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New here...diagnosed 1/9/11

HOL11

By HOL11
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HOL11 Honeycomb Member

HOL11

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Hello, I am a 22 year old female just diagnosed with genital herpes. I was diagnosed last night in the emergency room and the whole thing has been very traumatizing. I posted my full story in the "newly diagnosed" section, but just wanted to say hi here and that I'm glad theres a place to talk about these things with people who understand.

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RLJ Honeycomb Member

RLJ

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Hello Hal11, and welcome to this site. I have only been on here a few days and found it verry helpful. Ther are many wonderful people here who are willing to and want to help you with any questions. I hope as you spend time here you find all you need.

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norcallove Established Member

norcallove

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Hi Hol11 - Welcome to this site. :wavey: There is a lot of great information to the right and tons of supportive members who understand what you're going through. I was diagnosed with GHSV2 about 6 weeks ago. I'm a 26 year old female. I understand the emotional aspect of what you're going through. It is very hard in the beginning and an emotional roller coaster at times, but it does get better! It has gotten so much better for me since my diagnosis. This site helped me a lot, I hope it helps you as well. Honestly, the stigma around this seems to be the hardest part. Just remember you are the same exact person before this diagnosis and it is really just a common and mostly harmless skin condition. It helped me to think of it like that. Let me know if you have any questions or need someone to talk to. :)

I read your other post and wanted to comment on a few things on there as well. I don't know from who or when I got this. I haven't been with very many people, used protection, got tested (although now I know they don't include this test in the routine std tests even if you ask for everything), etc. While I don't know, I believe it was dormant for years. I know I was at least dormant for awhile since I had only been with my BF for 4 months when I had my 1st OB and no one for awhile before him (he does not have it). So, I know it can lay dormaint. I think like 70% of people don't show symptoms but can still pass it along, so I can understand how that can happen. You should have your fiance tested, if he doesn't have it you can look into taking antivirals which decrease the chance of passing it along. It is also harder for a women to pass it to a man. Read the links on the right, there is a lot of great info. Also, you can still have children. You just can't have a natural childbirth if you have an active OB at the time. I hope this helps a bit. One last thing, what I have learned the most is that everything about this virus seems to vary from person to person. So it is hard to judge what your future OBs will be like or how many you will have. The 1st one is pretty much always the worst though. Some people never have another one.

How were you diagnosed? Was it just visually? Visual diagnosis can be inaccurate, there are other things that can look like herpes. I hope they did a culture, that will give you the most accurate information. It can tell you if you are positive or not and what strain HSV1 or HSV2. Did they do a blood test? If so, was it an IgM or IgG? Sorry to ask so many questions (I was confused a bit when I was asked these questions at first, but they help). I am hoping you are starting to at least feel a little better. How is the physical pain? Are you having any problems and did they give you any medicine? I hope this post helps a little. Take care! Let me know if you have any questions. :flowers:

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  • 2 weeks later...
stilloptimistic Honeycomb Member

stilloptimistic

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Some advice...

Remember that you are newly diagnosed and that you are going to obsess over this 24/7 for the next couple of months.. Its hard, but you will get thorught it.

After that time period, your mind will begin to accept the fact that you have it and you will begin to live normally. Herpes is really what you make of it. You can obssess and feel anger over it or you can accept the fact that you have it and move on. You are the controller of your mind.

Keep in mind that Herpes is NOTHING more than a exaggerated stigma - no different that someone having a cold sore on there lips. There are no health risks whatsoever. If you are like the vast majority of people, your outbreaks will continue on and off for the next 6 months and than your body will begin to surpress the virus. At that point, you will have few, if any, mild outbreaks that are nothing more than a minor trivial nuissance.

At the end of the day, you WILL realize that herpes is not a big deal! You will accept it. Just remember that time is the greatest healer of all time.

Its ok to cry and feel depressed right now.. You are coping with it and going through the mourning process.

So.. Just hang in there, you will eventually come out of this!

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Ellekay1213 Honeycomb Member

Ellekay1213

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Welcome! I was just diagnosis a few months ago, right before my 24th birthday.

I wish I would have Come to the site sooner, as I've been trying to cope on my own. And my friends that know, just cannot really relate. It still upsets me but I know I will get better. My doctor has given me hope that there will be a cure one day and that my life will still go on. Hang in there. It's okay to cry. The best is to make yourself knowledgeable on the subject.

