Genital Herpes

Personal Stories About Living With Genital Herpes

Personal Stories About Living With Genital Herpes

Reading about other people's experiences living with and dealing with genital herpes may help you make decisions about how you want to deal with it. Here are three stories of people who have genital herpes. Anyone suffering from the HERPES VIRUS needs to read this. Click Here Now

Personal Stories About Living

Janet's Story

Last year I was diagnosed with genital herpes. When it first happened all I could think about was:

Who gave this to me? How am I going to live with this for the rest of my life? New Herpes Treatment providing results people are calling miraculous!

I was so angry and I felt very betrayed. I was always careful about who I had sex with and always used protection, so I didn't understand how this could have happened to me. I thought my whole life would change and that my sex life would be over. I was so sure that I would never meet anyone ever again. And even worse, how was I ever supposed to tell a potential partner that I was infected? I felt dirty and believed that everyone would look at me the same way.

Genital Herpes

I couldn't even bring myself to tell my friends at first. I thought that once they found out, they would think I slept around with everyone or that I was easy. I even thought that they would stop being my friend if they knew about this awful secret.

I found out that I was really wrong. I broke down and told one of my friends. She was very supportive and really helpful. She didn't judge me at all. I eventually met someone and told him too. It was very hard to talk to him about it, and I was so scared that I would never see him again. But we made some decisions together and we practice safer sex.

It hasn't been easy, but I am learning to live with herpes, and I certainly feel like I've come a long way since I first found out. My doctor even told me about an episodic medication called FAMVIR that is only one day of treatment. I like the way that sounds, especially since I was never crazy about taking medication every single day.

My advice to people who have genital herpes? Learn as much as you can about different treatments and talk to your doctor to find one that works for you.

This story of a fictitious character is based on the collective experiences of people with genital herpes. Individual experiences may vary. Individual treatment results may vary.

John's Story

I was nervous about going to the doctor, but I wanted to find out what was causing this itching and burning in my groin area. I knew something just wasn't right when the itching and burning would go away and then come back again. I basically blew it off for a while, hoping that it would go away for good. But the last time it came back, I also noticed a small sore on my penis. That really scared me, so I made an appointment with my doctor.

My doctor asked a lot of questions about my symptoms, how often they occurred, and my sexual history. It was very hard to talk to him at first and really embarrassing. But I knew he wanted to help me and I wanted to treat these symptoms, so I tried to be open with him.

My doctor performed a physical examination, but by then I no longer had any symptoms. From what I told him, he thought I might have genital herpes, so he performed a blood test that was sent to a laboratory to be tested.

Waiting for the results seemed to take forever, even though it was only about a week, and I was really nervous and distracted during that time. I couldn't concentrate on anything and kept thinking: what if I have genital herpes? How would it affect my life?

My doctor called me and told me that the results came back positive—I had genital herpes. I was in shock for a little while. I tried to ignore it and pretend that I didn't have genital herpes, but then I had another outbreak. This time I had a bigger sore on my penis that was really painful. I went back to my doctor, and we discussed which prescription oral treatments might be right for me. I started taking medication daily for my condition called FAMVIR. Even though there's no cure for genital herpes, I've been symptom-free now for several months, and am getting used to living with genital herpes.

This story of a fictitious character is based on the collective experiences of people with genital herpes. Individual experiences may vary. Individual treatment results may vary.

Lisa's Story

I had itching and burning in my genital area and then it just went away. I didn't think anything of it, but then it came back again and I didn't know what to do, or if it was the same thing causing the symptoms both times. I kept thinking, "was it going to go away again and not come back, or should I go see a doctor?"

I thought that it may be just a yeast infection or a reaction to my laundry detergent, but after the symptoms came back a third time I started to get worried. I wondered if I had a sexually transmitted disease, but I didn't think it was possible because I had always been careful.

Finally I decided to do some research on my own. I did an Internet search and looked at a lot of different Web sites. I was really surprised when I saw that some of the symptoms I had were similar to the symptoms of genital herpes.

Part of me wanted to hide and pretend that I didn't have any symptoms, but the other part of me knew I had to go see my doctor. I was really nervous that the doctor would lecture me and I felt kind of ashamed, and I put it off for weeks. When the symptoms came back for the fourth time I went, and he diagnosed me with a culture test. Even though it's been hard to accept, I'm glad I went to see my doctor because now at least I know. My doctor prescribed a treatment called FAMVIR. I start the medication when I feel or see the outbreak starting and I don't have to take it again until I feel my next outbreak coming on. Having genital herpes isn't great, but at least I've found a way to deal with my symptoms. 

This story of a fictitious character is based on the collective experiences of people with genital herpes. Individual experiences may vary. Individual treatment results may vary.

Note: The effectiveness of FAMVIR has not been established when treatment is started more than 6 hours after the onset of symptoms or lesions.

Talking to Your Partner or Family About Genital Herpes