Name: Mark
Age: 38
Sex: M
Type: HSV2
Occupation: HVAC
Prodromes: Itching, blisters, stabbing pain, soreness
OB's: One so far
Method of Treatment: Acyclovir 400mg 3x daily for now

My story: I have been married to a wonderful woman for 15 years and have 
been sexually monogamous with her exclusively for 17 years. We have 4 great 
kids and a very active life. About one month ago I woke up and noticed two 
of what I thought were insect bites on my genitals. No biggie. Its happened 
before I thought. I had showed them to my wife, but after about a week they 
weren't going away and they were itching constantly. After breaking a sore I 
noticed that they had spread! OH NO! I went to the doc and he checked me 
out. He said it looked like herpes but swabbed me to make sure. This was a 
Thursday afternoon and I had to wait until Monday for the results. The 
longest weekend of my life for sure. My wife and I even talked about it and 
decided NO WAY could it be herpes. There is just NO WAY! We are monogamous! 
Well Monday rolls around and he calls with the news. I have HSV2 genital 
herpes! HOW? WHAT? ME? NO WAY!!!! That is a dirty STD and it just cant be 
true!! He explains to me that a lot of people have it, some have only one OB 
in their lives, but others have many. He seemed very understanding and quite 
reassuring to me in my fears of this dreaded "disease". But to be truthful, 
I felt he wanted to get me out of the office quickly.

How am I going to tell my wife? is the first question that pops into my 
head. Well, I didn't know much about it and went home and told her flat out. 
She was shocked and devastated at first. I think she thought I was cheating 
on her. But then, to my total surprise she said "I have the HSV1, so it 
could've been me." I am dumbfounded!! Well, she goes to her doc to get 
tested too. The results come back positive for HSV2 also. What a shock! The 
doc said either one of us could have been carrying this around for years 
without an outbreak and without knowing! Amazing! I NEVER knew that the 
virus could act like that. She hasn't had an OB yet and never has, and I have 
only recently had my first. I'm still kind of in a state of shock, but have 
come to terms with it rather quickly. Who had it first and who gave it? I 
don't know. But I do know that I love my wife and this is just another speed 
bump in the road of life and marriage for us.

Medical experiences: My doc explained a lot to me about the virus. How it 
acts, what might or might not happen, what to do with my partner, etc. Her 
doc said that if we were monogamous for that long, chances are she had it 
too. If she didn't have it, then chances were I cheated. Can you believe a 
doctor saying that? I was freaking out! Even so, I hoped and prayed that she 
didn't have it, but the test came back positive for her too. We are still 
both kind of shocked, but have come to terms with it rather quickly I think.

Telling: So far, only us and our respective doctors know. And all of you of 
course. Will I or we ever tell anyone else? Maybe someday, maybe not. I'm 
not quite sure yet as this is all new to me as I just found out two weeks 
ago. But I am glad that I found the site and was able to tell all of you. 
Hang in there.

Peace