A Few Questions about Supressive Therapy

[earthzero]

My girlfriend was recently diagnosed with Genital HSV, but the doctors did not tell her if it was 1 or 2 because apparently they treat both types the same way (Valtrex). Regardless, she's getting her prescription sometime this week, and I am wondering when it would be safe to have sex with her. Obviously, we're not going to do it on the first day she gets them, but what would be a suitable amount of time to allow for Valtrex to do its job?

Sorry to make a new post Mods but my other one wasn't getting answers.

[waringblender]

What type(s) of HSV do you have, if any?

[waringblender]

Girlfriend needs to find out the type. It makes a difference. Find another doctor if they won't help her out with this.

[gracefromHHP]

When are you getting tested to know your own status?

grace

ps when you add a new question to your old thread - it bumps it up to the top again so everyone can see it.  

[earthzero]

I have Oral HSV1, and I am going to be tested with the IgG blood test sometime this week or next.

Also, she is wondering what Valtrex will do for her besides lessen ob's. Her first ob was so bad she had to go to the hospitol. She said it was the most terrible pain she'd ever felt, and I believe that. She could hardly walk it was so bad. Will Valtrex make them less severe, and if it can't, then what will?

[MacBernie]

What sort of pain was she experiencing that made her go to the hospital?

[auntiejessi]

Her first ob will be far and away the worst, and whether she's on valtrex or not, her subsequent obs will be less severe.  If she does get an ob while on valtrex, that will help prevent it from being severe as well.

The valtrex will help prevent further outbreaks, but if it turns out she has ghsv1, she might not ever get another one anyway.  

Aj

[earthzero]

Cheers for the replies.

Waring: Apparently, the culture which the diagnosis was based upon does not tell type, so therefore my girlfriend will need to go back in for a blood test. However, her doctor says it is NOT necessary since Valtrex works for both. She is debating whether or not it is worth the time and money to go get a blood test done somewhere else since the meds work for HSV1+2. If the meds work for both, then why is a type necessary?

MacBernie: She had terrible pain while urinating, like a burning sensation, and while I inserted my fingers into her, the same pain was apparent. It began with a terrible headache, then sores developed, which was misdiagnosed as a urinary tract infection. Antibiotics were given, but pain still continued. She roughly had pain for 3 weeks.

Thanks auntiejessi, you've been very helpful. I hate to see her suffer so, its really quite terrible business, but I'm letting her know that its not some type of social death sentance or leprosy, that it is treatable and manageable, and it could be cured in our lifetimes.

Cheers again for the replies!

[gracefromHHP]

I would assume absolutely nothing. At this point you both need to find out who has what.  You can't assume this really is a newly acquired infection for her that she got from you just based on severity of symptoms.  You two can't make educated decisions about precautions until you both know who has what. It's well worth the money.

grace

[waringblender]

This guy has clueless written all over him.  I don't think he gets that he has to get tested too. He's throwing it all on the girlfriend. Lots of selective reading going on here.

Both of you need to know which types of herpes you have. That is the only way to figure out what to do as far as your sex life is concerned.

[earthzero]

I am waiting for her to type it because I've never had an outbreak. I know that even without an outbreak viral shedding can occur, but does that mean that viral shedding can occur anywhere, not just on the penis? How will a blood test determine where and when viral shedding will happen?

I get cold sores infrequently, so I know that I have HSV1 oral. Does the blood test tell me if I have HSV1 genital or HSV2 oral/genital? I'm not mocking or arguing with you, and waring is quite right, I am clueless on how a IgG will tell me where I have herpes (if sores do not develop) and what I can expect for ob's. I have been reading quite a lot, and I believe it was grace who gave me a link to some website for herpes on my other post. It helped a lot, but it does not say much about those who don't have symptoms.

One more question. If you already have HSV in one place, could you get it in another place? Lets say you have genital HSV2, can it spread to your mouth, anus, eyes, or other orafice?

[gracefromHHP]

Blood tests tell you what you have but not where you have it.  Statistically since you already know you have hsv1 orally, your hsv2 would be genital should you test + for it.

if she tests hsv2+ on the blood test and you don't then you know she had it before she met you and just never knew it.  

