Genital Herpes. The more severe your first outbreak, the more likely you will get recurrences?

Infections
1

Hey everyone.
So I was just diagnosed with genital herpes. im currently still on my first outbreak.
it started last thursday, i had full on sores by saturday and didnt get help
until tuesday which is when they gave me antivirals. now its friday and some sores
seem to be healing. im so traumatized by this experience. it still burns to pee, not
as much as a few days ago but there is still pain. I am so scared about going through this again, This has been awful.

The doctor hasnt told me if it is hsv 1 or 2. But i have been thinking of staying on antivirals daily to help lessen the chance of an outbreak. I heard that if your first outbreak was bad, that means you will get frequent recurrences. Is this true?

Also, my doctor said daily medication is only for those who have frequent outbreaks. But i dont want to wait for that to happen to start daily meds.

Please advise. Im so depressed because of this experience.

2

That is not true always. Some people have one bad outbreak and will go long without another. Some have a mild initial outbreak with mild recurrences. Just build up your immunity. What other symptoms did you have? Any feverish symptoms?

3

Hey Rae,
Yes i have fevers, chills etc. I felt like i had a bad flu.
I am so traumatized by this. Im barely getting better now. By better I mean i can at least pee somewhat normally again. I feel so much relief but also im so scared of it happening again.

4

Hi Edith,
I can relate, my first outbreak and the emotional impact of the diagnosis was traumatic. Any itch or nerve twitch had me running for a mirror in fear to check down there. You need to address the anxiety over outbreaks. Stress triggers outbreaks (kinda ironic lol) .

Hopefully you’ll fully recover after these antivirals, if not then ask for more. Some people experience multiple outbreaks in the first few months - which is why it’s important to build immunity and destress. But it won’t be as bad as the first one. If they are recurrent, then just explain to your doctor that they are recurring, painful and causing you emotional distress - that usually works :blush:. And lysine is a life saver.