Herpes Biography

This is my personal herpes story. I will try to be consistent about coming back and updating my story for you as things happen and life unfolds even further.

If you would like to have a little herpes biography page like this one on the internet I would be happy to create one for you. All you have to do is send me the information as you would like it to appear and I will put your page together and connect it to Yoshi2me. Feel free to share a picture if you want too! :)

Location: Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America

Age: I was 25 years old when I contracted herpes. Today I am 37. I will turn 38 in March. I can't believe that I'm approaching 40. Life is good!

Marital Status: Happily Married with three girls. Lauren turned 16 in October, Fiona will turn 4 in a couple of weeks, and Miss Kinsley just celebrated her 2nd birthday at the end of November. I've got photographs posted in the photo section of Picking Up the Pieces if you'd like to take a look.

Employment Status: STD online patient advocate, self employed, WAHM, and a proud Stay-At-Home-Mom.

Hobbies: Blogging, reading blogs, participating in online discussions, photography, watching reality TV, and keeping up with the latest celebrity gossip.

Favorite Quotes: Happiness is helping others

Favorite Bible Verse: Romans 5:3-4, Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance; character; and character, hope.

My Own Personal Quote: By opening up to a partner and talking about an STD diagnosis you are showing that you respect and care about yourself as well as the other person.

Year Infected: Summer of 1995

Type: Genital Herpes Type-2

Prodromes: Slight fever, tingling sensations, flu-like symptoms

Method of Control: Valtrex, I was on suppressive therapy for 2 years

How I Came Up with My Screen Name: About Yoshi2me

My Herpes Story: In the summer of 1995 I woke up one day with what I thought was a bladder infection. I knew I needed to get in to see the doc. The doc put me on bladder infection meds. Three weeks went by and throughout the entire process the doctors kept putting me on different types of medications specifically for bladder infections. At the end of three weeks I was miserable, couldn’t walk, and the pain was beyond attempting a description. I felt like I had the flu. Finally, I insisted on a visual examination and to my disbelief was told that I had genital herpes. The results of a herpes culture confirmed the diagnosis. I was immediately put on Zovirax. Later when I went in to see my family doctor he switched me to Famvir. To make a long story short my family doctor didn’t have a whole lot of information about herpes. He basically handed me a box of tissue, told me my life would never be the same, and sent me on my way. (Nice, huh?) The first year I was ashamed, got flare ups all the time, and didn’t have anybody that I trusted to talk to about what was happening in my life. To make matters worse I was angry that there were no Herpes Support Groups in Omaha.

My Herpes Outbreaks and Frequency: Anybody that has experienced a flare up and knows what they feel like will tell you they are no fun at all. Herpes outbreaks can be downright irritating and just another painful reminder of what we already know: HERPES. In the beginning I got outbreaks every two to three weeks. After tracking my flare-ups for one year I decided it was time to try suppression with Valtrex. Between Zovirax, Famvir and Valtrex I decided that Valtrex was getting rid of the flare-ups much faster. Suppression worked so well that I stayed on it for two years taking only 500 mg daily. No more flare ups made me a very happy person. In May of 2001 I did not get any flare-ups as a result of stopping suppression. In fact, it was nine months before I experienced a tiny red inflammation that went away in just two days taking Valtrex. They say that flare-ups decrease over time and in my situation this theory is definitely applicable. Everybody is different and herpes does not react the same way for all people. To date I no longer suffer from flare-ups and I am no longer on suppression. My advice to anybody that is newly diagnosed would be to educate yourself as much as possible and understand that what works for me might not work for you. Keep an open mind, have patience and stay away from “miracle cures” and “snake oil salesmen.”

