I'm back and so is H

[geminis84]

Hi guys,

 

I'm back again. Last time I kinda found peace with myself and actually started seeing someone again. I was OB free for a about 3-4 months. Life was wonderful but now it just got worse.

 

I just moved back to Denmark and the stress that comes with moving kinda caught me off guard. I had constant OB just one after another. It's not THAT BAD but it's more irritating than ever. So today I finally went to the hospital and got another full check up. I know that I have GHSV2 and I had it over a year now. Last year when I went to the doctor, they wouldn't test me for HSV since I didn't had any visible OB. They told me that no OB then no H. They just didn't seemed to care so much about people having H. I just went in with a full on OB so they could swap it and test it and yet again, just another visual diagnosis saying " yeah, I think you have herpes" I told them I had more than 6 OBs this year and they just keep coming back over and over. Next week I will get my first suppression pills. I just hope it will works for me. I have a few questions though.

 

Will the virus get resistant when taking the medication for a long time?

How many OBs does one get on an average when taking medication?

Are there any bad side effects?

How effective is it as in terms of protecting your partner?

 

There's been a few studies going on here in Denmark about studying and inderstanding how our immune system works, if anyone is interested just let me know so I can post the links for you guys. And also, I just found out today that over 20% of the population here in DK have herpes. That's quite a lot! I just felt like I was sitting among friends while I was waiting for the doctor. I just really hope that I can minimise my OBs and not to worry about that every month.

[NothingGoodGetsAway]

Hello and welcome back (thought wish it could be under better circumstances)

 

>No, the suppression meds shouldn't cause any sort of resistance in the virus. It's not quite that smart :)

> Can't really say how many OBs people get on average. But, since your body has been OB free for 3-4 months, and you just had a big one because of stress, chances are the meds should help you calm significantly. Remember, it won't stop them all together, but it should help

> I've not experienced side effects, but some do get headaches or some fatigue. That seems to go away after a little while from what I've read on the forums (maybe others can weigh in here). Just drink plenty of water, since any meds that you take process through your kidneys and water is always a good thing to drink! But studies have shown little to no ill effects on kidneys/liver/etc, even for those with Shingles that are on 2G / day.

> It not only reduces the severity of your OBS, but it cuts asymptomatic shedding by about 70%, which is really significant and is the most important part of the protection. You can tell when you're having an outbreak or other symptoms, but asymptomatic shedding is the stuff you can't tell that it's happening. The suppression meds cutting that help cut the risk. So, if you took nothing and took no precautions except for abstaining from sex when you're having an OB, you have a 4% chance (per year) of transmission. Condoms cut that to 2% and meds cut it again to 1% chance. Pretty good!

 

[2Legit2Quit]

She summed everything up that I would say. There's no telling how your body would react. It should help w your obs, so long as don't have any underlying immune issues, like I do. I have autoimmune diseases, so the meda don't do much for me.

[geminis84]

Thanks for the answers. Like I said, I had it over a year now and it wasn't that bad before but for the past 2 OBS that I've gotten, they just reoccuring, as in the first one hasn't healed properly yet and there's another OB right next to the old one. I just found out last night after coming back from the doctor that I've got another OB again :( it sucks so bad right now. So basically I have 4 OBs (2*2)for the past 2 months. I really don't know what tiggers H anymore. It just gets worse and that's why I wanted to be suppressive therapy.

[2Legit2Quit]

Myself and several others on here and now you, once they seem to hit almost a year or just after a yr, they start getting back to back obs.. It's very strange, as the same happened to me once I hit a yr. Back to back mild obs the last 5 months. I need to start keeping track of the people on here, that it happens to... Just odd. I definitely think suppressive therapy is worth a shot. Make sure you're taking Epsom salt baths during obs and I put a punch on my OB of salt w a little water and let it sit as a paste. When I get out the bath, I spray w Bactine.. I do this until it clears up and they clear up w in two days usually.

[geminis84]

Really? So I'm not the only one that has back to back OBs? It's true, I do find that soaking the blisters or draining them in some kind of a way makes them heal faster

[2Legit2Quit]

Yep.... There's been like 4 or 5 others the last couple months who have said when they hut their one yr mark, they started having back to back obs. I myself was shocked by this. Do you drink a lot of coffee and have more so as of late as well?

[geminis84]

I've been drinking the same amount of coffee as usual. I am however, eating a bit more healthy. No chocolate or sweets and more veggies. That's why I said, I really don't know what is triggering this anymore. It used to be stress and moving. But now I'm actually in a good place and good company and yet, a back to back OB

[2Legit2Quit]

I found coffee was exasperating my back to back obs. They're not lasting as long and I'm having some periods of time w no OB now, vs back to back, since quitting a mo th ago. I started drinking the Starbucks very berry refreshers, as it has just the extract of green coffee beans for the caffeine.

[geminis84]

Ok, I must be doing something really wrong here because I'm actually feeling like a 3rd OB is coming up around the same area now :(

[2Legit2Quit]

Stop the coffee, do the other things I told you and get on meds

[WCSDancer2010]

Will the virus get resistant when taking the medication for a long time?

 

No :) I DO tell people if they come off to wean off simply because it allows the body to adapt for the loss of the support.

 

How many OBs does one get on an average when taking medication?

 

Varies from one person to another. There's no way we can tell you how your body will deal with the meds, just like the virus itself.

 

Are there any bad side effects?

 

Most Common are headache, dizziness, tired feeling, depression, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, joint pain, menstrual pain, skin rash, stuffy nose, or sore throat.

 

How effective is it as in terms of protecting your partner?

 

The meds are said to cut the risks by 50%

 

HSV2 affects at least 15% here ... more as the population gets older so the numbers in DK are about the same :)

[hippyherpy]

I take Valtrex every day. I'm pretty sure that it makes me lethargic and slightly depressed. That sucks if it's the case.

[2Legit2Quit]

@hippyherpy have you not tried taking it at night like I suggested to see if that helps? It resolved that issue for me, taking it before bed.