5 months and no 2nd herpes outbreak!

[TaniaUllarich]

I just thought I'd share this as I'm super excited. I am on the daily suppressive therapy dose of Valtrex 500 mg. I had my first outbreak the first week of June this year, and so far, no 2nd outbreak, and neither my spouse nor my Dom have had any signs of any transmission to them. We are all still unsure if I had this before, or if I contracted it around that time, but I did have a bad outbreak with not only sores, but hemorrhoids, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, fevers, fainting spells, hot flashes, and several others. Since then, my doctor not only started me on the daily suppressive dose, but the Depo Provera shot every 10-12 weeks (depends on if my body rejects or accepts the shot each time) to keep my hormones from fluctuating. They say it is a good thing to do, and seems to be helping me. I hope by me sharing this, that others out there realize there are options and look into things. I've not only not had any outbreak, but I've not had any infections from anything that has been coming into the area. Yes, I was always the one that got sick from colds and such, but not recently. It's almost like Herpes has helped me not only health wise, but immunity wise too.

[forgivenessandpeace]

Great to hear that suppressives are helping you! I've never heard of the Depo Provera shot being used in a therapeutic way before. What is the thinking behind why that is helpful? Do you have high health care costs due to this regimen? Thank you for sharing your experience.

[WCSDancer2010]

the Depo Provera shot helps because it keeps you from having a period. Many women have outbreaks every time they have a period because of the fluctuating hormones especially at first while their body is getting used to fighting it off and making antibodies. My only concern is it for some people the shot can cause other things like depression so I would talk to your doctor very seriously before you consider using this method, but it is a valid and for some very useful option

[FLNewH]

very interesting about the depo shot. I was on Trivora forever, then decided to go on depo shot June 2013. I came off of it Feb of this year. It took me until August to get my first period after coming off the shot. I'm wondering if that contributed to my first OB ...

[WCSDancer2010]

it's quite possible it did.especially as your body went from having 0 periods to going back on to cycling.

 

I personally don't like those shots because to me it's very unnatural for a body to not cycle. But that's my personal opinion and I can understand why someone would use it to keep from having outbreaks if they were having a hard time with them.

[FLNewH]

@wcsdancer Ya. I hated the shot. I gained 20 pounds and spotted all the time, so it didn't really even benefit me with not having a period. hmm this is all so interesting. there is so much that I'm thinking back to wondering "was that really an OB?" or "did that help kick start this?"

 

I know you are all over this site, but if you get a chance in the next day or so, can you check out my post "Question about my results". I'm very curious what you think about it.

[WCSDancer2010]

I've been traveling and I'm about to head to bed. I just popped on intending to spend just a couple minutes on here and got drawn into another conversation. I really need to get to bed. I'll check your question tomorrow okay

[FLNewH]

oh of course! have good night :-)

[TaniaUllarich]

I actually started the shot a month before I contracted Herpes. I haven't gained weight, and I still have a light period, but there's no hormones so, they've concluded I am not producing eggs or am I fertile. I have not had an increase in medical costs due to them listing the Depo shot as birth control (reason I started it in the first place), my insurance covers 100% of costs of birth control as it's cheaper than pregnancy. I laugh as I type this, as my last one was a C-section, so it's more expensive for that for them in a major way. I have battled depression since I was a child, so that is nothing new to me. It and insomnia are my old friends, and I argue with them nightly, but I usually win. I did find out that some people who have a high metabolization rate and take the Depo shot often have spotting more, or have periods. This means they need to discuss with their doctor about changing from the 12 week cycle to the 10 week cycle, as I had to do. I did have a full fledged period from early August to mid September without stopping, and it was discovered I was one of the 10% that process it faster than normal. So, please keep this in mind, along with the lack of fluctuating hormones, I do find myself wanting to nibble all day, though if I eat a good meal at lunch and get full, I don't eat as much as if I just snacked or had a light lunch.

[willow]

Ive never taken the shot before, have u ever been on the pill?

Do u like it better than the pill?

I skip my period on purpose to avoid o.b.s and ive been on the same bramd b.c. pill for almost 6 or maybe 7 years now... so im nervouse to try a different method!

[TaniaUllarich]

I tried the pill long long time ago, when I was a teen, but it messed up my cycle bad, and didn't help with the cramping. The shot is designed to completely rid you of the cycle, and is used to prevent or lessen cramping. The ideal time for changing contraceptives is around 6-7 years as your body builds up a tolerance to medication after a certain amount of time. As I've just started it, I will be able to use it until I begin menopause, at which time I hopefully will have my body back under control, but I have also began to show early signs of menopause. This has made it so my body processes the shot fast. I am supposed to get the next one at the beginning of December, but have started spotting again. My OB said I may have to go on the 10 week schedule instead, as I have high tolerance to medication. (I'm talking I'm that odd person that has to have double or triple doses of things to work right: antibiotics, pain meds, etc.) So, best bet is to talk to your doctor. They will give you the positives and negatives of anything. Positives: no hormones, periods, cramps, fertility. Negatives: you may never become fertile after stopping the shot or have trouble getting pregnant, you may gain weight, it may just not work (less than 1% of a chance of becoming pregnant on the shot), you will possibly grow facial hair (easy to wax off though), and there's a slight chance of being allergic to it as the main ingredient is a off shoot of estrogen. (testosterone is what starts our periods/makes us fertile and cranky. *laughing*)