with mine ;)

 

(((HUGS)))

[Chrissyny]

Dancer, 60% is amazing! I will look for that card online tonight.

 

And yes, I do feel stomach symptoms similar to the flu when the virus is active sometimes. Aches, pains in joints, tired, etc. I have been stressed a lot; there was a guy who was flirty and chasing me but we are long distance - long story short - that put me through emotional ups and downs.

 

It turns out that he lives with another woman. I had no idea, he never told me. So before I found this out, I was in and out and pretty emotional about things - we had gotten to be good friends, very used to each other. Having not been involved with anyone for a long time, I kinda felt like a 40 year-old kid who was new to relationships. I was pretty crazy about him,

 

So the ongoing stress and uncertainty he put me through I think started this cycle of more frequent episodes... kinda glad I have managed to succeed in disengaging myself from him.

 

I will say though having read peoples stories here, I would just rather meet someone who has H and hopefully bring some sunshine into their life instead. The honesty in some of these posts here is moving, grateful to have found this site.

[WCSDancer2010]

Well, the vast majority of our Success Stories are with discordant couples (one H+, one H- ) so don't give up on someone who is H-. I hear ya on dating post divorce in your 40's ... I did that with the first guy to (was MADLY in love with him) but life did what it does and he chose to move on. Learned more about myself through that break-up than anything else...

 

Date yourself for awhile ... just go out and have fun ... when you are ready, someone will appear :)

[myfiercecalm]

Hello and welcome. You sound like you've been through a lot and are doing very well. Emotional stress can definitely act as a trigger I think. I haven't had a documented, official outbreak; however, I have had various pains/issues that seem to be triggered by stress. So good for you for saying no to that guy who was clearly trouble.

 

One of my H+ friends is always worried about disclosing. It prevents her from meeting people and truly being herself. She is emotionally crippled by H, terrified of potential rejection. I hear what you're saying about finding someone who is H+. That can happen, but it puts your social life into a pretty small box unless you live somewhere like New York City or LA. There are a lot of right guys out there for you who are H+ and H-. I recommend what Dancer already said about dating yourself. Do things you love and those guys will find you. The right men for you will care more about you than H :)

[Chrissyny]

Thank you, you are both right and I should keep all my options open. Meanwhile, I am wonderng if Dancer or anyone here mght know of a trusted Canadian pharmacy where I can order the meds online, that would be great, too.

 

I read a lot today about diet and I would love to hear how people here are using diet and vitamins to help build up the immune system. I want to take time and do this for a month as well and see if it helps.

 

In general I am reading online for this, eating 2 servings of yogurt per day, working raw garlic into the diet (2 cloves daily or just a few times per week) chicken soup; lots of tea, beef and sweet potatos help.

[myfiercecalm]

WARNING: totally biased post coming up, but you asked about diet, so here we go.

 

I mentioned I haven't had an official outbreak I'm aware of. I believe part of the reason for that might be a predominantly vegan diet. I have heard that nuts and sugars can contribute to outbreaks. I still eat nuts. I drink soy milk and almond milk in place of dairy. I've done this for years and successfully avoided what I call the "blimping effect" many of my peers have been experiencing for the past 10 years since we went to college.

 

I have no scientific evidence to back this up (other than my mother being a veteran of the Nutrition profession who swears by this diet), but all I can say is the vegan diet works for me. I eat what I want and maintain my ideal weight range easily as well as avoiding a number of health issues that can be aggravated by other diets. I suspect it is good for H+ people as well since it is super low in sugar, fat, and no dairy (dairy has been linked to other skin conditions such as acne). That's also why you can get pimples after eating a pizza I've found. If you ask your friendly neighborhood doctor, be prepared for them to reject everything I just said. Doctors and big Pharma don't make any money off of healthy people :)

 

Now, having said that, I could be completely wrong about diet contributing to the effect H has had on me thus far. But I BELIEVE the diet helps immensely, and that belief is likely as effective as anything. Our perception of the world is more important than anything.

