wow; this site

Like most I have lurked in these forums for a bit before posting.. id like to say .. wow.. wish I knew this site existed when I discovered my status. I have had herpes since 98, I became ''aware'' 2002 I realize this sounds silly until you add in a dash of arrogance and a armful of denial. I discovered this site a few weeks ago, and although I have long ago dealt with my status as best as I knew how.. it was a relief to see that there were others...I have since the beginning thought this was a rare dark thing no one discussed. I had this belief until I discovered this site.. yes.. that long. The information in these forums changed my life. so hats off to whomever created this... It has real value.. especially to newly diagnosed.

So I guess a formal introduction is next. I am male, early 40s and I have genital herpes. what type.. I don't know.. im working on that. My status changed 2 weeks after i broke up with a girl, a friend of a friend who called me and said she wanted to talk... that's not what she wanted.. and it took me 4 years to get the full meaning of her saying 'i wanted to make sure you wouldn't forget me''. 15 years of having herpes i can honestly say this about it. whats all the hub bub.. its not really that big of a deal.. obviously if you have a choice of herpes or not herpes.. take the not herpes route but my experience with it tells me the stigma attached to it is blown way way out of proportion .. i thought this was my own view of it.. and clearly i must be a ''lucky'' guy to get some magical version of herpes that didn't match up with the world ending hype.. till i got here. so i salute whomever created this place. O7

whatsallthehubbub

First, welcome to the forums! Glad to have another Male presence here! And another who has had it long enough to understand the long term reality that is sooo hard for the newbies to understand. We are their beacon of hope that Herpes is NOT the end of their sex or regular life.

Glad to meet you and look forward to your contributions!

I'm glad you found us, my man. Good to have you here. I created this place because I had a similar WTF moment as you: What is all the hubbub anyway? ;) Ultimately this community sprang from all of my own pain and suffering, which led to me realizing that I didn't actually have to suffer anymore. And I wanted to make sure I took a whole slew of people along with me. Now there are so many inspiring people along for the ride (our beloved WCS being one of the main contributors lately who has had so much commitment and dedication to helping our positive community be that much more positive and heartfelt) who are so dedicated to living from a place of "this isn't a big deal, and I'm dedicated to spreading positivity, knowledge, okayness and love instead of shame, stigma and herpes." Welcome to that movement, Mr. Hubbub. :) I look forward to your contributions here, too. Big hugs, bro.