Angry-Suspicious-Angry

[7wcns]

20 plus years ago a during a D&C I had a biopsy of my cervix which showed HSV-1...never any symptoms. My husband has frequent cold sores, so I assumed that was why.

Now 22 years later, I have genital herpes outbreak...very, very painful. I feel physically horrible. But since he has been rather distant, not loving the last several months, it has made me very suspicious.

Is this from what I had back 20 years ago? Or is this HSV-2 and has he been with someone else? I am freaked and angry. How could this be dormant for 20 years? Or is this from "oral" when we did not know he had a cold sore?

I am confused and angry. I just found out. He does not know this yet...will be home soon. I had blood work and cultures to ensure there are not any other STD surprises.

Thanks for letting me vent. After 30 plus years of marriage and always being faithful, this is tough. I cannot stop crying. It has got to get better.

me

[thiscantbe]

When you went to get blood work and cultures, do you know if they are testing you for HSV2 (probably by painfully poking a lesion and by bloodwork)?

That may help answer some of your questions. There is no way to tell by the symptoms of an outbreak what type of herpes it is... hopefully you will not find HSV2...

If your husband has been distant and unloving, that in itself could be putting you under a lot of stress, perhaps triggering an outbreak. If you start reading people's experiences here on the forums, the virus really does seem to be able to be latent for years and years and then pop back up, or maybe like you say, he was contagious during recent oral sex. There are some people who have been married for years and years, and one partner has oral hsv1 but has had no outbreaks since childhood, and then out of the blue, with no outbreak, the hsv1 positive person passes it on genitally to their spouse.

I really hope that your worst fears aren't confirmed and that things work out for you.

[BoxofRain]

make sure the blood testing tests for type 1 and type 2 to find out if you have both types or just the hsv1......which if you only have type 1 then you know you have had it genitally all these years and it isnt something new. If it is hsv 2 then you may start to speculate. Hope it is just the hsv 1 flaring up again after all these years. Its actually quite common to go years and years without any symptoms until one random day years down the line when it flares up. Also, as people'es bodies get older their immune systems can become more weakened, which seems to be why some people who have had it without symptoms for years and years begin to have random outbreaks in their 40's, 50's, 60's and beyond when previously they did not have visible symptoms for very long times.....10+ years.....seems to be the case in a lot of stories on here.

[starphyse]

hsv1

Well if you do have hsv1 on your genital area its not really that bad the chance of a ob from hsv1 on your genital is unlikely but not unheard of. Same with hsv2 my girlfriend has hsv2 and if I were to do oral sex I could get it on my mouth but chances of it spreading or having a ob are far less the if I had hsv1 on mouth.

Least thats what my research shows.

[Caliope]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and take the speculation out of the equation.

If you have been married for 30 years I'm gonna guess that it is possible that you are at that point in life where your hormones are changing. Hormones can be a huge factor in ob's.

Other factors that could cause an ob are dietary changes, changes in medication and stress.

He could be less loving because of his own changing hormones or possibly emotional reasons.

I'd go and get some herpes specific blood work completed or hopefully a swab of the actual ob and this should provide some clarification of whether it is still the hsv 1.

[starphyse]

Also usually they can find out if you have had it for awhile by antibodys but not all doctors go that far. Hopefully you have a nice one.

[7wcns]

Questions

I really appreciate the input from all of you. First of all I had lab work done for both one and two, plus a litney of other STDs. Also, they did testing of the actual lesion...however he said it looked like a cut...I thought a herpes lesion looked more like a cold sore not a cut.

Also, I have a very personal question...I have a thick yellow discharge, which I cannot find as a symptom of herpes. Also, I have been on Valtrex for 4 days, and no change in my symptoms. If I have herpes, when should expect this medication to start working.

FYI to the menopause question....believe it or not, I went into menopause before the age of 30...a fluke.

And as far as my husband and I are concerned, we had a good talk, and hopefully this actually helped us clear the air. So I can look at this as one positive out of this mess.

Last but not least, thanks for listening.

[starphyse]

Well the medication will help relief symptoms but if its really herpes you will have to wait for your immune system to kick in which depends on you. If you stay calm and healthy it won't be as bad. Also the yellow discharge and don't credit me to this im no doctor its a symptom of gonorrhea but you will find out all that when you get your bloodwork back.

Keep high up cheer up big hugs if you have any questions ask on forums but make sure you ask your doctor all the questions too and if you need any support or anything feel free to ask away.

Hugs

[Caliope]

symptoms

many women on this list struggle with a discharge and it is very likely a symptom of an internal ob of hsv. I have heard it described in differing ways. It is always important to get a medical opinion if symptoms are lasting longer than a week.

As for the "cut" many women also describe having symptoms of an ob that manifest as resembling a paper cut.

Personally I have found that from day to day year to year things are always different. Just when I think I can predict what is happening I see something new.

Don't be surprised to have ob's that are just itching or just redness. Don't be surprised that the dr's won't consider them ob's. You can get lesions and sores and ulcers and even little blisters and have them take turns or not have any at all.

Things to watch out for are when the symptoms are not healing properly and redness and pain are increasing - this can indicate a bacterial infection is taking place and you should see your dr. Most of this is very manageable at home by keeping the area clean and dry. Wear loose comfortable clothing and take warm soothing baths and dry off with a hair dryer on cool. If you have actual sores or cuts or any of the above keep stuff dry but once there are scabs or signs of healing then you can begin to use stuff like a&d ointment or aloe etc.

my best to you.

[starphyse]

I thought I read somewhere too where you could put powder on the lesions to keep them dry? Not sure though. I need to learn all this stuff so I can help people in forums better and also so I am prepared in case I do get hsv2 from my gf. Not that I care still going unprotected ether way and full oral.

[7wcns]

Labs Back

Just received a call from the nurse, who said my blood work was negative for Herpes. Praise God! However, she said that sometimes there is a false negative in the blood work and so we needed to wait for the culture. Everything I have read has supported what she said...so I will wait and see...but feel good about this news.

Symptoms are same, so I am going back to GYN in the morning. Seeing a different one, mine is out of town. I like the idea of a second opinion.

Had to stop the Valtrex, allergic to it...so another reason I really hope I do not have Herpes.

But whether or not I have it, my heart goes out to all that do or are waiting to find out if they do. Our health is precious...but no matter what my results are I plan on having a positive attitude.

[starphyse]

Just received a call from the nurse, who said my blood work was negative for Herpes. Praise God! However, she said that sometimes there is a false negative in the blood work and so we needed to wait for the culture. Everything I have read has supported what she said...so I will wait and see...but feel good about this news.

Symptoms are same, so I am going back to GYN in the morning. Seeing a different one, mine is out of town. I like the idea of a second opinion.

Had to stop the Valtrex, allergic to it...so another reason I really hope I do not have Herpes.

But whether or not I have it, my heart goes out to all that do or are waiting to find out if they do. Our health is precious...but no matter what my results are I plan on having a positive attitude.

You can get other meds besides valtrax and there are herbals as well they are listed on this site.