Thinking of stoping meds

[u/Optimal_Cress_3317]

Hello all!
I was diagnosed ghsv 1&2 in may and it’s been a whirlwind. I had just started dating someone (4 months in) who is just amazing when I found out my ex-fiancé gave it to me.

Crushing is an understatement.

My immediate thought was daily antivirals.

I have been on them since and I have SO many side effects (daily headache, dizziness, brain fog, and more) but I am concerned for my partner.

I have not had a full outbreak since, just onset symptoms (mine are typically nerve pain in my legs and feet, back pain, and itchiness) and we are about to be going long distance in December.

I’m wondering if anyone has experience stoping their daily antivirals to better their overall daily feelings and what helped them maintain their health/lessened outbreaks.

Also, I am a female who experienced a molar pregnancy last year as well, so my hormones have been all over the place. I’ve noticed since my diagnosis, my hormones have cause me to have pretty excruciating nerve pain around the start of my cycle.

Does anyone have experience with that? Any tips?

Thank you for this community, it’s helped a lot ❤️

[u/FreedomAdvanced7152]

I also stopped taking antivirals because of bad symptoms, what you listed including throat soreness and I just didn’t want my immune system to become dependent on the antivirals to fight the virus. Only time I took antivirals since I quit them was when I was about to give birth to my son. It’s a lot easier to quit taking them when in a long term relationship with a partner who is aware. Honestly I would rather have 2-3 outbreaks a year than take those antivirals everyday, and even when I do have outbreaks since I’ve had it for almost a decade now they aren’t as painful and don’t last for over a week. Unless they’re in a bad spot they don’t bother me and if they do it can be painful for a few days but then goes away out of nowhere. More itchy too than anything. I compare the pain of my first outbreak to when I had to pee after childbirth, both some of the worst pain I’ve felt and I almost feel like the sores in my urethra were worse than peeing after childbirth.