What it's like to have Monkeypox

[JakeTurner]

So… I'm pretty sure I managed to get Monkeypox. It's either that or a really bad outbreak of herpes. I got tested to see if I have it, but at the time of the test the only visible sore was just inside my ass and so they couldn't get puss out of it to test properly. So even if the test comes back negative that doesn't mean I don't have it.

I figured I'd start a thread where people who've had Monkeypox could share their experiences (with photos) and others could ask questions…

Here's the rundown of what happened with me… I'm going call the day I first noticed sores "Day 0"…

Day -18:
I fuck this guy and when I finger his hole it doesn't feel right / healthy. I've since asked him if he had Mpox - he's seen the message on BBRT and didn't respond - which is suspicious. Otherwise a sweet guy, so verdicts out on him.

Day -7:
I get vaccinated for Monkeypox (I happened to be in a place where they were available - lucky me!) At the time I thought it was weird how fastidious they were about wiping down chairs after people sat in them. But later I realized it made sense because shorts could be an infected fabric which then puts the virus on the chair and is picked up by the next person who sits in the chair. Thing is, there was a waiting room where you filled out your paperwork - I didn't see anyone wipe down chairs there (though they may have). So that waiting room was a possible point of exposure.

Day -5:
I fuck a gangbang bottom. I've tried to contact him, but he hasn't opened the message, so don't know if I got it from him or not.

Day -3.5:
I go to a park and fuck 2 guys and get fucked by 4 guys. One was especially sketchy - his dick didn't feel right (it felt rough) but I still let him fuck me. And it was really dark so I couldn't really see what might be causing the roughness. BUT - knowing how painful mpox is, I can't understand how he could be looking for sex or even get hard if that roughness was caused by mpox sores - it would have been incredibly painful for him. So that doesn't add up unless he was in the week after when things weren't completely healed.

Day -3:
A guy fucks me and at one point it feels like his finger nail nicks the inside of my ass. 

Day -1:
I have a busy exhausting day. There might have been symptoms but I was just too tired and exhausted to notice them.

Day 0:
My sphincter feels inflamed and sore. When I feel it, it feels "wrong" and I can feel a bump. I chalk it up to the guy nicking me with his fingernail (day -3).

There's  also a bump at the bottom of my asscheek (bikini line area) that really hurts when I touch it. When I take a photo of it it's dark red - so not filled with puss like mpox sores are supposed to be.  BUT I had done a long bike ride the day before, so it's possible the pressure from the bike saddle did something to it.

Day 1:  The sore at my bikini line popped and a hair is growing out of it - so I chalk it up to being an ingrown hair. 

Day 2: My ass isn't getting better. 

Day 3: Should have called for a doctor's appointment early in the day, but make the decision late, so called the next morning.

Day 4: I see a medical provider and they do a bunch of tests.

Day 5: Two more sores show up - one on my taint

…and another on just below the head of my dick. (The big hole is a Prince Albert.)

Day 6:
No big change. But the area around the sore on my dick is really puffy & swollen. 

Day 7:
The sore on my taint has mostly gone away and seems to be healing. It's barely visible in pictures.

There's possibly a new sore just inside my ass.

Day 8 (today):
The sore on my dick is looking less like a sore. Seems like it's popped or something and just looks wet and slightly different than the surrounding skin.

In the morning there's considerable pain when I'm sitting (from the probable new sore in/around my ass), but it's generally tolerable by the afternoon.

All the tests come back negative except the monkeypox test which hasn't come back yet. 

 

At no point have I had a significant fever or noticed swollen/sore lymph nodes or had significant malaise. I feel a bit "weary" and lethargic but I'm chalking it up to being a bit down in the dumps after having caught Monkeypox after having sex with so few guys. It's not like I had sex with 20-30 guys. My numbers over 3 weeks were in the single digits - and some of those were quicky pump-n-dumps with me as the top. And I was also beating myself up for not taking it easier with sex for a full 2 weeks after having getting vaccinated. Had I done so, I probably wouldn't have gotten it.

 

So when was I infected?

The WHO says symptoms happen 6-13 days after infection, sometimes 5-21 days. Another study using a small sample of recent cases with mostly gay men in Europe says 95% of cases happen between 4.2 and 17.3 days. So that makes the last guy and even going to the park unlikely to be the point of infection (though it's still possible). BUT the sores first showed up in my ass and those were the only times I was fucked. You'd think if I got it from topping that I'd get it first on/around my dick. 

 

Monkeypox or herpes?

My symptoms also kinda also match what an initial herpes infection might look like. Thing is, I've had herpes in the past (as have most people), so unless I caught an additional type (had HSV2, caught HSV1 or vice versa) that's unlikely. I did have a cold sore on my lip a few weeks before - which I can't ever remember having had before. So it's possible. Just today I started doing heavy doses of Valtrex. I'll let you know if that makes it go away, though I doubt it'll work. 

 

Take aways if you haven't had it…

Even mild Monkeypox is extremely painful. Avoid it if you can.

