I'm in a relationship, suppressive therapy for herpes???

Whatsup everyone!

I was diagnosed with HSV 2 earlier this year (early february), my breakouts happen right below my belly button. I have a couple questions for you folks and I'm wondering if you would be able to help me here. : )

So.... because of the strange locale of my outbreaks (they aren't directly on my penis, but instead below my belly button) does it still help to wear condoms? I have just been wearing a shirt to cover the area when me and my girl have sex.

I got herpes when me and my girl broke up over this past summer and then we got back together and were having sex unprotected for awhile before i found out it was herpes. She has not had any visible symptoms. Should she get blood tested for HSV 2 before i really consider taking suppressive therapy??

We have been having unprotected sex recently when the outbreak went away.... After the initial shock and research frenzy i kinda stopped looking up information surrounding everything. Signs of another outbreak started today (May 7th) and so I'm taking two 1000mg doses today of famciclovir.

-->Im trying to decide if i should take suppressive therapy since me and my girl have sex pretty often.

-->Also because of the location of my outbreak is unprotected sex safe?

-->What diet changes have you guys made/can recommend?

Sorry for the long and unorganized post :-| any help is much appreciated and i will be around the site more often!

Hey bro! Aloha! That's a great question! First thing is to consult a health professional for the definitive word on this. Have you asked your doctor or someone at the health clinic?

Now that I got that out of the way, here are my answers for you:

- Should you take suppressive therapy? Yes, definitely. If she doesn't have the herpes virus in her system, then it couldn't hurt to minimize the viral shedding to protect your partner. I've read that on average, taking suppressive therapy will minimize shedding by 50-90%. Can't beat those numbers. But yes, she should get an IgG blood test to make sure that she doesn't have the herpes virus in her system. If she already has it, then there's no reason to protect (if you're sure that you two don't have other things you can pass to each other, like HPV or HIV, for example)

- Should you wear condoms? The location of the outbreaks from what I understand are going to be the areas where viral shedding is most likely to occur, too, but I'm not positive on that. Herpes research is way behind most other research, so most of the science behind it is through clinical experience (not mine, mind you, but others in the field); the ultimate answer for this is how much risk is your girlfriend willing to take on? Is it worth it to her to have unprotected sex if it feels better but risk more in getting it? Taking the suppressive therapy will help lessen those odds immensely ...

- Diet changes? Overall, just eat healthier! Stay away from foods that contain arginine and eat more foods that contain lysine ... these are amino acids that are against/for the herpes virus, respectively. But ultimately it's taking care of yourself: both your body and mind. Exercise. Eat healthy. Think healthy. Take care of yourself. And here is another post to refer to:

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/51/natural-treatment-for-herpes

Good luck! Let us know how else we can help!

Aloha!

Cool, thanks for the response !

what should i take for suppressive therapy? i have some famciclovir that i can get refilled, should i just take two 250mg a day of that for awhile and see my doctor down the line?

I am currently having an outbreak and took 4 famciclovir 250mg pills twice yesterday. Is there anything else i should do or apply to the area to minimize or shorten the length or severity of the outbreak or just chill out and the famciclovir should do the trick?

Thanks again man much alohaz!

For any specific medication questions, you'll need to consult your doctor for the ultimate answer for you. I take 400mg of Acyclovir twice a day. That's my dose for suppressive therapy to keep my viral shedding down. When I have an outbreak, I try to catch it as close to the beginning as possible. Once the outbreak is in full bloom, I've found the meds don't do much to speed the healing phase. Just keeping it dry and clean will do all I need. But if I start taking a large dose (double the suppressive dose) right when I feel the tingles coming on, it lessens the intensity of the outbreak right off the bat.

is acyclovir superior to famciclovir or is it all the same?

By the way, here's a great handout for you to read over to keep your partner safe!

http://herpeslife.com/resources/