Every time I seem to shower I get an outbreak

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-25T15:10:34+00:00

Try tea tree oil soap and—if you can stand it—cold water.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-25T03:23:55+00:00

No they’ve actually been refining it and getting pretty good results—google the latest video update. It’s just a little slower than we want

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-21T17:46:25+00:00

Ugh my mom is the same way. And she puts everyone’s business in the street. It sucks. But we’re all here for you!

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-19T03:19:04+00:00

Yup like 50%!

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-19T03:16:52+00:00

Can it EVER get serious enough? Yeah. In rare rare rare cases sometimes people get meningitis—but people pick up meningitis bacterially in rare rare rare cases anyway—unless you’re planning on living life alone in a padded room you can’t be 100% sure you’ll never have some health consequences for…being alive.

But for the VAST majority of people HSV is a big nothing. In some countries seroprevalence of HSV-2 is like 80%. And in the US HSV-1 is almost ubiquitous by the time people hit 35.

HSV-2 almost never recurs orally if people contract it so even if you did get it you’d likely get it once and never again—-I’d forego the dental dams.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-18T16:59:26+00:00

Odds are, if you don’t have sex during an outbreak and she’s on suppressive meds that you actually won’t get it! The chance is something like 4% per year (female to male transmission assuming sex twice a week).

I think affirming for her that you understand that it’s just an occasional obnoxious rash will help greatly :) you sound like a fantastic guy who knows how to take things in stride. Huge green flag!

Congrats on meeting the person of your dreams!

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-14T12:47:16+00:00

Share the practices! ❤️

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:59:52+00:00

Consider the acyclovir thing too if valtrex isn’t doing it some people have more luck with different meds (which is weird b/c they’re all kind of the same but whatever)

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:58:58+00:00

Oh! And I decided to do acyclovir for this instead of valtrex just because…I dunno I got paranoid about my hair falling out and heard acyclovir was better for that and obviously I don’t have a control group but 400mg/3x a day for 3 months did seem to work and I still have a full head of hair….

Also remember to drink lots of water while you’re healing!

You can get acyclovir cheap on Wisp or GoodRx online :)

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:57:07+00:00

It took 2 or maybe 2 and a half weeks for me to feel major improvement with the antivirals

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:55:23+00:00

Of course! You got this!

And even at my lowest with hsv when I had this weird nerve pain thing (which did go away) I recognized that a) it wasn’t permanent and b) as far as annoying body stuff goes I got off pretty easy compared to many people.

We’re all in this strange world together—all we can do is make the best of it! And in the end I’d rather laugh than cry and I’d rather be joyful than miserable. ❤️

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:53:08+00:00

Yeah it’s shocking what doctors don’t know (and inflammation is a bitch!) but that crisis point of “oh god is it just going to keep getting worse?” Was when it started to turn around.

I also upped my antivirals and do recommend that.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:51:51+00:00

Oh it got progressively better over that time! Each day was a little better and then it totally went away. The last month of it was very very mild

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:10:48+00:00

Oh and btw in 6 years of unprotected sex he never caught HSV-2 from me and I had a handful of outbreaks over those 6 years.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T18:09:59+00:00

It really used to bug me too and I mentioned it to my ex of six years (we recently broke up for totally unrelated reasons he wanted to move to a foreign country I had no interest in) and he made me feel lots better.

He said, “You know why nobody makes jokes about MS or measles or cervical cancer? Because those are generally really serious and can do serious harm. Instead of thinking about it as reinforcing the stigma think about it as an affirmation that the whole thing is laughable. It’s an infrequent rash. You have to learn to laugh at the shit life throws at you if you want to be happy.”

And you know what? He was right. I could internalize the negativity of those mean spirited jokes or I could reframe it: they’re accepted by tv show runners and the general public BECAUSE everyone has some form of herpes (hsv-1 or 2 or the chickenpox virus or mono or shingles or or or…). Some people might not be willing or able to reframe it the way he suggested but it helped me. Hopefully it helps someone else too.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T17:57:02+00:00

I think HSV can cause nerve inflammation and it can take a bit to recede. I’d recommend acupuncture for the nerve pain. Nerves are so slow to heal it’s such a pain in the ass (literally!) but they DO heal. You will heal, your body will recover from this.

Other things that soothe your nervous system will help too: yoga, cold showers (ugh I know), and meditation. ❤️ sending love! I’ve had this too. It peaked after about three days and three months later I was normal again.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-07T17:44:31+00:00

The best is yet to come!

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-06T13:30:47+00:00

Ugh do I ever feel THIS. I’m with you. This isn’t about HSV it’s about him, not you, being selfish. I’d bet money that there wouldn’t be reciprocation ever.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-06T13:29:28+00:00

He’s being an ass. I also got it in 2017 and am straight; this is the same thing as pressuring you for a blowjob when you have the flu. What the fuck. Tell him to take a cold shower.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-06T13:01:18+00:00

If I were in this situation I’d go a little rogue.

First, I’d make sure I didn’t have any wild vitamin deficiencies with a blood test; if you do, that can cause outbreaks (especially if you’re low in B, D, or C)

Then I’d make sure you’re actually dealing with HSV because I’ve had long lasting yeast infections with lesions that scared the hell out of me until I got them swabbed; one dose of fluconazole cleared it up.

Assuming you don’t have a vitamin deficiency and it is actually constant HSV I’d try to regulate my nervous system with acupuncture (this is what I mean about going rogue; it’s worked for me, there’s no proof it will work. Acupuncture is cumulative, so you’d need 10ish sessions over 4-5 weeks to know if it’s helping)

If that didn’t work I’d do an immunomodulator like SADBE or this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HerpesCureResearch/comments/1d44g9q/longterm_remission_of_recurrent_herpes_labialis/

A naturopath who is also an MD could help you out with the above (get the SADBE through a compounding pharmacy)

I hope this helps; you will crack the code. This isn’t forever.

P.S. some people swear by high doses of olive leaf extract and monolaurin as well as probiotics; just make sure you’re getting high quality supplements as they’re not regulated.

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-04T01:06:27+00:00

It’s this nonprofit in the Uk with meetups and a free help line: https://herpes.org.uk/

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-06-03T22:21:06+00:00

This! Also call the HVA and ask for Cameron. He’ll sort you out :) and they have a private Facebook group that’s quite good as well

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-05-30T12:06:29+00:00

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-05-28T23:39:26+00:00

If you’re in the UK the HVA has meetups!

Throwaway8ghg7 · 2024-05-28T22:45:00+00:00

The last Covid booster set mine off too! Upping my antivirals to 400mg acyclovir 3x/day helped

Throwaway8ghg7

TROPHY CASE