Yes, i do see the humor to some extent . But I guarantee SNL wouldn't be joking about cancer or HIV. Please don't say herpes isn't that serious. For me, and MANY others, it's VERY serious. They are perpetuating the notion that herpes is a punchline shouldn't be taken seriously. It's bull crap.
I'll go first:
I have HSV 1 and 2. I've had sex with 2 people in my 49 years of life-my gifter and my husband. When I got herpes in 1992, not a lot was known about it. I actually had to go to the library to check out books about herpes to learn about the virus after my diagnosis. Fast forward to 2014, there still wasn't a lot of information out there. I was terrified for YEARS that I may have inadvertently passed it to my daughter through the course of normal living. The fear about that has only recently started to subside due to AI and by contacting Terri Warren. But I still have OCD attacks regarding transferring herpes to my daughter. I more than likely gave herpes to my husband of 33 years. (He's asymptomatic) I have to live with the guilt that I did that as well as the terror that he may get his very first outbreak. I have bad outbreaks. The pain and guilt surrounding sex is difficult for him to understand. He doesn't understand why sex is hard for me. I'm really traumatized. I'm scared I'm gonna hurt him worse than I already have. It puts a huge strain on our relationship. I have trigeminal neuralgia which I believe is a result of oral HSV. My herpes has not gotten better over time-it's gotten worse. I'm physically uncomfortable most days. These are the ways in which herpes has affected my life the most.
Every time I have to see a doctor about herpes, I am so ashamed. I feel like the doctor and nurses are judging me. Does anyone else experience this? I actually had a doctor act visibly uncomfortable when I told him why I was there.
Everybody! If we want things to change, we need to support the people who are actually doing the work on our behalf! Donate!! Please!!
Sign the freaking petition for Pete's sake. I'm so tired of suffering with this. I'm exhausted. I know you are too.
This link has all the email addresses of the important people we need to email to advocate for herpes cure/treatment research/funding. It took me 30 minutes, and that is because I typed out my own email as opposed to putting one that was AI generated. Please take the time to advocate.