Daily suppressive medication question & outbreaks

[Anonymous88]

I was diagnosed in February and it is still all very raw in my mind. I think about it everyday annoyingly and worry at any slight pinch I feel down there. Due to constant painfull outbreaks I have been put on daily suppressive meds since August and they seem to be working great luckily as I haven't seen any blisters down there since being on them but I did wonder how long people have been on the daily medication for? I have been given a 6 month supply of them but I am worried if I am very going to be confortable coming off them in fear of constant painful outbreaks again. Is there any harm being on them daily for life? Also how long has people had hsv2 for and if you had regular outbreaks in your first year did they get better by each year you have had this for? If so how many outbreaks do you get per year? I know it varies by each person but I just want to know to prepare myself and fir reassurance if this does get better.

Luckily I have been dating a guy recently who I opened up to on the second date as I didn't want to invest any more time with somebody and get my heart broken if he was to run a mile but he hasn't he completely understood and put my mind at ease and if anything he was the one reassuring me that it's just one of those things and I was unlucky which was a more positive response seen as I was being apologetic and shaking as I was so nervous haha so I could of been a bit better prepared to talk about it especially as I started it off with I need to give you the talk haha..cringing but regardless it all worked out better than I expected luckily! I just can't have that attitude as if hsv2 is nothing as to me being my first year and having such a horrible start with it and posts that I have read to say don't let it effect your life..well for me it does, I constantly think about it if I was to wake up and feel a pinch or how I am gonna be for the rest of my life, the thought of having to come off the tablets to be back to painful outbreaks that affected my life and raising my 6 year old alone. I keep thinking back to the guy who carelessly passed it to me and I soo wish I never met him as he really wasn't worth any of my time or me but you can't unfortunetely go back and change it.

There was hope with the hsv2 vaccine that they were confident about and hoped it would be available in 5 years but last night I read a recent news report (I live in the UK) that it hadn't worked and they have now stopped trying to create one now. This has been very sad and disappointing for me as I feel like the hope of not having to live with this forever has been blown out.

Why std's were never made to be an important topic in school I never know. It was always about preventing pregnancy. I never knew anything about herpes apart till I caught it just before my 30th birthday. All I heard of it before was that you have it then for life but no body ever educates you beforehand. I have always been open about stds before having sex with somebody but unfortunetely there are people who are lazy about their own health and don't tell you the truth and I now have to continue living and suffering the consequences. 

[Amando]

Hi Anonymous88

Firstly so sorry to here about your diagnosis! but this is a good place for help & comfort

I'm from UK too, Male & have had H for 8 years now,  at the start I had about 3 OB's a year, they were not that severe.
I never went on permanent medication, just took acyclovir when I had an outbreak.
For me they have got better over time as I have one OB a year now & its normally  pretty tame.

I think you should pursue taking your regular meds but maybe try to come off them, when the 6 months supply finish as,
& I must state this is just a personnel view,
I don't believe taking any meds permantly can be a good thing.
If however it comes back severely, then it would make sense to go back on them & stay on them.

Lastly I'm happy for you that your partner has been so understanding & wish you all the best for the future.
 

Good Luck 🙂

[Anonymous88]

Aw Thank you for messaging me and it has given me hope that hopefully the longer I have this for then the less outbreaks I will have whether I take medication or not. I suppose feeling on edge about it daily doesn't help but hoping in time with each year I will become less bothered by it depending on how outbreaks are once I come off daily meds. How many years in was it when you started to only get one outbreak a year?