unsure if its herpes

[christiabilene]

Hi. I am here because I have driven myself crazy for the past couple of years for one and for the last week the most. As a child I was molested many, many times. I was also encouraged by parents to have a bit of a promiscous teenhood. I then met my husband at an early age and we have been together for many years....17 to be exact. I was raped 2 yrs ago, and went to the hospital and received preventative treatment. I have always diagnosed individuals as walking stds because they are so common and so prevelant! After the life I have had I stress constantly, and well I am pregnant again, and seeing a new obgyn, I asked him to run tests on me to see if there were any stds present, just because I worry that much. I went to see him last week and he informed me that my hsv 1 and hsv 2 both came back positive. I knew I had hsv 1, but have never had any symptoms of hsv 2. I have diabetes and have recurrent yeast infections. never though, symptoms of hsv2. I am so nervous now. I could have contracted this as a child and never known, as one of my molesters had stds. I am also wondering if the antibody test could be wrong? My husband who is 47 has had some burning then itching that lasts a total of about 30 sec after ejaculation. This is new and not something that comes with any other symptoms. Is there any other explanation to our symptoms or am I just doomed?? I feel that if you have an std you are just as good as no good to anyone...please help!

[gracefromHHP]

you can soak in the tubby with epsom salts thrown in when you have ob's. they are cheap and soothing.  also you can try steeping a tea bag, let it cool until it's cool enough to put on your skin and use it as a compress for 10 minutes too.  I'm all about the cheap and easy!

there is this new thing called birth control - perhaps you've heard of it? he he he   I'm paying college tuitions right now so I can't even imagine having a lot of kids!!  I'm just glad it's you and not me :)

hang in there - it's the idea of herpes that is typically far worse than actually living with it.

[christiabilene]

Goodness! I could not function properly on everyday life much less be on here and giving the advice and peace of mind that you have given to me! I really do appreciate it very much! I wish my diagnosis wasn't what it is, but since I now know what it is I am able to deal with it better. I have more knowledge about this whole ordeal and am glad to have the resources to deal with it appropriately.

I can say that if you guys were not here, I would have gone nuts, and I really did see myself as useless due to the diagnoses, but now I am acceting that it is not active all the time and that I can do things to speed up the healing process. And with your help, I am learning to embrace the emotional healing I must do.

I will ask my doctor or pharmacist about the tree oil and possibly lavender oil. This episode has been painful, and knowing what it is has made it that more noticeable.

I did tell my ob that i was taking prednisone (which I am almost out of). I had some left from my sons numerous asthma flare ups. I usually only have to take 60mg a week and it is cleared up (the hives). I have been to drs about the hives and have gotten no answers. When it comes to hives and hsv...I can say I would much rather take the hsv. The hives are not fun at all and I love like an evolving mutant when they are not treated with steroids. I know that steroids can cause your immune system to be low, so I imagine that is why I had this break out. I have no other current memory of this pain recently, the last time was about 9 months ago, and I have been taking the prednisone for about 2 months.

I am calming my nerves about the vag delivery, it is a little scary for the vbac purpose though.

Trust me, I wish that I could put a closed until further notice sign on my girl parts!! Especially with this issue! But for the biggest issue, every time I am intimate, I get a new baby...lol. I love them to pieces though and since I never had a big family, I am happy they will!

[gracefromHHP]

we don't have any studies that show that lavender oil significantly helps to speed ob's that I can recall.  There was a study a few years ago on several different essential oils but  I can't recall if lavender oil was on there or not. I 'm totally blanking on the details of the study at the moment ( I work nights and am just up in between naps for work so my mind isn't fully awake yet...lol ).  I use tea tree oil myself for ob's but I really have no idea what the recommendations are for pregnancy. I just think it helps make ob's hurt/itch less for myself and I use it for symptom relief.   I recommend checking with a pharmacist before using anything new on your herpes during pregnancy.   also remember that most essential oils need to be diluted before use.

the risk of transmitting your herpes during delivery to the baby is very low in general :)

does your obgyn know you are taking prednisone for itching?  herpes won't cause hives but prednisone can cause herpes to be more active.

If I had that many children, my girlie parts would develop cobwebs as well as have a KEEP OUT sign on it....he he he  Love my children with all my heart and soul but 2 was enough.....lol.  

[christiabilene]

Well, since it is not useful in preventing ob's, I will not risk the other complications lysine can cause. Thank you for clarifying that for me! What is your take on the lavender oil? It is said to help speed up the healing of lesions.

