Very frustrated!

[Ms.Informed]

Hi all. I guess that describes anyone who experiences genital

herpes or any STD doesnt it. I have been seen by my GP and came away more upset than when I went in. Long story but she said she thought I had genital herpes EXCEPT my symptoms had gone on too long and I wasnèt raw enough and lack of appetite and general fatigue were not symptoms. She wouldnt swab(even though I had 2 new spots that she could see) because they werent open sores. I know that she wasnt accurate on some points and I have verified through the STD health line nurse that I should have been swabbed and tested. I am now trying to get in at our local health unit to be tested. My question is (among others) is it possible that I could have symptoms that vary in severity over a 5 or 6 week period. My first symptom was a tingling itch right at the vaginal opening which grew into many bumps in a cluster involving the whole side of my labia and has stayed around that area. I do not have big open sores though I am sore and the area involved starts to tingle and then itch INTENSELY at which point the cluster of bumps becomes very raised and swollen. Has anyone else had symptoms that wax and wane over a longer period of time. Could it be a number of obs close together. I realize that the only definitive way to be diagnosed is with a positive swab of the area. Im just looking for some practical insight from those who have experienced this. My husband has no outward symptoms and I know thinks Im just blowing things out of proportion so I guess Im looking for some validation from the outside world. Ive definately done my homework and know the typical signs but would SO appreciate your input. The itching is so horrible sometimes and I am concerned that now I may be developing a bladder infection. I must sound very self absorbed and realize that I am just the tip of the iceberg. I hope I will be able to encourage someone else at some point. Thank you for your input. MS.

[WaxedWrong]

yes its possibly that u are having back to back outbreaks, and if you have the bumps/sores at the moment, having a blood test done will also catch a post, so if u cant get a swab done demand a blood test.

just find a dif doc, or got the gyno, having a doctor that actually listens to what you want/need, is the best thing u can really have.

[Ms.Informed]

Thanx for your input. Im reading more and more as time goes by about women who have the exact same symptoms that I do. How long can it go on(ob). What a shock after 22 years of marriage! ms.

[WaxedWrong]

yea, it really does suck how this virus can be mia, for years, then all of a sudden pop up like its fresh.

ive had obs last a month, or just a week, my first one though- i could have sworn that i had a 2nd while having that one, like it looked like it was getting better then all of a sudden, just got worse again..

[Caliope]

Ms. I want to tell you what my experience has been. I never had an actual o/b until 2 years ago and it was very short but painful. Just one ulcer. In January I had a "huge and ongoing" o/b that is just now 99% clear just a little residual redness and little itching.

I know that the event in January was a direct result of stress and emotions. I was really freaking out.

Since January I started taking antivirals and began trying lots of things to help calm this down. I've researched about diet, triggers, otc, rx, creams, homeopathic, vitamins etc. and tried some.

What I think has worked for me is avoiding things that have in the past given me allergic type reactions such as corn, nuts, eggs, legumes, beans, peas and chocolate. I stopped using artificial sweeteners. I am taking the daily suppressive acyclovir. I have Abreva on hand if I think a blister is coming because I read that it can cut down on transmission by putting a shield around the blister. I am taking daily vitamins again. Vitamin C with Bioflavanoids, Calcium with D, Vitamin E, and L-Lysine with B-6.

I am drinking tons of water and I've been indulging in leisurely baths sometimes with epsom salts and sometimes with organic vinegar added. For the itching that isn't accompanied by a blister I am using a little bit of cortisone cream (my dr. said not to use it on an outbreak). I quit taking my daily allergy meds to see if they make any difference and added them back one at a time - when I take my 10 mg. claritin it seems to cut down on the itching.

I just got over pneumonia and had to take Azithromax and it is a heavy duty antibiotic and gave me a big time yeast infection. It scared me because it wasn't so different than my giant outbreak so I did get a pill from my dr to help with this but was warned that the yeast might be a problem for several weeks. When I read up on natural cures it dawned on me that maybe the yeast came on so quick because it has been hanging around perhaps from the herpes though I'm only guessing on this so I started taking huge doses of probiotic's and eating foods with live yogurt cultures. Then I actually used some plain, fat free, organic yogurt and mixed it with sterilized water and used it as a douch for 2 days in a row and I was amazed because everything down there started to really calm down. I know that is weird but I read that the lactobaccillus has special antibiotic/antiviral properties.

I am planning to continue with the acyclovir, the diet and the vitamins and I will continue taking the probiotics for several months. I feel really happy today because it feels like I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I had one almost constant o/b for 2 entire months and I'm very optimistic. I even made it back to the gym last night for a light workout which is something I've missed terribly because it helps so much with stress elevation.

Good luck you are welcome to contact me if you want to chat about what I tried that worked and maybe the stuff that didn't.

[Ms.Informed]

Are there any typical symptoms...

Interesting how stress, diet and immunology all go together isnt it. I have been very dismayed at the fact that my dr. would say that what I was describing was herpes but since I had no open sores and I had been experiencing symptoms for weeks now that she would not test until I had an open sore to swab. It is obviously futile to belabor my dr.s poor handling of my illness but that doesnt stop me from wanting some definate closure on the subject which I will try to get through the public health nurse next week. I have read of many women who have not experienced any sores during an ob and that first obs can last for weeks. So many people are writing to this forum in search of some validation while they wait for another ob for a swab, or blood test results. To have those of you who take the time to try and answer the same questions over and over is of enourmous worth. Think you for taking the time to address my situation. I welcome any input or suggestions regarding personal experiences, successful treatment strategies, or sharing similar symptoms. Thanx, Caliope I look forward to your advice.We seem to have quite a bit in common in regards to our symptoms. Ms.

