hsv 2 transmission

[fakousha]

i've been diagnosed with HSV 2 and in fourteen months i've had three episodes.under the guidance of my doctor i've recently started taking Lovir (Acyclovir) - 400mg as suppressive therapy to reduce transmission to my girlfriend. i really dont want to transfer this to her so i'm looking for the best advice that i can find to keep this with me. so far i'm aware that the best efforts are suppressive therapy, condoms and avoiding contact while having lesions.
my questions are-
(1) regarding suppressve therapy which tablet is the best in terms of reducing transmission? (i've read of valtrex being more effective than the rest. any suggestion)
(2) how low can i reduce the rate of transmission using these methods?
(3) there are times that we slip and dont use condoms as we should, how great a risk do we run but having unprotected sex without the condoms but using the suppressive therapy and avoiding sex during symptoms?
(4)i've read that the symptoms decrease over time. in one year i've had two lesions. the second year has started and i've had one. given my rate of symptoms would i be on the tablets for the rest of my life or do i just take them for a time until i become asymptomatic? and even if i have no symptoms do i still take the tablets to reduce transmission until i die?
(5) if possible could you give me a general idea about the rates of transmission for hsv 2 taking preventative measures and without.

[gracefromHHP]

thank you for providing the info on how you were diagnosed.

if your partner was tested and is negative, discuss together what precautions you want to take together.

[fakousha]

i was diagnosed twice. one with a culture sample of the lesion, the second to confirm was a blood test several months later. my partner does not have it.

[gracefromHHP]

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/8280/how-should-I-treat-my-genital-herpes  is a prior journal post I made that I think you've find very helpful with your decision of how to treat your herpes.

how were you diagnosed as having hsv2?

has your gf been tested yet to know her own status?

if you and your gf did nothing but avoid sex anytime you had anything going on genitally, she'd be 90-92% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. if you throw in condom use and daily suppressive therapy too, then her risk decreases and she's 97-98% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you.

do ob's decrease over time? well not really for most folks. One study showed that after 5 years of being infected with hsv2, 25% of folks had more ob's, 25% had less ob's and all the rest had about the same number. The most important thing to remember is the number of recurrences you have is meaningless when it comes to transmission. You should the virus about the same amount whether you have 0 ob's a year or 10 ob's a year so if you have a partner you are trying to protect, daily suppressive therapy significantly reduces their risk.

grace