Hi everyone. First let me say that I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the support base this board offers me. Thanks to each and every one of you. We are all in this together. My question is this -- does anyone get frequent ob (like 1-2 times a month) even on suppresive therapy? I've had H for five years now and it seems since I got my first OB I've NEVER felt normal again down there. There's always some sort of irritation, discomfort, itching even when I don't see any visible sores. I've used Valtrex and then switched to Famvir, suppresively. Normal sex seems a thing of the past. And it's really getting me down. I'm taking my multivitamins, Lysine, Zinc. I don't know what else to do. Has this been anyone else's experience? Please don't tell me I'm one of the rare few that doesn't get relief. There's got to be a way. What am I doing wrong? Imagine -- obs 1-2 times a month and then in the brief time I don't have a visibile sore, I'm feeling irritated and burning down there. I'm really desperate -- please, does anyone have any suggestions or feedback. Also, it seems I'm becoming obsessed with H now because I can't look at someone without thinking do they have H. I swear it seems like I'm the only one which I know is not true. :confused:

You definitely are not the only one with herpes -- we all know that. :)

As far as outbreaks, 1-2 a month while on suppressive drugs does seem like a lot. When not taking my Valtrex regularly or at all, I will definitely get 1 outbreak per month.

How long does an outbreak last? Do you take any more meds (higher dose) to speed healing? As far as your other irritations, have you seen a doctor. My suggestion would be that while you are NOT in the midst of an outbreak to make an appointment with your doctor to check things out. There may very well be something else going on.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have been to the doctor and they have ruled out bacterial or yeast infections. They keep telling me its the H. I'm on 250mg of Famvir twice a day. When I was on Valtrex 500 mg twice a day, it was the same thing. Is anyone here on higher doses of these meds? What's your experience? The burning irritation is really getting to me, with and without sores. Please help!!!

Make sure you remove all the stress and trauma from your life, as this will provoke the outbreaks. And the stress caused by the outbreak can trigger another and another until you get relaxed and stop the cycle. Also make sure there is no physical trauma to the area. My OB seemed to always show up at a spot of physical trauma to my skin, once I started wearing looser clothes, talcum powder and not so rough sex, my OBs went way down. After awhile you start to know what's going to cause one and what won't.

No,it's not just you. :) It seems I have an outbreak all the time. I've gotten pretty good at getting it down to a small outbreak, but I never really get rid of it. I'm taking Valtrex daily, I exercise as much as I can, I avoid chocolate and caffeine (and lately I'm finding that nuts do it, too) like the plague and try to stay as calm as I can.
I'm right there with you. This is going on my second year with herpes and no outbreak-free days yet. Someone advised that maybe there is something wrong with my immune system if I'm getting this many ob's. So that might be something you should check into. I do notice that when I start popping oil of oregano and red marine algae, my ob's calm down a bit.
I very much hope things get better for the both of us. Just keep trying. Something has to work, right? ;)

Thank you so much for your replys. Windinmyhair, it's been five years for me. I don't mean to get personal but how do you handle the issue of sex with your partner. My sweetheart is very patient but I think it's starting to get to him. I was recently switched from Famvir 250 mg. to Valtrex 1 gram daily and even so there come the outbreaks. I can't believe there are lot of other people suffering like this. Yes, I agree that there are lots of people with the common cold sore. But I believe there are very very few people with genital herpes with frequent outbreaks. We are a minority despite what every one tries to say about 1 in 4. Any comments?

I took me at least a year for my body to get a handle on this. I felt like a had an OB 80% of the time. Even if I didn't have visible lesions, I have burning, itching, tingling, dryness-feeling, or something that always reminded me that something was different. After about 18 months things got much better. Things cleared up for about 6 months now. I recently had some of the old feelings back and got back on Valtrex. Things have stared to feel better. The body really does need time to deal with this thing. Some people might take much longer to adjust.

All you can do is to take the meds, live healthy, and try to see it through.