Thank you!!! I need all the luck I can get on vbacking! I delivered 7 vaginal births and my last was csection. I tell you, there was not one thing I can say I like about csections. To some women it is a natural ok type of thing, for me, having no family, really no friends, (I did mention I have tons of kids, lol) and my husband is a self contractor and has to follow work wherever it is. He had been practically without work for about 4 weeks or so due to me being hospitalized with PIH, so as soon as I and the baby were dc'd, he went to work 3 hrs away and did so for 2 yrs. He came home every weekend. The fact that he wasn't around, made my healing impossible and my wound dehisced. I had to have wound care for 2 months after. I am really praying, hoping for a successful VBAC but with this new HSV discovery, I am even more scared!!

I am going to talk to my ob during my net visit and try to be open with him. I have been suffering from hives for a long time now and am self medicating with prednisone. I am wondering if the HSV has anything to do with the hives. Would be interesting to find out.

If it were up to me...sex would be taken out of the equation period. LOL. Sometimes it seems more like a chore than anything else, and with the kids alway around, there is not private mommy daddy time. EVER.

[gracefromHHP]

lysine doesn't do much at all for herpes. you already get more than enough of it in your day to day life, no need to supplement for it.

good luck vbacking!  I tried that my 2nd pregnancy but my daughter had ideas of her own...lol.  I wanted to look happy and go places like my friends did, not still be doing the c section shuffle a week later.  

the pregnancy doses of the antivirals are valtrex 500mg 2x/day or acyclovir 400mg 3x/day for the last month of pregnancy. The body is naturally immunosuppressed during pregnancy so the higher doses are needed to reduce ob's during that last month.

You can use either valtrex or acyclovir for pregnancy. Talk to your provider about treating your herpes during pregnancy if you are interested.

couples have sex when they have small children? that's one of those once in a blue moon things right? he he he

[christiabilene]

Yes, actually I have thought about daily supressive therapy and would really like to take it to decrease shedding and such especially for peace of mind, and for the biggest part of this whole issue, the sex life disruptions. I have a non existent sex life as it is, lol. After birthing so many children being pregnant again, well you probably understand. What would you suggest I ask for from the obgyn? Is there one drug safer than another? I did read that lysine is something people take to keep away outbreaks, but I also read it is not safe during pregnancy and that it elevates cholesterol levels, so being overweight as it is, I did not want to risk that at this time. As of today I am 18 weeks and 3 days into gestation. The ob did say that around 36 weeks he would prescribe an antiviral to have the ability to deliver vaginally. I am attempting a VBAC with this pregnancy, I had to deliver via c section with my last baby dut to PIH.

[gracefromHHP]

you never have to treat your herpes if you don't want to.

have you considered daily suppressive therapy just for peace of mind for yourself as well as less disruptions to your sex life?

how far along are you so far this pregnancy?

[christiabilene]

Thank you! You have eased my concerns so much! I am a mix of emotions and I think that I may be experiencing an outbreak right now. I never noticed this before and I think that now that I have all the symptoms down I can distinguish from what may have been otherwise mistaken for other symptoms. Now that I am thinking this is an outbreak I recognize that this is the 3rd time that I have had these symptoms. The past 2 times I thought it was due to scratching an itch, but I now recognize that it is herpes. I cant say how long I have had these symptoms, if it is from my childhood filled with numerous different sexual offenders, or if it was from the 6 "consenting" partners I had during my teen yrs, or if the person I had a brief relationship with when I was separated (headed to divorce, but somehow rekindled), or if it was from my rape. I really dont know. I cannot say that my husband did not have a relationship, but even though it sounds really really bad, I just do not have good communication with him in that aspect and if I tell him anything about this I could lose him forever. I cannot do that for the sake of our family. I guess it might make me a bad person, but I think we have lived with this for some years now, and I have to accept my fate. I have more questions for you, I hope you dont get annoyed...

During this outbreak, if I dont take antiviral medication by rx or do anything for it except let it run its course, will it affect my baby? I know that I have to build a trusting relationship with my ob, but I am still embarrassed by this and I have so many emotions I cant distinguish them all.

[gracefromHHP]

herpes is easily killed with soap and water. you don't have to worry about sharing soaps and such.

I always avoided taking a bath with my kids if I had obvious recurrences but otherwise we were always in the tubby together when they were small. it's not a risk for them.

