Antivirals quit working

[Grace78]

Hi all-

I’m new here but have had HSV2 for over 20 years. The first 10-15 years I rarely had symptoms or outbreaks. This virus was extremely manageable for me.  Over the past year it has become unmanageable. I have been on every antivirial out there and none of them seem to be working. I have symptoms ALL the time and the headaches that come with it are becoming unbearable. I have to believe this is what migraines are like. My symptoms used to be worse with my period, so after my last child was born I went on the pill taking it straight through to avoid a period all together. This certainly hasn’t helped as not a week goes by that I’m not feeling symptoms. Any thoughts, ideas, advice would be much appreciated. I eat well, exercise, and have tried Lysine and other supplements. It’s like my virus has been come resistant to everything. I thought the longer you have it, the less of an issue  it is. This has been the opposite for me. I miss my old life where I never thought about it! It’s seriously taking a toll on my emotional health. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. 

[Ishmael]

Are there any dietary changes that you've made? Can you think of anything that could be affecting your immune system? Have you cut out nuts, chocolate and coffee? What about alcohol? Have you had a blood test to check your immune system? Have you recently gone through menopause?

[Grace78]

No menopause yet. I do still have one cup of coffee a day and occasionally eat nuts and yes I drink alcohol occasionally. But the thing is I have always done these things and never had a problem before. I don’t feel like I should have to cut all this stuff out especially if I’m on an antiviral. Sometimes I wonder if I have cancer or something and this is my body’s way of telling me!

[WingingIt]

Hi, Grace:

 

I've been diagnosed for almost 7 years. My symptoms have gotten worse since having my first child. My outbreaks are VERY closely related to my stress level. I asked my doctor and she said we would change from taking antivirals as needed to taking them daily as a preventative.  I DONT take them daily for a few reasons.  1. The price. The prescription wouldn't break my bank, but as a single mother I really have to watch my monthly spending and I just don't have it in the budget to buy the script every month. 2. I'm not currently sexually active so I don't NEED to take them every day.   This being said, my outbreaks are getting more frequent AND they have started to spread to other locations on my body.  I'm struggling to find productive ways to handle my stress, but it's difficult. As I mentioned, I'm a single mother with a toddler, a full time job, and an etsy business on the side. I also suffer from undiagnosed PTSD caused by the sudden traumatic death of my boyfriend several years ago. It's a perfect storm for my HSV2. I can't say that taking the antivirals daily would help or not, because I haven't really tried to maintain that. 

I don't experience symptoms with my outbreaks other than the nerve pain that generally precedes my outbreaks, so I can't really offer you advice on handling your symptoms specifically, but like you... I thought this was supposed to get BETTER over time. 

[Grace78]

WingingIt, thanks for reaching out. I'm so sorry for the loss of your boyfriend. That has to be so hard. I would say my stress level is pretty high, but it's been high for a long time. I think I would be able to tolerate the tingling, but the headache that is currently coming with my symptoms is just viscous. I sometimes wonder if the Acyclovir is causing the headache. Part of me wonders if I should just quit taking it for awhile and see if that helps. I've never had headaches before though when taking them (and I've taken all of them), or maybe I always just assumed the headache is part of the prodrome symptoms. I'm just discouraged and was hoping someone on here could give me a quick fix! I follow the research on the vaccine and it doesn't look like it's gaining momentum like it was. This makes me so sad because I was hopeful it could help! 

[benzgtx]

I'm sorry for what you are going through. From my understanding, it is the nature of this virus to evade the immune system. And classically after 15 to 20 years time the virus seems to find a new way to manifest itself and outsmart our immune system. I am noticing that more and more people are having their symptoms back or much worse after years of being asymptomatic. Aside from viral evasion hormonal changes could play a role. Unfortunately there is no measure to say for sure which is which. How long did you try each antiviral for? Stay strong 

[sweetlove884]

Are you sure the headaches aren't caused by the pill? I believe for some it causes them 

[Amando]

@Grace78 & @WingingIt Hi I am so sorry to read your pains as it seems most people get a lot easier ride than you are having.

I truly hope things get better & you find some solutions to make it easier for you both.

Good luck & big hugs