Talking to Your Partner about Herpes: Telling a potential partner that you have herpes is not always easy but I think we can agree it’s the right thing to do. Some people like to tell from the beginning and others like to wait to really get to know the person. I don’t believe there is a wrong way to go about telling just as long as you tell before sexual intimacy. I would like to say that my husband loves me for who I am and not what I have or don’t have. Always expect the best in a relationship because you are worth it! Don’t sell yourself short and try not to limit yourself to only dating people that have herpes. In the end you can’t help loving who you love and adding restrictions and limitations only works to add to a stressful life. Having Herpes or HPV is nothing to be ashamed of so hold your head up high and be positive. If you don’t already know this there are a lot of folks out there that have herpes and don’t know that they have it because they don’t ever get any signs or symptoms. Herpes tests are not included in that routine std testing process either. Our Herpes Telling Story

Herpes and Pregnancy: In March of 2003 I found out I was pregnant! My husband and I are excited and can't wait to meet our little girl. My due date is December 18, 2003 and so far everything is going very well with mine and the baby's health. I am not worried about passing herpes to my baby because the chances of that happening are about one in several thousand. I am planning on going back on suppression with Valtrex about 6 weeks before my due date to prevent any flare up activity during labor and delivery. If all goes well I hope to have a safe and normal vaginal delivery. I will be sure to keep you posted with an update. If you are pregnant with herpes please do not worry about passing this to your baby. Arm yourself with the facts and keep in constant communication to make sure you are on the same page with your doctor.

My Baby Update: Baby Fiona was born on December 12, 2003 at 11:56 pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 7oz and she was 20 inches long. There was absolutely no sign of flare ups during labor and being on suppression prior to giving birth was not a problem. The epidural was AWESOME (I highly recommend them) and the anesthesiologist probably learned a thing or two from me about herpes! What was funny is that he asked me if I was taking any medications before he installed the epidural. I told him I was on suppression with Valtrex. He said, "Oh is that for the ----" (he couldn't say the word herpes) and he pointed to his mouth as if he were trying to indicate cold sores or a fever blister. I laughed and said, "No that would be for the genital herpes on me thank you." I scolded him a little for not saying the word herpes and then proceeded to laugh some more and informed him that the baby would not be coming out of my mouth! We laughed hysterically when I wasn't having a contraction. For those folks that have been following my story with great interest I want to tell you do not be discouraged. You can have a normal, healthy baby, and with a vaginal delivery (provided there are no complications) in spite of having herpes.

Another Baby On-the-Way: Baby Girl #3 is due at the end of November 2005. I will be starting suppressive therapy again mid October and we shall see how things go! If you are pregnant with herpes and need somebody to talk to please do not hesitate to contact me through e-mail.

My Baby Update Again: As you can see by the time you get to this paragraph, Miss Kinsley was born on November 28, 2005 in the early evening. She weighed in at (brace yourselves!) 10lbs 3oz and I'd have to pull out her measurements to tell you exactly how long she was in inches. I posted the story somewhere on the site... I just can't remember where? I think it's in my brand new pregnancy section that you should be able to find from the home page. I know it's around here somewhere, if you remind me via e-mail OR instant messenger, I should be able to get it real quick for you so you can read about what happened. Today Miss Kinsley is two years old. I don't believe we are going to have any more children. Not unless God has something else in store for us. I think it would be cool to adopt children that don't have a home OR family to go home to. We'll see what happens.

Thank You: Thanks to ASHA and the Herpes Resource Center I was able to educate myself about herpes and make a difference in my community by starting a herpes support group called Omaha HELP. Thanks to certain healthcare professionals and certain points in my life, I was able to ask questions, share dialog, and came to terms with “my” herpes back when I was first diagnosed. Today I am thankful for all my circumstances (good and bad) because they have helped me to grow as a person and to realize how insignificant herpes is when you have all the facts. Thanks to Rajah who’s HHP website inspired me to write my own herpes biography. Thanks to all my internet buddies whom I have not met face to face - one day we will meet and thank God for the telephone! lol A great BIG ol' thanks to everybody that has contributed to this site in the hopes of increasing STD awareness. Kudos!

Instant Message Anyone? I use yahoo instant messenger and my screen name is angelals1970. Go ahead and add me to your buddy list and maybe we can chat sometime. If you can't reach me through yahoo instant messenger then you might want to send me an e-mail. I'm also on Skype but don't care for the telephone portion of it - just the chat part.

Life with Herpes: One Woman's Story - I'm a Nebraska H Pal - This is my MySpace

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