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Strange herpes symptoms
My wife is having trouble herpes (at least that's what we think it is).
She definitely has herpes. She had an outbreak 10 or so years ago, and then maybe 2 more in the year after that, but nothing since then until this past November.
I've never had an outbreak at all, although we don't use condoms.
In November she had a relatively mild outbreak.
She thought it might just be a yeast infection, but it didn't respond to Monostat, so she went to the doctor, who diagnosed as herpes and prescribed Valtrex.
She took the Valtrex, and it helped, but then she started having what seemed like another outbreak.
She took more Valtrex, got some relief, but she still had a sort of intermittent irritation (she describes it as itching and a "twinge").
She went back to her Gynecologist who gave her Diflucan, thinking it might be a yeast infection, but that didn't help at all.
We both went to be tested for STIs, all results came back negative.
The Nurse Practitioner at the health clinic was of the opinion that is WAS herpes and recommended Valtrex as a suppressive therapy.
She's now been taking Valtrex daily for about 2.5 weeks, but it's not helping either!
In fact, this past week has been worse, and the only pattern we can see is that the "bad" days often occur shortly after we've had intercourse.
Can anyone offer any advice?
We're sort of running out of things for her to ask her doctor. : \
Thanks
Matt
She definitely has herpes. She had an outbreak 10 or so years ago, and then maybe 2 more in the year after that, but nothing since then until this past November.
I've never had an outbreak at all, although we don't use condoms.
In November she had a relatively mild outbreak.
She thought it might just be a yeast infection, but it didn't respond to Monostat, so she went to the doctor, who diagnosed as herpes and prescribed Valtrex.
She took the Valtrex, and it helped, but then she started having what seemed like another outbreak.
She took more Valtrex, got some relief, but she still had a sort of intermittent irritation (she describes it as itching and a "twinge").
She went back to her Gynecologist who gave her Diflucan, thinking it might be a yeast infection, but that didn't help at all.
We both went to be tested for STIs, all results came back negative.
The Nurse Practitioner at the health clinic was of the opinion that is WAS herpes and recommended Valtrex as a suppressive therapy.
She's now been taking Valtrex daily for about 2.5 weeks, but it's not helping either!
In fact, this past week has been worse, and the only pattern we can see is that the "bad" days often occur shortly after we've had intercourse.
Can anyone offer any advice?
We're sort of running out of things for her to ask her doctor. : \
Thanks
Matt
Your wife needs to go and get a more thorough work up done. Do you know if they are properly testing her for yeast or just guessing that it's yeast and throwing things at her to see if they work? Even though she knows she has herpes ( though yes I"m still a bit hazy on the testing you've both had done from your posts too ), that doesn't mean that everything that goes on in her genital area is due to herpes. I know it's a pain going back every 2-4 weeks but it's worth it to find out what is really going on. Herpes will not cause redness and pain all the time like this nor will it cause twinges all the time either.
grace
grace
For some people with Herpes there doesn't have to be an actual outbreak for sensations of tinging and itching to be present at the affected site very few people have identical symptoms ..... Herpes lives in the nerve paths and therefore can activate without actually breaking out and sometimes sex can cause this to happen particulary if the area is drier than it should be during intercourse so using a lube may help in terms of her discomfort following sex as it may be causing slight trauma to sensitive areas, I would suggest she carries on with the Suppressive Therapy for a while to see if this settles down any, in the meantime she should keep in touch with her Doctors and keep them up to speed with whats happening on what seems to be a fairly regular basis at the moment ..... If you are using condoms it might also be an idea to switch brands as she may be having an allergic reaction to the ones you're using at present ......
I'm just trying to throw around some ideas for you to think about that may be causing this particualrly when it seems to be soon after sex so trying a few of the options I've mentioned may or may not help but worth a try I would think ......
Daisy
I'm just trying to throw around some ideas for you to think about that may be causing this particualrly when it seems to be soon after sex so trying a few of the options I've mentioned may or may not help but worth a try I would think ......
Daisy
Sorry if my post in response seemed abrupt. It was not meant to.
Here's the deal:
10 or so years ago my wife was diagnosed with herpes, so I know that she has the virus.
