First OB

I am in the midst of my first OB. I am 2 months pregnant, so my immune system is lower than normal. I haven't been tested for type, yet, but I believe I may have contracted the virus from my husband. He had some cold sores in his nose. A few days later, I started to develop bumps around my vagina and up my butt crack. I thought it was a heat rash, but as it got to be too painful to bear, I went to my OBGYN who said it was most certainly herpes. I was horrified at first. I've been with my husband for years, I'm 40 years old and pregnant with our second child. I would have thought the possibility of me catching an STD in this phase in my life was very low. But, I try not to think about that too much.

I wanted to share my experience so far, because it's been helpful for me to see others experiences.

I noticed the first couple bumps on the inside of my leg a week ago (Wednesday). I thought they were ingrown hairs, and didn't think to tell anyone. By Sunday, the bumps had spread and were extremely painful. I tried taking a bath, and the bumps got more irritated. They didn't sting or itch at that point, but they were sore to the touch. Monday, I went to the doctor, she prescribed me Valtrex. I filled it immediately and took the first dose that afternoon. Tuesday morning, after two doses, I thought I was feeling better. I still was uncomfortable, but the pain was no longer constant. See, before, the bumps were pulsing with pain even if I was just sitting still. Trying to sleep was extremely difficult. After 2 doses of the medicine, the pain was only noticeable when I was moving around. It was progress! I wash with anti-bacterial soap a few times a day, which is soothing, too.

Unfortunately, by Tuesday night, the bumps started to sting and itch! Perhaps the blisters have started to open up? The bulk of the bumps are in a location that is hard--impossible--for me see. I took a bath in Epsom salts. I could only tolerate it for 10 minutes. It burned(!!!!), but I knew it was doing what I needed it to do. I dried with a hairdryer on cool setting, and applied Lemon Balm Salve. The lemon balm helped a little with the stinging, but it was still somewhat itchy. I left it on through the night. I washed this morning with anti-bacterial soap and dried with the hairdryer. I'm feeling a *little* better today.

I am on my third day of Valtrex, 1000 MG 2x a day.

I'm still in some discomfort, but I'm optimistic that things are getting better. If anyone has any suggestions to speed up recovery from the bumps, I'm open! I also order ammonium alum, but I'm hoping I won't have to use it this time around.

I know everyone says the first OB is the worst, but I'm concerned about the frequency since I'm pregnant. My doctor gave me a refill of Valtrex, so I can start on that as soon as I see another starting. I'm not sure I'll know the symptoms early enough. I'm hoping that I have HSV-1, since I believe it's from the OB my husband was having in his nose, but I know this could just be a coinsidence and maybe I've been carrying HSV-2 without knowing all this time. Or, I guess it's possible he has oral HSV-2--but he says he only had a couple of cold sores over ten years ago, and the nose sores were the first symptom he's had ever since. Hopeful?

I will comment as progress is made, because I hope it will help someone else. Everyone is different, but it helps to see what others experiences are when you're so new to this experience.

Also, if anyone else had their first OB during pregnancy, I'd like to hear your experience. That is currently the scariest part of this for me.

Thank you <3