I'm so grateful for this forum. I'm 47, have had Herpes since my exhusband gave it to me at age 32. After a hellish first year, my body adjusted, and OB were very light - almost imperceptable - and infrequent (about once every year and a half). Until I entered menopause. I haven't had a period for more than a year now. Suddenly, I am having monthly OB and this most recent one is very severe. The lesions are not in the same place I had all my other OB and the string of sores was nearly three inches long and very painful. Healing looks like it is going to take about three weeks. This is brand new and very upsetting, as I got married last year to a wonderful man who doesn't have Herpes and want to protect him. He has been so understanding, but it's distressing.
Valtrex worked wonderfully for me, but I don't have the same health insurance anymore and can't afford it. Acyclovir is cheaper, but hasn't worked at all - I'm wondering if it even exacerbated my symptoms since all my new outbreaks started when I began taking it.
One comment about the posts on estrogen....I know that doctors are recommending it, but I won't take it. Estrogen was added to the known list of carcinogens by the US Govt in 2001. It is a Class 1 carcinogen - in the same category as Asbestos. It is known that early menopause is protective against breast cancer precisely because of the drop in estrogen. With all the things I do to try to protect my health, I won't put something in my body that is known to cause cancer.
Thanks for the posts about natural things to try. I'll be doing that!
A weakened immune system can cause frequent and long duration HSV outbreaks. I was infected with HSV in my early 50's by a partner who denied having any STDs. I was already in menopause. For the first two years, Valtrex worked fairly well. However, I began to have monthly outbreaks with one lasting for three weeks. I was diagnosed with Lichen Scerlosis (biopsy) thus weakining the immune system and the vagina walls causing the frequent HSV outbreaks.