I just STOPPED taking birth control pills afterbeing on them for 15 years. I got my first herpes outbreak because I stop using birth control pills. My hormones are all thrown off. I'm at menstruating five days on, five days off, five days on, five days off.....
Going OFF the pill made me have my first outbreak ever and realize I need to go to the doctor to get checked for herpes!!!
I have genital herpes (thought that was HSV-2 and HSV-1 is the cold sore one? anyway). contracted it 3 years ago, and really struggled to get rid of it cos of having psoriasis too (bloody skin diseases together - not good)
i kept having outbreaks, but (fingers crossed) haven't had one for a while, probably well over a year. i am just about to go on the pill (tomorrow!) so will be very interesting indeed to see what happens, if my herpes re-attacks or not. i will post if anything happens. making my own medical science!
with the whole cheating issue, it can lie dormant and be triggered later on. it is most commonly triggered (if triggered at all) 2 weeks to 1 month after catching it, but with me i had no idea if my boyfriend at the time gave it to me or not, cos i was taking some stressful exams! he tested negative for every sti (didn't have the blood test though, although i do think it's still hard to find even with blood)...but still i just had a feeling it was him, and didn't get angry really cos how was he to know and i needed his support. though when i was better, i gave him a massive "use-condoms-in-your-one-night-stands-you-****" talk. (unfortunately can still be transmitted with them though, damn!)
anyway, i heard rumours that in around 30 years or so, over 50% of us will have it. let's hope they don't show symptoms like we have!
Hi I'm Stephanie. I've had Herpes for 6 years now and have out breaks about once a month. I have noticed a pattern that might help you all. I am on the pill and have been for 6 years but when I come of the pill for my week break to have a period... i get an outbreak. It's the hormones in our body that go into overload when we have a period that triggers an episode. I am on Aciclovir and it works wonders. It won't kill herpes for good but it keeps them at bay, especially when you have just started a new relationship and you're not quite ready to tell your partner :) I'm thinking about taking Aciclovir as soon as i come of the pill and then stop taking it once i am back on the pill. Everyone is different and eventually you will understand what works for you. One year i had 2 episodes, the other i had 20, and you don't always need to be run down or stressed for Herpes outbreak to occur. I hope this helps.
yasmin messes with your hormones a lot. why not talk to your provider about changing to a different pill like plain ole ortho novum or something ( also WAY cheaper too )?
grace
Just as grace stated in this post, having herpes doesn't mean everything down yonder IS herpes. HSV1 should not at all cause frequent OBs. Follow-up with your provider when you are symptomatic to test for yeast/bacteria.
Hi Vic,
I was also diagnosed with genital HSV1 -around a 18 months ago and have been trying to find out if the pill has been making my outbreaks more frequent as well. I was on Yasmin for almost the entire year last year and had almost constant pain and discomfort. When I decided to go off it for a few months I noticed things seemed to improve however I am now back on it and experiencing the same ongoing problems as before.. now I am also wondering if Yasmin could increase symptoms??
hello,
i'm actually trying to research why (for me) i have had H2 for 6 years...(no outbreaks since first 2 years) and recently went off the pill in August and have had about 3 outbreaks!!! i'm like what the hell?? i went so long so now i'm wondering if my outbreaks are hormone related? almost want to go back on the pill but would like to have a baby sometime soon! confused....
Hi Grace,
I have just been diagnosed with HSV-I and had an awful first breakout of genital herpes. I have never been in so much pain in my life....My current boyfriend is ademant he has not contracted herpes but willingly had a blood test done with his doctor. We still await the reply. I believe you can only do a swap test if you have an open sore so a blood test might not confirm he has herpes or is a carrier is that correct?
I have not slept with anyone else in 2 years so he is likely the one who has give me the STD. Understandably i am very angry with him.. but if he never knew it is difficult for him to deal with as well. Apparently he has has cold sores.. but his doctor brushed them off as cancer sores... are they really that similar?
