I think I've got herpes and I'm devastated

[sunflowermadness]

I just needed someone to talk to I don't even know what to think my mind is everywhere, all I know is that I'm scared.

I've been run down post covid, I get cold sores on my lips and get them quite bad but I've never had them 'down there' before.

My partner had one about two weeks ago. We had sex before and after his outbreak but I honestly thought we was in the safe zone. I have one now on my lip but thought I got it because I was run down like him.

Now, when I say run down I have been usually fluey, body aches just generally feeling shite. We all had covid three weeks ago so thought it was just the aftermath of that.

Today I woke up and felt a little sore down there, I thought I'd scratched myself or something by accident. I felt a little funny a few days ago too and wondered if it was thrush. I was in a bit of pain today so I checked it out and it did not look good. I have like a large graze on the inside of my labia which is red raw, and a cluster of small smite spots which looks alarming. We have been quite sexually active more than usual lately so as soon as I saw them I just knew.

I've rang the sexual health clinic but they can't get me in until Monday.

Obviously I've been Googling and the images look similar so I'm about 90% confident that I have genital herpes. I'm so frightened, worried about the blisters and passing it on.

I was groomed when i was younger and left with untreated chlamydia off some twat who got treated and didn't tell me for months that he had it, which spreaded to my pelvic organs and made me really poorly. I'm scared it's going to flare things up or the repercussions I'm going to have from this.

Please some words of comfort or your own experiences I don't want to feel like I'm alone in this. I'm embarrassed and kicking myself for letting this happen again, the first time I found out I had an Sti I was so young and it was awful.

Oops take 1000mg lysine 🤣

@Whingasaurus yes I've been taking a high amount of lysine for over a week now as I feel it helps me loads with the cold sores, I'm wondering if I've suppressed the genital side more from taking them! I dread to think it would have been worse if I hadn't!

I'm 44 and caught it off a partner last summer. The first outbreak was awful, really painful and I felt like I had the flu, I was in bed about a week! Just to reassure you I've not had a recurrence despite having Covid and a secondary infection which is when I thought it would come back as I was so low. It sounds like you're over the worst of it now.

Did you have any other symptoms other than very heavy discharge/ I'm currently experiencing this atm (heavy discharge) and some light burning and itching but nothing else. I am in panic mode though as I've got sore corners of my mouth and a few very small white bumps on my lips. No cold soles anywhere though. My mind is in OVERDRIVE.

Adding on to this old thread, OP, sounds like you got sorted.
I suspect I had COVID in July- August, probably latest strain, ending in sore throat. Then I started with some unusual symptoms including feeling like my abdomen full, loss of appetite, loose stool, headaches, general exhaustion and achyness from mid August. End of the month and a massive cold sore appeared and also a sore patch on inner labia. Have never had genital herpes to my knowledge and have been quite upset about it.
Been swabbed and getting blood tests.
Having furiously googled I now see that COVID and Herpes get into the body in the same way, that there is a documented relationship between the two and that obviously the latter appears when you are rundown.
I may have had dormant genital herpes for years, or maybe just started (sexually active).
I’m just a Googler so any further info/ corrections great.

@zzzexhaustedzzz I hope you are okay.

yes I got sorted in the end. By the time I had an app for a clinic my symptoms had settled down, so they couldn’t swap a sore. and they pretty much said if you have been having cold sores all your life there is a very high probability that you will have them genitally too but might not have known about it. Then she proceeded to tell me that it’s incredibly common, most people don’t know unless it flares up bad and causes an issue. It settled down so I’ve just kind of accepted that I probably do.

Strange thing about covid and cold sores my partner started getting mouth ulcers with covid and now he gets them when he’s run down with anything. Feels familiar with the cold sores and the way they present. Maybe covid has triggered immune responses that weren’t symptomatic in us before

Can I ask how much lysine you take please?

sorry to hear what you are going though OP.

One question - how do you have sex when you have herpes ? I know you don't have sex on an outbreak but what about sex when not having an outbreak ?

People don’t really talk about it but I know a
someone who has it. She has only had one outbreak, is in a very committed lovely relationship and has three children. You’d never know and I really don’t judge her at all. I only know because when she has her outbreak she was so shocked she had to talk to sosmone. It’s not her fault it’s just one of those things.
I hope you feel ok op and your mind is put at rest.

Just as Normal. It is possible but unlikely to spread when not shedding.
Condoms don't really work as don't cover all areas.
People have sex, children etc as normal but manage the outbreaks

Hi,
update: after a mad panic about it I was swabbed at the clinic but told it was negative (probs missed the right time, and it was a small though painful area).
I think I was overreacting really as said above, many many people have it and don’t even know. Sex-wise I abstained for 3 weeks and it seems to have sparked the end of my relationship. So it led onto great emotional pain!

But if you're negative how has it ended the relationship?

If you've been dumped for not having sex for 3 weeks it's sounds like you've had a lucky escape!

Have you read Caitlin Moran’s most recent (I think) book where she advocates a maintenance shag once a week, regardless of high quality..(!) Well, we weren’t living together as it was and things were shaky. I think it put him off though I do think his coldsore was to blame. He’s a bit of a pathetic specimen. Yes I am better off, just sad… !