Reply To: Timing of transmission

[transmissionquestion]

I do have additional questions that I should have included in my original post. They are:

1. After my diagnosis (during my primary outbreak), I did one course of 400mg three times/day of acyclovir for 10 days, as prescribed. I hadn’t planned on continuing to take acyclovir suppressively, because my primary outbreak was very mild according to the health-care provider who diagnosed me, and because I’m not planning to be sexually active for some time. I also don’t like the idea of taking any medication indefinitely, however safe and side-effect-free it is.

A few days after I finished my first course of acyclovir (around the time that I started menstruating, which may be a trigger for me), I started to have tingling and a little itching/burning on my labia and panicked, so I refilled the prescription and did your recommended five-day course of 400mg three times/day for a non-primary outbreak. I have just finished this second course and am wondering if I should continue taking it suppressively. Being diagnosed with HSV-2 has been extremely stressful and anxiety-provoking, and the prospect of having additional outbreaks in the near future is increasing my stress. But at some point, should I go off of this medication to allow my body to build up antibodies so that I can eventually safely have sex with another HSV-2-positive person, and also not worry about cross-infecting myself? Do you have a recommendation here? What would you do if you were me?

2. Before my body has built up resistance to HSV-2, how is it possible to auto-infect other parts of my body? What precautions should I take?

3. Does my diagnosis mean that an HSV-2-negative person cannot ever safely give me unprotected oral sex? How high is the risk of transmission during this type of sex if I am on suppressive medication?

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by transmissionquestion.