[tristnichol]

If you could pass hsv2 by washing clothes, using towels, using soap, etc. way more people would have it, so I would say your kids are ok there.  Try from now on to have your children use their own towels.  Not that it is my place, but your husband really needs to know.  You shouldnt keep this a secret from him.  He may need to be treated as well.  Since you have been married for 17 years, I'm sure he has it.  Maybe he passed it to you? Did he sleep with someone else while you were seperated?  Honesty is the best policiy, especially when it comes to someone elses health.  Its hard to pinpoint the exact time of exposure, especially with a past as yours. You should try to not stress out about it so much, that can cause outbreaks too.  There is no reason you cant lead a "normal" life, but keeping it from your husband might cause more anxiety and stress.

As for hsv1, you should avoid sharing cups or kissing while you have the sores present; its much more likely to spread during this time.

[christiabilene]

Hi...me again. I decided to deny for a while to myself that I had in fact contracted HSV.  I hace now come to accept it (kind of) because news like this is so very hard to accept! I never really noticed anything that I thought I needed to worry about regarding hsv because I guess I spent all my time focusing on other std's and never thinking twice about hsv. I first never knew that hsv could go unrecognized for years, and now with all this research, I have become a little more informed. Although there are several things I am trying to piece together. First, I am not blessed to have the ability to talk freely about this with my spouse. I have to find the best way to treat myself during outbreaks, when and if I notice them. I am just wondering, what about bathing with your children? Though this may sound weird, sometimes when my kids were little, I would have to bathe with them for them to actually get a bath. Could hsv be contracted this way? What about washing clothes? I have made the mistake recently (within the last 6 months) to let my kids use my husbands towel after they had bathed. I guess I never thought that something this horrible would take over our entire lifes and I really feel like our life is over. I am afraid every moment of every day that I am somehow going to pass this to my kids by way of bathroom, washing clothes together, using the same bar of soap in the bathroom, or any other thing I could do wrong. I really need peace of mind and tips on not letting this ever get to them. I feel like I was the victim in all that has happened to me in life and as I continue to have to pay for the life I was born into, now my children will have to pay as well.
      As I mentioned before, I had known about the hsv1 for many many many many years, and I had prided myself on the fact that my children had not contracted it, but now I am wondering should I abstain from drinking or eating out of the same containers period for all of time? I just wish that I could do away with this and lead a normal life. I feel like what is the point in being here if I have to second thought every single detail of every day.

[gracefromHHP]

I'm sure when your child was in nicu for his work ups, they did a spinal tap and also probably swabbed his eyes to check for herpes simplex. in the US it's pretty much a part of a typical work up in newborns who get sick.

your hsv2 igg is over the false positive cut off so it's likely to be accurate.  Not the news you wanted to hear I know but at least you know and can make informed decisions with your obgyn for this next pregnancy.  You can discuss taking daily suppressive therapy in the pregnancy doses for the last month of pregnancy to try to reduce your risk of having obvious lesions though if you plan on a repeat c section, no reason to do this.  

the risk of transmitting your hsv2 to your child during labor is less than 1% if you don't have obvious lesions at the time of delivery ( for vaginal delivery ). A planned c section is not a risk for the baby.

you will not pass on your genital herpes to your children through day to day activities. Just washing your hands after using the bathroom like you always do is all you need to do.  

your husband should also be tested to see what his status is too.

keep asking questions!

grace

[christiabilene]

Hi! Its been awhile, but I wasn't able to obtain my lab results until today. After so much research I can say that I am disappointed because my hopes for a false positive were pretty much taken to shreds today. I received the results of my hsv 1 and hsv 2 tests and the results are as follows:
hsv 1/2 igg herpeselect
type specific ab
hsv 1 igg type specific   >5.00 H
hsv 2 igg type specific   >5.00 H

I guess Im just doomed and I just want to cry, but at the same time always waiting for the worst news prepared me to kind of just accept this and go on with life. I need to know how to prevent my children getting herpes, and unfortunately since I will never be able to talk to my husband about this I need to find out if suppresant medication can be obtained online because I do not want him to have bad handwashing skills and change a diaper and pass it somehow to one of our children even though it might sound dumb, I feel like there is a great chance of passing it to them. I also need to know if taking suppresive therapy during pregnancy is recommended. I do not want to pass this to my newborn. The only time frame to have gotten herpes is when I was younger, and that scares me so much because I had 7 vaginal births and they were at high risk to contract it, or 2 yrs ago when I was raped. I have had some trouble with hives, and I am wondering if this could be associated with the herpes?? Im sorry I always have so many questions. I am just completely lost.

[Mistakeguy789]

I read your post and I can say that I started to get choked up and cried a little.  It is tough hearing someone's story of rape at such a young age.  Truthfully I don't think I could handle something like that.  I have been exposed to a lot of things in my life both because of my family (majority of my family is either law enforcement or military though I am the oddball in the family).  I hear things like this and it embrasses me to be a male.  I am sorry you have had a tough life.