Once you have herpes on one body part, it protects you from getting it another. It's not 100% protection but it's up there.

grace

[earthzero]

I have tested negative for herpes via IgG blood test. To ask for the name of the test escaped my mind at the moment, but he said its 95%+ reliable. I asked for numbers, but the doctor said it was below the detectivity threshold so I shouldn't worry. He reccomended coming in after 3 months for confirmation, but since girlfriend is now on suppressive therapy and I am DEFINETELY using a condom from now on, he said seroconversion is highly unlikely.

My only question thus far is this: my girlfriend is a virgin and I took her virginity. So, where could she have contracted her HSV from? It is possible I could've performed oral sex on her while I had a cold sore or was in prodrome for a sore to appear, but I have heard, read, and been told that Genital HSV-1 is uncommon but possible. Any theories?

Oh, and still waiting for her to type it...

[gracefromHHP]

She could have hsv1 genitally that she got from oral sex with you ( or any other partners she might've received oral from in the past ).  Even the best blood tests we have now still miss 1 out of every 10 hsv1 infections.  Until she finds out what type she has it's still a lot of guessing but that's the most likely scenerio.

grace

[earthzero]

Earlier you have stated that having HSV in one body part gives you an immunity to having it in another body part. She began suppressive therapy yesterday (Valtrex, and I'll post the dosage later today). When would it be safe to have sex again?

[gracefromHHP]

Yes - if you have hsv1 orally, you aren't likely to contract it later on genitally. It can happen but it's very unlikely to.

Are her symptoms completely healed yet?

If she really has hsv1 genitally, suppressive therapy probably isn't very worthwhile.

grace

[earthzero]

Her symptoms are completely healed, and I am planning on using protection. She has made an apointment to see her doctor next week to get it typed.

Would it be a safe bet to wait until we know what type it is before returning to our normal sex life or just use protection and suppressive therapy until then? I have been told that it takes time for medication to build up and do its job, and I am wondering if two days worth of Valtrex would offer sufficient suppression.

[waringblender]

Jesus Christ, do a little reading on your own, for pete's sake. We can't all hold your hand and answer every little question you have. Do you have ANY critical thinking skills at your disposal? Every one of your posts is a "what then" "what now" "what about this" "what about that" scenario.

Give it up and start doing some research on your own. Christ on a popsicle stick, I can't believe how many immature babies there are on this forum. You are obviously adult enough to be out there having sex, so why not just grow a pair and start acting like an adult and do some reading on your own.

You're going  around in circles about the testing, about this, about that, when all you have to do is go and get tested, use condoms, and figure out everything else when your test results come back. Did you always do this kind of major tap dancing with every other partner you've had? And did you know every other partner's herpes status? I'm guessing probably not.

If you have anxiety about having sex with a person with herpes, then release that person - let them go and  find somebody who ISN'T freaked out about it. You sound even more clueless now than you did before. Scary.

[gracefromHHP]

It takes 5 days until suppressive therapy starts to work however if she has hsv1 genitally - we have no data as to if it's effective in reducing transmission or not.  That said - just avoid sex whenever she has obvious genital symptoms.  Using a condom on top of that makes it very low risk that you'd contract herpes from her .  

grace

[earthzero]

Thanks for the help Grace.

And Waring, I did get tested and I was negative. I'm not so freaked out about it now because I have read that unprotected sex with suppressive therapy yields a <10% chance of shedding it per year.

About the cluelessness, I much more puzzled after I recieved my test results. If I didn't give them to her (which I was certain I did since I am her only sexual partner ever), then where the hell did they come from? I guess its not really that important of a question, since tracking down the progenator won't do anything, but it just raises more questions.

I understand that you're not here to answer every question, and I am willing to admit that I have been asking more questions than the typical user, but that is because I am ignorant of HSV. I look to people like you and Grace to help me so that I may help others like my girlfriend. I understand if I have strained you by asking for so much information. I have been doing research, such as reading over links provided in this thread and in Grace's journal entries. But the majority of my questions have been answered and I thank you for your assstance.

Cheers,
earthzero

[waringblender]

According to this thread, the medication kicks in after 1 day.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/369917

Which makes sense, of course, because the medication is used by your body and whatever is left over is flushed out each time you take it.

[gracefromHHP]

The studies have shown that it's effectively stopped shedding after 5 days of taking it suppressively. I believe HHH was saying that even after 1 day it would've been helping somewhat - not that it's ok to start taking it and assume your partner was covered by 1 day later.

also as I said - even the best blood tests still miss 1 out of every 10 hsv1 infections.  If she comes back as hsv1+ and she's never received oral sex from anyone but you I'd assume that was the situation here.

grace