1. Community
  2. Infections
  3. Genital Herpes Simplex

How long?

Posted , 3 users are following.

hello321
hello321

Recently diagnosed 26 yo single male with Genital Herpes because I had an outbreak. I Moved thousands of miles away from my friends and my family to go to school and got into a protected one night stand, except the oral... I feel depressed, hopeless, and tired everyday. I dont want to get out of bed in the mornings and feel like this is a bad dream I cant wake up from. I know I need to be strong, but I can only imagine the difficulties I will face in finding a long term relationship without lowering my standards. Maybe Im being pessimistic but this is the crummiest Ive ever felt. Im not going to lie to myself and tell myself that my life is better now that I have this, I truly do not know what to do. Call me shallow, but if the women I slept with told me she had HSV i would have never slept with her. Im sure this is the way 90% of the population feels. I feel lonely at night and cry sometimes. This may hit a soft spot but the truth hurts. The happy life I used to have is gone forever, I have a disease now. Feel like part of me is gone forever and on top of that my weiner hurts and I have headaches and even my lesions are gone. Everyday Im praying for a cure and research advancement. Hopefully within the next 10 years they will have made something to make this a non-communicable disease.

To get to my question, how long do outbreaks occur for? Do they generally subside for most people after 5 years? I know there people with chronic cases but after 10-15 years are most people still having frequent symptoms? i.e. lesions, nerves on fire.  Will I one day be able to have unprotected sex again with a low risk of transmission (long term partner). Also, when can i stop taking antivirals? I refuse to take them everyday for the rest of my life.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • FelizCastus
    FelizCastus hello321

    Posted

    If it is indeed gHSV1 from oral sex, then most people barely get recurrences, maybe just once a year, if that. (That applies to most people, not all, mind you.) gHSV1 is also harder to transmit via intercourse. Of the two HSV types, it is by far the better one to have genitally. However, the first outbreak can be terrible. Were you swab tested to confirm that it is gHSV1?
    • hello321
      hello321 FelizCastus

      Posted

      thank you for replying. The woman I slept with turned up positive for hsv-2. I was swabbed but turned up negative because the lesions did not break open. Doc said false negatives are common if the sample does not have fluid on it. I turned up low positive for HSV igM 1/2 combo.i know condoms only reduce the risk, but the area that I received lesions on made no contact with her genitals. She was asymptomatic and never had a breakout
    • FelizCastus
      FelizCastus hello321

      Posted

      HSV2 is nearly always genital. Even when it's oral, it is rarely found in the mouth, as it sheds very infrequently there in most cases. If she has genital HSV2, it's not the oral sex you have to worry about, but intercourse. Condoms help, but not fully. Not having an outbreak at the time helps, but does not mean she was not asymptomatically shedding, but the odds are better at least.

      The IgM test is unreliable for herpes and prone to false readings. Disregard the results and only test for IgG antibodies going forward (3-month test window). I would imagine the swab test should still be okay, and if the doctor was that concerned, he should have broken open a sore!

  • angel12471
    angel12471 hello321

    Posted

    It is more common than you thin . There's tons of people on here with herpes. Imagine the people out there that may not even know it. I'm 20 years old and had had a breakout down there, and my doctor said that it looked to be herpes, but he never tested me. Going within the next few weeks to take a igG test and see. I too, feel miserable and worthless knowing this. I know where you're coming from and it is a reliever to have others to talk to that relate. My doctor gave me 5 days worth of Anti-Virals and my breakout cleared up between 2-3 days and I've not had a problem of it since.. I wish you luck! And there's always people here to talk to if needed!

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.