The sores are pretty small and easy to miss. Apparently a sore is infectious for a week afterwards - until new skin has grown back over the area. So good luck figuring out if the person you're hooking up with is infectious. About all you can do is prioritize regulars you trust, and limit the number of strangers you interacting with. I thought I was kinda doing that - that a few guys in a park was 10x better than lots of guys at a sex party - but I still got it, so I guess it is what it is. You can reduce your risk but can't eliminate it if you're having non-monogamous sex.

Absolutely get vaccinated if you can - it will help even if you do catch it. I chalk fairly mild symptoms up to having gotten the vaccine. 

And once you get vaccinated take it easy with sex for a full two weeks. 

Edited July 18, 2022 by JakeTurner

[JakeTurner]

Just to follow up…

Day 9 & 10 (yesterday & today:

Incredibly painful to take a shit, but every day it's a small bit better.

The sores on my dick and on my taint are healing. The one on my dick was creating little balls of dried puss which would move off the area of the sore and made me worry I had new sores - but they just wiped away when I touched them.

 

I took heavy doses of Valtrex (2g, twice a day) for two days in case it was herpes, not Mpox. And now I'm taking half that - 1g, twice a day. With a normal herpes outbreak that usually makes things a lot better. Things are just marginally better - so I'm not sure what to think.

I'm really hoping things clear up in a week or so, so they heal before I go to Montréal for Pride… 🤞

[JakeTurner]

Shortly after I wrote the post above I got a call from the clinic that did the tests last week and I DO have Monkeypox! (I can stop taking Valtrex.) Since they couldn't pop a lesion to get puss I figured the test would come back negative. 

The good part about having a positive test is they're putting me on Tecovirimat (an experimental drug) which is supposed to help me get over things more quickly. Since most of my problem is in my ass, they don't want there to be scarring down there. If there had been a false negative I wouldn't be able to get the drug and recovery would have taken longer. I take the drug for two weeks. I'm hoping it doesn't take that long for symptoms to end.

[rawfuckr]

11 hours ago, JakeTurner said:

Day 9 & 10 (yesterday & today:

Incredibly painful to take a shit, but every day it's a small bit better.

This happened to me too with my MP infection. Exactly as you describe. There was a bump inside my hole, I thought it was a hemorroid from so much fucking or something. But as time passed shitting was more and more difficult, and started to see blood in my stool. Eventually it all went away and got resolved, at least feeling wise. I'll have to get the whole area checked properly.

[Axel83]

I thought I'd also share my MP experience - with images - hopefully to help anyone else out there with similar symptoms.

I am certain I contracted the virus in a popular cruise club in London. It started with two visible lesions or ulcers just inside the anus that appeared maybe 10 days after my slutty evening in the cruise club. At this point there is no pain but they are itchy if I touch them. Probably a day or two before this pic was taken (before I noticed any sores) I was hit with extreme fatigue. Like absolute cannot-drag-myself-outta-bed fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell. I also had a fever and chills.

The week before this pic was taken I contracted Covid for the first time (worst sore throat of my life) and assumed the fatigue and illness was the tail-end of the Covid virus. At this point Monkeypox (MP) wasn't even a thought as I have a history of anal herpes and put the sores down to that. Even though they didn't look like typical herpes sores, I assumed that with the accompanying Covid infection, perhaps the sores were exacerbated somewhat. I prepared myself for a herpes episode by dosing up on valacycovir.

About one day later I start to get the tell-tail signs of a typical herpes outbreak - tingling sensation in the butt and just a feeling of knowing something is going on down there. The pic shows redness and bumps starting to form. So at this point I definitely associate the 2 sores with herpes and again MP is not even a thought. As seen in the pic, the 2 sores or ulcers are internal and cannot be seen (or felt). They would be exposed however if I opened my butt a little with my hands (similar to the first pic).

Another day or so later and the herpes (right-side of anus) is really starting to flare up and cause discomfort. The sores on the left-hand side of the anus are still there and starting to ulcer a bit. They are still not painful to touch, however my rectum at this stage is feeling inflamed and angry. The fatigue has slowly gone away and I feel relatively fine other than having a really sore butt. Again, I put this down to the herpes at this stage.

Another day later and I am in a lot of discomfort now. The herpes are starting to ulcer and taking a bowel movement is extremely painful - like passing glass. There is blood with every bowel movement... not just on the toilet paper but the toilet bowl water is coloured red. There's definitely more going on inside my anus here that is not visible or external. I am certain now (in hindsight) that the pain I felt taking a poo was associated with other MP sores that were established inside my rectum.

At this point I have a doctor visit me in my hotel (I am travelling at the moment and in a non-English speaking country now, which makes things really difficult). He tells me it looks like herpes but he can't be certain. He suggests possibly syphilis or MP and he directs me to the ER. Here, the doctor tells me she thinks it is in fact MP. She takes a swab and tells me to wait for a call or email for the results within the next day. I am never contacted by them again, so I have no idea what the result was and have a flight to another country 2 days later.