 

This is the fellow who introduced my family to the vegan diet if anyone reading this is interested: https://www.drmcdougall.com/index.php

[Chrissyny]

Thank you and I agree withcomments about drug companies making money off people which honestly is why I would hope that I could mainly rely on natural methods on my own to deal with this. I might simply get the meds to have on hand as needed but truthfully, I think lots of folks would agree that there is little or no profit in cures - the money is in treating people.

[WCSDancer2010]

@whitedaisies is in Canada and she may know where you can get the meds there - I know we have several others from Canada on here too ... so I hope one or more will pitch in there.

 

Regarding diet - well, I eat almost everything and I'm fine. I have a mainly healthy diet with plenty of fruits and veggies, a small to moderate amount of meat protein, I consume dairy, eat nuts and chocolate, etc. I did go through a spell where chocolate and nuts combined seemed to trigger an OB ... I was in early menopause and that may have put me under enough stress to allow the nuts and chocolate to affect me.

 

*My* personal opinion is that every one of us needs to find the diet (with or without Herpes) that works for our body and I believe that genetics (ie: Ethnic origins) may have a lot to do with why one person does really well on a high meat-protein diet like Adkins and another does better as a vegan. I mean, look at the Inuit indians - with a diet of mainly high fatty meats like seal and whale and minimal vegetables .... vs someone from India where half the people's religion calls for them to be vegetarian. Each has evolved to digest certain foods and are not necessarily well equipped to process and digest other foods. Without doing genetic testing we just have to find what works for us ... which is why I believe some people react well to Lysine and others don't .... and perhaps why certain foods trigger OB's in one person and not another ... and when you add other stress factors in like periods, work stress, health issues, mental health issues, etc, it may be all you need to tip you over the edge.

 

Bottom line is there is no one set diet ... I have to say I have not heard the Garlic or suggestions beyond that it's known to be good for general health ... if you do yogurt (which is high in Lysine) try to get it from a local source because there is much better chance of healthy live cultures (which will help your body to get balanced) in the less processed product - or just take a really good probiotic supplement. The main triggers (for some) are nuts, chocolate, sugar, and anything high in Arginine. These are the 2 links I refer to for Herpes and diet questions:

 

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1821/food-drinks-that-causeprolong-herpes-outbreaks

 

http://regannaturopathic.com/2013/04/the-truth-about-arginine-lysine-and-herpes-simplex-virus/

 

And I do suggest to people to keep the meds in - I find one of the most helpful things is to take a few doses as soon as I feel an OB coming on because it really helps to knock it down if you catch it early ... as soon as it starts to die down you can stop and let your body take over. If you also treat the OB's externally (keeping them dry, Epsom Salts baths, etc) then eventually your body learns how to put it back in it's place with minimal help from meds.

 

((HUGS)))

[normalprofessional]

@Chrissyny I'm from Canada, but I don't know of any online pharmacies. Not sure about Rexall or Shoppers. You might want to check their websites. :)

[Peggy]

So great to meet you on here! I am here if you need anyone to talk too! You sound like your really taking care of yourself! I love that!

have a great night! Peggy

[Chrissyny]

Thank you ladies! This is all helpful info, and Peggy, here anytine you need a friend, The same goes for all of you!!

[Unbroken]

"But I am happy to report I am passed that now and ready to have a personal life again." <-- Awesome! Breaking through that barrier is the hardest part, glad to have you here!

[Chrissyny]

Thanks, Unbroken, and very nice meeting you as well!

[myfiercecalm]

I keep the meds on hand as well. I think it's a good idea just incase you have an OB and other methods don't keep it down for whatever reason. Also, I want to be able to use them if a future partner would feel better if I used them. I don't use them constantly though at this point.

[Chrissyny]

Yes agreed, if there was an H free partner for sure I would use the meds.