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No subsequent outbreaks in nearly a year?


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Hello :) For background, I am a 30 year-old female. Sexually active, have a child, divorced, work full-time, lots of stress. I had my first genital herpes outbreak at the beginning of this year, in January, when the divorce process began. It was *very* severe; at least 15-20 sores all over my vagina and anus in the most sensitive spots, I had to take time off of work due to inability to sit comfortably, constant pain and burning (and therefore constant application of creams and sprays). I was so scared to touch my body, I showered with vinyl gloves, removing them only to wash my hair at the very end of my shower. I was looked at by two female doctors who agreed I had herpes, I can't remember if any swabbing was done and want so deeply to never think about this again that I can't bring myself to look at the discharge paperwork to find out. I was prescribed Valtrex and took care of myself the best I could. I am not taking Valtrex anymore, and haven't since I used my prescription up at the beginning of the year. Each tingle I feel [i get them on a regular basis] sends me into an internal panic -- or had, until recently when I decided to instead tell myself "it is what it is...might be an outbreak, might not" as I haven't had any subsequent outbreaks! About a month ago I had a small bump on the opening of my vagina, but I am not convinced it was herpes-related as it went away rather quickly, never "oozed" [so sorry to use that word]. I think it was an injury from intercourse which was aggravated by shaving. Maybe two months ago, I found my vagina very, *very* sensitive...but still, no outbreak. I am wondering -- how could this be, that I've never had another outbreak? How is it possible? I'm literally waiting in dread for the day I wake up to another nightmare like my first OB. Could I never have had herpes? Do I have to live in dread or not? If it wasn't herpes, what could it have been? I know better than to believe it isn't herpes, I know it is. But, why no outbreaks? Believe me, I feel very relieved that my experience with herpes is the way it is -- even the first outbreak being so severe, it taught me not to trust so easily. I am happy that I haven't gone through this again since the initial outbreak, but I'm so confused as to why I haven't had another. Is this normal?

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If doctors told you it was herpes without testing you, thats worrisome. If they did and it came back positive, take the results as confirmation. Normally outbreaks after the first arent near as bad and dont last as long. And some people are lucky to not have outbreaks often. I typically went 4 months without symptoms before getting on suppression therapy, and havent had any symptoms since (its been 3 months now so interested to see if it prolongs OBs.) With that said, my outbreaks have been different. Sometimes i know for a fact it is as its a small red spot (also doesnt ooze) that tingles at the very beginning and is gone completely within 5-7 days. However ive also had an OB that i thought was just a small tear at the opening of my vagina that was having trouble healing. I was also going to law school and getting out of an abusive relationship through all kf this, so stress levels were through the roof. From my own experiences i can confirm that it really just varies from person to person. Be glad that your post initial symptoms seem to be mild as i know some people arent so lucky. And definitely go ask for a blood test specifically stating to look for herpes if you havent already.

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Lilux723: Thank you so much! I will have a blood test done right away. The fear and the shame of it all has made me avoid the whole thing -- I am a 'runner,' for sure. Just ignore problems and hope they go away...you know, cause that EVER works! Thank you for your time and input, babe :) Hope you keep doing well.

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I know exactly how you feel. Im 30 too, currently single. Trust me when it happened i looked up and down to see if it could have been anything else, false positive and an ingrown hair from shaving, anything else, but it was pretty clear. I was in a sexual relationship at the time so i had to be upfront and honest right away, no chance to hide from it.

 

I said this in a different post, but it really helped me think of this entire experience in a different way. I met a super beautiful girl who was 20 about the time i found out. She told me she had it the very first day over girl talk about relationships and how difficult dating was. Seeing how open and confident she was about it and not letting it bother her gave me confidence. I now see this as a test in finding a future partner worthy of me. If theyre going to bail because of that, their loss and you deserve better. So keep that in mind. Its definitely made me make smarter decisions on who i let in my life. Does it suck having it? Of course. But it hasnt affected my life for the worse nearly as much as i thought it would. Just remember youre not alone :) thank you, and you as well!

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@tiny30 If you only received a visual diagnosis, I would suggest following up with actual testing to confirm. A visual diagnosis can be inaccurate. Having said that, what you described (many painful lesions followed by only one insignificant legion) sounds to me like a primary outbreak and a recurrence. Recurrences are generally much different from primary outbreaks and also last a much shorter time (a few days rather than a few weeks). A single bump would be typical of a recurrence.

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