What I'm not sure about is if her current symptoms are being caused by herpes.
Her symptoms, occasional itching and a "twinge" have not been cleared up by treatment for herpes, nor have they been helped by treatment for yeast.
I am encouraging her to go back to her doctor ASAP, but she's frustrated, and I thought perhaps someone would have some ideas about the pattern of her symptoms.
Here's the deal:
10 or so years ago my wife was diagnosed with herpes, so I know that she has the virus.
What I'm not sure about is if her current symptoms are being caused by herpes.
Her symptoms, occasional itching and a "twinge" have not been cleared up by treatment for herpes, nor have they been helped by treatment for yeast.
I am encouraging her to go back to her doctor ASAP, but she's frustrated, and I thought perhaps someone would have some ideas about the pattern of her symptoms.
QUOTE FROM YOUR FIRST POST : My wife is having trouble herpes (at least that's what we think it is). She definitely has herpes.
Please do not take your frustration out on me or anyone else who comes to this Forum to try to help that is unacceptable ..... I suggest YOU re-read your first post as it it confusing to those of us who do not fully know your situation since it it not particularly clear.
Myself and a lot of others use up a lot of their free time trying to help people like yourself so please be at least a little appreciative of that ......
Daisy
Please do not take your frustration out on me or anyone else who comes to this Forum to try to help that is unacceptable ..... I suggest YOU re-read your first post as it it confusing to those of us who do not fully know your situation since it it not particularly clear.
Myself and a lot of others use up a lot of their free time trying to help people like yourself so please be at least a little appreciative of that ......
Daisy
At this point, you still don't have a recent test to back the herpes diagnosis (unless it was in fact cultured or an IgG type specific blood test was done 10 years ago).
An easy way to find out is for her to in fact get an an IgG blood test.
She still might have something else going on as well - I know I always get a yeast infection that seems to sprout up at the tail end of a herpes outbreak.
An easy way to find out is for her to in fact get an an IgG blood test.
She still might have something else going on as well - I know I always get a yeast infection that seems to sprout up at the tail end of a herpes outbreak.
In your first Post you said you both thought it was Herpes you then said she definately has Herpes ???? .....
How was she diagnosed ?
If she is having itching and twinges this usually happens during what is called the "prodrome period" which is the days prior to an outbreak actually happening,in some cases the outbreak may not even happen but this is usually a warning that the virus is active, I would still suggest next time there is a lesion that she has it culture swabbed .....
If her outbreaks are becoming fairly regular it's best for her to stay on Suppressive Therapy for a while to see if this lessens them for her if not she needs to go back to her Doctor or STD Clinic for further advice on how to manage things ......
Sometime sex can in fact trigger outbreaks also if she is stressing over the number of outbreaks that has a knock on effect because Herpes loves stress so the trick is to stay as relaxed and chilled as possible rather than getting all agitated about it,I know it's not pleasant but truly stressing doesn't help.
Daisy
How was she diagnosed ?
If she is having itching and twinges this usually happens during what is called the "prodrome period" which is the days prior to an outbreak actually happening,in some cases the outbreak may not even happen but this is usually a warning that the virus is active, I would still suggest next time there is a lesion that she has it culture swabbed .....
If her outbreaks are becoming fairly regular it's best for her to stay on Suppressive Therapy for a while to see if this lessens them for her if not she needs to go back to her Doctor or STD Clinic for further advice on how to manage things ......
Sometime sex can in fact trigger outbreaks also if she is stressing over the number of outbreaks that has a knock on effect because Herpes loves stress so the trick is to stay as relaxed and chilled as possible rather than getting all agitated about it,I know it's not pleasant but truly stressing doesn't help.
Daisy
Thanks for the advice. The problem is that she isn't having any lesions right now, just itching and "twinges". She has definitely been diagnosed with herpes in the past.
Tell your wife to go to the STD/GUM Clinic DURING an outbreak and ask to have the lesions culture swabbed that will tell you for sure whether it is Herpes or not,the tests that were done may not have included HSV which is not part of routine STD screening she would have to specifically ask to have Herpes included and if she didn't the chances are she's not been tested for it at all ....
Daisy
Daisy
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