You have a lot of questions and I along with the other regular members here will help you the best we can with understanding and helping you through this.  Just keep your questions here in this thread and we will help you.  

The challenge at this point is your results.  We need to know what the vaules and if you were properly tested.  There is two tests typically used for HSV one is the IgM testing which isn't type specific and is more often used.  This test is completely flawed but most providers are out of date on their herpes knowledge.  The other test is an IgG test which is type specific test (though it can have a combo done which won't show type if someone is positive).  The IgG test is the one we want to ensure you had performed.  

Your son I doubt has HSV-2 you had a C-Section and that makes HSV-2 less likely.

The goal now is get us your results.  We will be able to best help you here.  The Western Blot is the Herpes Goldstandard.  Before you take that test lets get your current results first.  Grace can read your results and guide you on further testing if she feels it is best.  

[christiabilene]

Thank you for kind words! I guess maybe I should correct my earlier post and clarify that I guess I just see myself as being useless due to decisions and occurences that have gone on in my life. Unfortunately, my husband doesnt know the results of my hsv test. For one, he is from mexico and his understanding of the fact that if I had hsv2 all these years without really realizing it, is non-existant. It is like I kind of have to deal with all this on my own. I am the mother of 8 beautiful children and I am pregnant with my 9th. I am 13 weeks pregnant. I have always been fearful of stds and have always tried to diagnose myself with one. I have taken my husbands symptoms and tried to diagnose them as well. I just always wanted a full std work-up because I am overly cautious like that. I did forget to mention that About the time I was raped, I was separated from my husband and was seeing someone. The person I was seeing was not the person who raped me, but I did have sexual relations with the person I was seeing. I guess that time period besides the molestation I encountered as a child are the only ones I can pinpoint as to when I may have acquired it. I have always had vaginal infections even as a child. My mother had to take me to a gyn at age of 9 because I had a very foul odor. The first time I was molested with penetration was at age of 5. So vaginal infections were recurrent for me. Though, during the time period I was separated from my husband for 9 months, I received oral sex from the person I was seeing, and I noticed that it seemed to aggravate my vagina instantly. I had a "yeast" infection for about a week. It affected my clitoris/urethra. I treated it with otc medication and it cleared up. Since then I have gotten the frequent vaginal infections, like right before my period and not every month. OTC medications clear it up. I did notice that I had a "pimple" on my vagina with my last pregnancy. I poped it and it seemed to form little "blisters?" It did not last long, but I just stressed over it. I had PIH and was admitted to the hospital and after 4 weeks of hospitalization, I delivered by c section at 36 weeks due to my PIH. My son was in the NICU because he was unable to maintain body temp and had a little bit of elevated wbc. We were discharged when he was 5 days old and he was readmitted to the hospital a week later do to elevated temp, and "floppiness". Of course after reading all of the HSV2 material on the internet I start trying to pinpoint his problem to HSV infection even though he was delivered through csection. I have not had symptoms of HSV 2 and if I have, I may have had them most of my life and they are just "normal" now. I dont really know, but I am just completely lost and struggling to find out what is the truth of this all. I should also mention that for almost 2 years now I have been suffering from hives, they tend to come and go but since pregnancy they have stuck around. My yeast infections are gone, but my hives are here to stay. I do not have a copy of test results or which test was done, but I will try to get it ASAP, answers would be really nice! I did read that the most accurate test was the western blot test?? I found and online testing center and they have a lab here in town. Im sorry for such a long post, I just have no one to turn to!

[Mistakeguy789]

Wait wait wait.  Starting from your bottom of your post.  Just because you have an STD does not make you no good to anyone.  Sorry but no it doesn't work that way at all.  You have been married long enough to mean more to your husband.  If he feels any differently knowing about your HSV status and him knowing about your life is not a good husband at all.  You are still a good person.  You have been through some extreme amounts of a life that much is for sure.  

With that being said.  I am sorry for your situation.  I can't believe this is happening or that your parents encouraged you to have a promiscous teenhood.  Wow...

STD's are as common as you may think.  HSV-1 is common but we don't consider oral HSV-1 oral an STD.  

With that being said can you get or do you have a copy of your results?  Please post those if you have them so we know what testing was performed.  If you had an IgG test or an IgM and what the vaules are (should be like hsv1 igg 3.03 hsv2 igg 0.34).  Also how many weeks pregnant are you?  

Your husband needs to see a urologist.  He may have a UTI or some other infection.  Your frequent yeast infections could be HSV-2 reoccuring.  But let's not go down that road until we get your results.