4 years

[heartless369]

It's been 4 years since I was diagnosed with HSV and I still hate myself for having this. I don't get that many outbreaks anymore but taking anti-virals is just a daily reminder that I have this stupid infection. I can't even go on dates because of how gross I feel. I've gotten quite used to being alone/single but I do crave companionship sometimes. Oh well. Monastic life isn't the worst thing in the world...

[JBnATL]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having a hard time with this. Medically this isn't a very harmful virus. There are over 260 different viruses humans get and this one is quite tame. Be thankful you didn't get the flu virus. That virus kills 30,000 people a year.

Have you sought out others with this? There are support/social Herpster groups out there. Here are a couple of links for groups in AZ:

http://www.meetup.com/AZ-Heeps/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AZsingleswithHerpes/info

I too had a hard time when I was first diagnosed and what really helped me was meeting other people who had this. Seeing other, normal, people with this made me feel a lot better.

There are also many secret Herpster Facebook groups, most of which are based on geography. You won't find these groups by searching for them because they are secret. The ONLY way to see them is to be invited into them by a current member. The largest of these groups is called Swirls and has over 4,800 Herpsters in it. Swirls has a list of all the other groups and who the admins are for those groups. If you find another group you want to join, you just message that admin asking them to add you to their group. Most people create a fake profile to join these groups. They use their real first name and the name of their city as their last. Let me know if you are interested, I can get you into Swirls.

Good luck!

JB

[Gatorman]

You are not alone. I'm 12 years in and take valacyclovir every day.

[november13]

It's just a virus! Yes, the stigma is real and it sucks, but you can't let this ruin your life. Read the "secrets to our success" forum. You'll see that lots of people living with HSV find love and happiness. Four years is way too long to still feel gross about it.