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    • WilsoInAus
      32m Diagnosed with hpv2 10 years ago

      By WilsoInAus · Posted

      Hi there @ScubaSteeve and welcome to the website. If you have had genital HSV for 10 years there is a chance the testing did not distinguish type. The answers to the following questions will help a bit: - where are your outbreaks specifically and what frequency? - have you had any IgG antibody testing for HSV?
    • CHT
      New to this- help please

      By CHT · Posted

      Hi LLS.... I'm very sorry you are having so much discomfort from this outbreak.... the first outbreaks are always the most troublesome but  they will get less aggressive as time passes.  I personally find that valacyclovir is much more effective than just acyclovir so you may want to ask your doctor about switching and seeing if that helps.  Ask your doctor on Saturday if you really need to take a higher dose.... and as WilsoInAus suggested, I would ask for a 1,000 mg tablets with at least a 90 day supply to start.  As for pain, you may want to ask your doctor for a Rx of Zovirax ointment.... it contains acyclovir and the ointment form calms the sores down and reduces friction.... it should lessen the pain down there. As for diet, many people, myself included, learn what foods often act as triggers for outbreaks.  I can tell you from experience that the following are big outbreak triggers for me:   1. Too much caffeine (I've basically stopped coffee and have learned to enjoy a variety of decaf teas) 2. Any kind of nuts - including corn and even popcorn 3. Chocolate 4. Too much alcohol - particularly red wines  5. If possible, avoid any kind of steroids/immunosuppressants like prednisone in high doses.... anything that suppresses your immune system will give the virus free rein to run amuck - I learned this the hard way! 6, Stress.... although easier said than done, it will help with your overall health.  Studies show that stress is a common HSV outbreak trigger.... try to find a way to lower your stress levels. 7. lack of sleep.... personally, if I get less than 6  hours of sleep this often leads to an outbreak within a day or two.... work at getting a good 7-8 hours of solid sleep each night (I often use melatonin to help here). Some people find certain vitamins that boost the immune system, like zinc, help with overall healing and can lessen the severity of outbreaks and possibly prevent some outbreaks.  I personally take a number of antiviral/anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant herbs/vitamins not so much for my HSV2 but for overall health (I don't have the healthiest of diets so, I feel I need to supplement to offset my lousy diet).  A google search of supplements that help with herpes will provide you with a long list of vitamins/herbs that may be of benefit but, try not to get carried away - many/most won't make much, if any, difference.... but, you can always experiment. As WilsoInAus also mentioned, a healthy diet is likely your best option. I should also mention that while some find vitamin C to be helpful, I found it to have the opposite effect.... the more I took the more it seemed to provoke outbreaks.   Things are always the toughest after initial infection.... it's going to get better, trust me.  Stick with the antiviral meds daily, try not to obsess on the fact you've contracted this virus, and try to avoid some of those triggers relating to outbreaks.  With time the number of outbreaks starts to decline and when you do have an outbreak, they will become less virulent. As WilsoInAus mentioned, a lot of your achiness, pain and overall flu-like symptoms are related to the fact your immune system is adjusting to this virus.... these lousy symptoms are just your immune system in action working to do its best to fight this virus... with time these symptoms will also lessen and disappear.   I hope this helps in some way.... please let us know if you have more questions.... and remember, go easy on yourself right now.... turn to those things in your life that calm you and also distract you from obsessing over the virus situation.  You are going to be just fine.... just give yourself some time to get past this initial unpleasant phase.... it will get better, I promise.    
    • Justme88
      Equivocal?

      By Justme88 · Posted

      Thanks.
    • ScubaSteeve
      32m Diagnosed with hpv2 10 years ago

      By ScubaSteeve · Posted

      I was diagnosed with HPV2 ten years ago, which I contracted from an ex-girlfriend who was unaware she had it. Since then, I've lived a reserved life, not really opening up to others. There was only one person I felt interested in enough to share this with, but it didn't work out. There have been a few instances where I've let my guard down, had a night out, and ended up sleeping with someone. I know I should feel guilty about not discussing it beforehand, but I found it challenging because they know my family, and it felt overwhelming at the time, and I had alot of pent up desires from not ever being with someone for a long time.  After finally opening up to someone and realizing it wasn't the end of the world, I now understand that finding the right partner might be a matter of numbers. I desire to have more intimate relationships but need to find better ways to approach this topic and ensure I never spread it.  Thank you all for providing a space where I can be myself.
    • i82much2young
      Diagnosed by sight and in denial

      By i82much2young · Posted

      My swab results won’t be ready for another 5 days. Is there any harm is continuing the Valacyclovir? I was prescribed 1gm tablets for 10 days.
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