[Caliope]

I never had typical symptoms - if this is something I got from my ex husband over 10 years ago. Itching that is it and some weird tingling and I thought it was a negative side effect of liposuction that I had in the 90's. It felt like I could never itch the itch because it was hidden deep inside. For this I saw numerous drs and allergists and no help.

If this is something I contracted from my current bf of 2 years which corresponds to my first ob then it took a swab test to get a pos test result. My bf has had the blood tests many times and they have been negative going back to my first ob. But... lets just say that his previous partner gave this to him right before we got together and the antibodies just didn't show up in the blood test. Possible. He said he'd been with someone two weeks before he and I had sex and he insisted it was safe but he and I had unprotected sex for the 2 years since I had the first ob and he's never had an itch or a blister or anything. I doubt we could be that lucky.

I never got a fever. I never had leg pains. I didn't have huge blisters until the 2nd ob but I was so very emotional and losing my mind that I think I caused it. Okay so I crawled into bed in a fit of anger and despair and screamed until I was ready to pass out and the next day huge ob. Major huge. I felt like Satan moved into my vagina. It was on fire. I had discharge I was a mess from crying already and dehydrated. I itched like crazy and got yeast meds and they burned when I applied them. The next day blisters everywhere. They kept coming on for weeks.

I am in heaven now and it doesn't even bother me that my period started yesterday. The itching is almost gone. My skin isn't red and inflamed anymore and I feel happy. I promised myself no more temper tantrums even if I am all alone - they are simply not worth it.

[Healing]

Finding the positive...

Caliope, you seem like you have learned a lot about yourself going through this. One thing that I think we can all learn through this unfortunate experience is how to take care of ourselves and how to deal with stress. I was diagnosed last week and I am trying to see any positive through this. I too did not have any blisters but redness, tingling and itching. My doctor says that some people only have one breakout. I am hoping to be one of those. Can anyone answer the question as to when you are contagious. What I am reading is that you are always contagious. My doctor says that is not true and that it is only when you are shedding which I understand to be when you are beginning to feel symptoms. Can anyone shed some light on the truth here?

[BoxofRain]

shedding occurs a certain percentage of the time when not outbreak is present... some people will argue it is only a small percentage of the time but everyone is different so there is no way to say that is true and use it as a guideline.....someone could shed 1% of the time, another person 15% of the time without an outbreak.......theres just no way to say or know. Also, you can shed and not know and not get an outbreak or signs of one anytime near when you are shedding ,.....that is why having this sucks so bad. Its like russian roulette.....as I have said before. It always being potentially contagious aspect that makes it so hard to accept. ....but that is the truth.....there are crazy statistics that show that well over half of the people infected with this were infected when their partners showed no signs or symptoms of having the virus and that is why so many people dont think they could possibly ever have this and come to find out via blood tests one random day that they have had it in their bodies and never knew. It is such an advanced virus when it comes to invading our bodies silently so often.

[Healing]

thanks Box of Rain for the info. What I'm hearing is that you are always potentially contagious? So, making best friends with condoms is what my life will be like, unless, of course I become committed seriously to someone and they do not mind taking the risk? Is that it in a nutshell? Why would my doctor repeat so emphatically that only if I am feeling symptoms coming on am I contagious? With this being such a serious disease there sure are way too many different stories out there. Is it also true that H can go into what is like a remission for many yrs and at that time you are not contagious? Please help, I need more facts! Trying to understand. Also, is there good factual reading material out there? Thanks.

[Theo]

also newly diagnosed

From what I am reading, even using condoms does not protect you. my outbreak is outside of my vagina so it would still rub on someones skin. I have heard that it is contact from the viral shedding that causes someone else to get it. I also wonder how you know this viral shedding is happening. I don't think they really know. The stats are all different. The way I think you must look at this is trial and error. Maybe after a few outbreaks, we will get to know what it feels like to have an outbreak coming on. I am completely stunned by how easily it is contracted and I don't think the docs really know that much. I had a 'pimple' last year and told my doc. she said it was probably an ingrown hair.....

I am not in a relationship and haven't had a bf for 5 years. I've cried and sobbed and even felt suicidal. I have always put alot of emphasis in my life on my sexuality...and it has obviously got me into this mess. Looking for love in literally all the wrong places. I need to focus on me differently now and respect myself more. I hope this helps.

[Healing]

Hi Theo, Are you recently dx after being celibate for 5 yrs? I am wondering b/c I was in a recent relationship after being celibate for 4 yrs. I had my first outbreak 2 mos after breaking up with him. However, I remember showing the doctor a bump many yrs ago which he said was an ingrown hair. I am pretty certain that I got it from this past relationship, however, since he neglected to tell me till the end of our relationship that he had had a former girlfriend dx with herpes and didn't use protection with her. NIce, huh? I am also one who has made some not so good choices in men in the past. I think it will be different from this point forward. There is no way around that now. I am trying to see the positive in this and thinking that this will now bring into my life a more sincere and mature type of person to have a long term relationship with.