Sorry to ramble on.. i too take Yasmin but have not had a second outbreak as yet.. should i switch tablets to avoid increased chaces of outbreaks?
Thanx
Coco
just because you had a swab from your first ob that said herpes -doesn't mean that these are all herpes too. It's never a bad idea to get fresh symptoms recultured just to make sure it's still all herpes going on. Jasmin is reknown for causing issues in some women who use it - vaginitis being the biggest issue. It's not like a regular bc pill that just controls estrogen and progesterin levels - it also affects your androgens ( another type of hormone ).
No issues between a kidney infection and the herpes antivirals. They do not affect the kidneys!!!
grace
Hi Grace
I aready had a swab from my 1st active ob, so know I do have herpes. That is interesting about vaginitis though, I'll try to get checked out again. I haven't put TTO direcly on it, only a few drops in my bath which seems to help.
yes I think I may need to consider suppresive therapy. I was hoping not to have to though, as earlier this year I had a very bad kidney infection and am worried about any cross indications.
Kate
I encourage you to go back to your provider and get looked at. If you can do it when you have an active ob even better. Don't put any TTO on the ob either - go be seen and get it swabbed to confirm it's herpes. Also get tested for yeast and bacterial infections too. You can have ob's monthly but it's important to make sure that you don't have a vaginitis especially further complicating things. Vaginitis can trigger more frequent ob's as well as mimic them and it's incredibly common in us gals. It's not always accompanied by discharge and/or odor either. About half of gals with bv are asymptomatic but bv has been shown to make herpes more active.
Also even though I already said in another thread how much I like TTO - it is a frequent cause of allergic reactions. Anytime you seem to notice that things get worse after using it - stop using it.
Have you thought about suppressive therapy too?
grace
Hi Grace
Sorry if this sounds silly but what do you mean by a 'work up'? I was diagnosed last year, but didn't get any ongoing support or advice from the STD clinic. My doctor was sympathetic but not that knowledgable. I am just trying to manage it as best I can with salt or tea tea oil baths as an when it arises.
thanks for any advice you can give,
Kate.
No actually monthly ob's are not common during the first year. What sort of work up have you been thru?
grace
Hi Vic
I saw your comment and wanted to contact you. I too have genital herpes (caught it in November last year) and have been getting an outbreak every month ever since. I too am on the Yasmin contraceptive pill and last month had an outbreak the first day of my pill-free week. I am finding it hard to tell what is causing me so many outbreaks, as I am currently v stressed as am going through a divorce, also I have heard from a friend that monthly outbreaks are quite normal in the first year. I'd be very interested to hear whether your outbreaks have calmed down after coming off the pill?
cheers,
Kate
Lysine doesn't do much either- chances are good it was coincidence more than anything.
Switch to acyclovir - you take it less often and it really works for both ob's and shedding for the next time you get into a relationship.
Also yasmin messes with your hormones and frequently causes vaginitis in gals. You might want to try a different pill. I also really, really LOVE taking the pill non-stop for 3 months so I hardly ever get periods when I'm on it. Who needs them? That too helps with acne.
grace
Thanks Grace, I will finish the Herp-eeze I bought and then forget them I had been using Super Lysine which seemed to be helping but after reviews switched to Herp-eeze.
Was tested and clear for all other STD's and haven't had sex since!! This whole experience is putting me off for life!!
I definitely know its a herpes outbreak because I have 3 open sores.
I am going to come back off the pill. After the initial outbreak I wasn't on the pill and was taking Super Lysine and I had no problems. But went on pill and herp-eeze and it has def triggered something. I am not run down, I'm working out, getting enough sleep so the constant flair ups are a real pain.
Thanks for your advice
herpeeze is a waste of time and money.
have you been to your provider for further work up to make sure there's nothing other than herpes going on down yonder? vaginitis is a common culprit - it can trigger ob's as well as mimic them. You don't always have obvious discharge or odor either. Due to the way yasmin works it's not uncommon for that to trigger vaginitis either in some gals.
grace