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I'm afraid of my body - how infectious am I?


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Since my diagnosis a couple weeks ago I've become very self conscious. My initial outbreak was really awful and my body is finally recovering. It's been what feels like the longest 3 weeks of my life. Yeast infection (still ongoing despite treatment), uti, and hsv 2 all diagnosed at once. My OB is almost gone, I just have remnants of scabs where my skin has mostly healed.

I've been washing my hands constantly. I have a huge bottle of germx in my room. I'm afraid to leave any laundry around, I'm scared to share drinks (even though I don't have it orally), I'm afraid to be in physical contact with anyone. I just feel toxic. How do guys cope with all of this? It feels like I'm walking around with leprosy and everyone will just look at me and know. It's very distressing. I know this is an overreaction but I can't get over the feeling.

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Time definitely helped me. I spent months walking around feeling like I had herpes written on my forehead. The physical symptoms, when they're present, are a constant reminder of having herpes, so it's hard to not think about it when your body is healing.

 

Terri Warren's book (available on Amazon), plus the information Adrial has here on the H Opp website has been wonderful. Reading facts and statistics was calming for me. Beyond that, I'd say the fact that your diagnosis is so new means that what you're feeling is very normal. I spent six months where herpes was the first thing I thought of in the morning, the last thing I thought of at night, and nearly every minute in between. {hugs}

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@rpaul. We all go through that phase with any new diagnosis. I felt contaminated for a long time, which made the symptoms, nerve pain, worse. As soon as I forced myself to break the herpes mindset, the symptoms went away. For me, I started to run. I had to re enact a way to get away from the person who did this to me. Overtime, I stopped running from "the exposer" and started to run to be free. To truly live freely without worry. Find the thing that frees your mind the most and invest yourself in it. Loose your thoughts in it. Slowly, eventually, your mind will forget about herpes as a huge deal. We are what we think and say we are.... Train your brain to focus on other things and herpes will simply vanish from your daily worries and with that your symptoms...... Good luck!

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I went through all this as well. I know, one morning before a 9 am doctors visit, I counted. I washed my hands about 50 times while getting ready in the morning. I wear contacts so I was terrified of getting this in my "good vision"eye.

 

I told her that morning and she calmed me down. but this also led to me being on a daily antiviral. I feel much better. It mostly like i am taking it for my anxiety.

 

I still deal with lots of anxiety. Like a recent UTI that required two rounds of antibiotics that is necessitating an add on visit with my OB / gyn.

 

I do have to say tho, adding the daily antiviral calmed me down.

 

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I found out a year ago August I am positive for 2 and then 1, for probably 30 years....i was overwhelmed with emotion....it has settled, but I definitely have my days. All the same concerns you share, I also shared...but being infected 30 years, 3 children, thank God it's never been passed on nor infected to other parts of myself.

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