now what???grace I could use your help

[what_to_do_now]

I was just told I have HSV 2 by my doctor today. The doctor had taken some swabs and cultured it and it showed that I have HSV 2. However he made me nervous as he confused me for a few mins with a girl he had tested before me who was raped but than confirmed the info he was looking at was mine.  I asked him if I should go for blood work and confirm this and he said no. He told me to go on famvir (think thats what it says his writing is a mess) when I feel an outbreak coming on. I have a few questions now that I was told I have this. 1) Is famvir the best thing to go on for this as I have a boyfriend (who is going to get tested now that I have this, but I am pretty sure he does not have this, as i am pretty sure it came from another guy and I don't want to infect him),   2) should I get blood tested or is a culture a good positive(like I said before he did mix me up for a few min)  3) with oral sex what are the chances of my boyfriend catching HSV 2 orally if he performs on me without protection. We are planning on using protection(dental dam) I just want to know the risk as I don't know enough about transmitting it orally. I am scared about all of this and it took me a while to tell my boyfriend and I am glad that he is willing to work through this with me, I don't know what I would do without him. Condoms hurt me badly when I use them dur to other issues i have and the thought of having to use them plus a dental dam is hard to take, I really feel unsexy to him now to have to make him work so much but I am glad he is willing to be there for me, so any help that you have that i can use to ease this I would love, thank you so much.

[gracefromHHP]

I'm all for suppressive therapy myself. If your man turns out not to have hsv2 then it would be worth it.  If he's also hsv2+ then it's up to you if you want to go on suppressive therapy or not.  Who needs more ob's than they have to is my motto but it's your choice. I still get ob's frequently when not on medication so I'm a little more gung ho about suppressive therapy than some folks with herpes are.  

Probably valtrex and acyclovir are the better herpes meds but famvir isn't too shabby either.  Research has found that when taken suppressively - valtrex delays the return of viral shedding a little longer than famvir and it also works better in infected folks who aren't having obvious recurrences of herpes.  It also only has to be taken once a day which is a bonus for suppressive therapy long term. Both acyclovir and famvir need to be taken twice daily for suppressive therapy  ( acyclovir is 3x/day for ob's and famvir is still 2x/day for ob's ).  Acyclovir is the cheapest choice.

Hope that helps :)

grace

[what_to_do_now]

Yes I have insurance and I have no problem with taking pills a few times a day specialy when I know it is helping me protect my man if he is not +. We have been together for the last 2 years and a few months and still going strong so I want the best med out there. It is just confusing as I have read the westover web page and they mention three drugs on the marked today, so I guess I want to know which one is best for protecting me and him. Now that I have read a bit more, I think I would like to go on a med all the time and not just when I feel a symptom, as I have read this helps to control it when your in a realtionship. What do you think?

[gracefromHHP]

Definitely the next step is getting your man tested for herpes. He'll need a type specific herpes igg blood test for hsv1 and hsv2. Once you know his status then you can better decide what precautions to take together ( if any ).  

Just to err on the side of caution - I'd call the clinic and ask them if they can mail you a copy of your herpes lesion culture results. The other option is to ask for a clinic nurse there to go over it with you.  Let them that now that you've been home you realize you still had questions so ask them to look up the lesion culture results, confirm that it's definitely hsv2+ and not just + for herpes and wasn't typed ( many providers just assume if it's genital it's hsv2 so they say that whether it was typed or not ).  Just make sure you were read the right results.

Meanwhile - both you and your man should read the info on herpes at either the herpes handbook www.westoverheights.com  ( terrific video there too to watch ) or www.ashastd.org. both have good info for you and your man.

If your man tests negative for hsv2 then decide whether you think suppressive therapy is a worthwhile option or not for the both of you.  Depending on how long you've been together and how you feel about condoms - this might be the better choice for you to protect him no matter what sort of sex you are having.  Both resources I suggested go into this in more detail.

So what med to use? Do you have insurance? Do you think you can remember to take a medication 2x/day, 3x/day or will even 1x/day be unlikely?

grace