Another pic below of what (I assume) is a herpes outbreak but may also be MP.... I will never know. Internally, there is stuff going on inside my rectum, I can feel it and there's still blood, pus and pain when I have a bowel movement. It's the worst herpes outbreak I have had since I first contracted the virus 5 years ago in terms of pain and duration. I now put this down to the accompanying MP infection.

x

Starting to ulcer here in the pic below. Really painful to touch and I definitely have some degree of proctitis. My rectum just feels so sore and inflamed - the pics don't really do it justice in terms of how I was feeling. Blood and pus is still present with bowel movements. I am unable to sleep properly due to the constant throbbing and blister-type pain. I am having multiple hot showers at night to try to relieve it. After one particularly painful bowel movement with lots of blood, I am convinced that I must be developing an anal abscess (I had one 12 years again and the constant throbbing reminds me what it was like back them).

At midnight I present to an ER in a different country this time (still non-English speaking). I use Google translate for the nurse at the ER reception - I say that I am having a bad herpes outbreak with possible anal abscess developing. I see a doctor straight away. She speaks english and is very understanding. She does a gentle investigation with the tip of a lubed finger... no anal abscess she says! I am so relived. Last time I needed to have the abscess surgically drained and I really didn't want to have surgery in a foreign country. She puts it down to the herpes outbreak (no mention of MP) and gives me pain relief in the form of panadine and a small amount of coedine... which was useless. Even at this point, I am not thinking it's MP, just a really bad herpes episode.

Probably 10 days or so after the first pic was taken, things start to settle down (at least visually) and the sores being to receed and disappear. The 2 lesions shown in the early pics are still there (internal, not visible) but are much smaller. There is still pus when I take a poo and as gross as it sounds, I am noticing mucus on my stool. This has me concerned that I may also have either an accompanying chlamydia or gono infection (totally plausible given my wild night in the London cruise club).

Final pic - for context this is about 2.5 weeks after the first pic that is shown and is what my hole generally looks like without infection. However, as I inspect myself with a lubed finger I can feel just on the inside lining of my anus 2 or 3 notable soft painless bumps (feels similar to a hemorrhoid - but just feels a little different). I'm convinced it is the final remaining sores of the MP infection. There is also a very small amount of blood on my finger when I pull it out. I can have a bowel movement now without pain and there is very little (if any) pus or discharge. I did manage to get hold of some doxycyline and azithromycin (1g) via an online pharmacy. Ever since I took this medication the pus has disappeared which has me believe I definitely had other infection (although not formally diagnosed).

In summary, I assume that I had both Covid and Monkeypox at the same time - which was the catalyst also for a bad herpes break out to occur concurrently. I assumed I also had an accompanying bacterial infection such as gono - though this cannot be proven as I did not have an anal swab test. What a combination!!!

That one night in the London cruise club really fucked up my life for the last month! Other than the fatigue, fever and genital sores I had no other typical symptoms of MP. I did not break out in sores on the face, arms or legs. I had 2 (maybe 3) very small pimple-like things appear on one leg and one on my neck - but these looked like regular pimples. If they were associated with MP then they were so benign! 

I have not been sexually active during the past month so am confident I have not spread the virus. I was simply in too much discomfort to even think about having sex. 

Hopefully this post has been helpful for some. Feel free to PM me with any questions 🙂 

[JakeTurner]

@Axel83 thanks for all those pics! If I had to guess you only had MP, not herpes. Most of those lesions look like classic MP lesions. Though they are in a group - which is typical of herpes. So who knows. [And, minus the lesions - nice hole!]

 

And just an update on where things stand with me (Day 11 & 12)…

Taking a crap was far less painful yesterday, and almost normal today. I'm still not back to normal down there, but making good progress.

You can't really tell I had a sore on my dick anymore. That's pretty much completely healed and normal now.

The ones near/on my taint are just slight red bumps. You can tell something happened there, but it doesn't look all that unusual. 

I got my Tecovirimat Rx last night. You take it twice a day, so I'm 2 doses into it. But I feel like even without it symptoms would have resolved in a few days (around the 2 week mark). So in a few days, once I know for sure my symptoms are gone, I'll contact the clinic that got the meds for me and ask whether I should stop after a week. The meds came in two bottles, so I could give one back, still sealed…

Edited July 22, 2022 by JakeTurner

[PissPigBrooklyn]

6 minutes ago, JakeTurner said:

@Axel83 thanks for all those pics! If I had to guess you only had MP, not herpes. Most of those lesions look like classic MP lesions. Though they are in a group - which is typical of herpes. So who knows. [And, minus the lesions - nice hole!]

 

And just an update on where things stand with me (Day 11 & 12)…

Taking a crap was far less painful yesterday, and almost normal today. I'm still not back to normal down there, but making good progress.

You can't really tell I had a sore on my dick anymore. That's pretty much completely healed and normal now.

The ones near/on my taint are just slight red bumps. You can tell something happened there, but it doesn't look all that unusual. 

I got my Tecovirimat Rx last night. You take it twice a day, so I'm 2 doses into it. But I feel like even without it symptoms would have resolved in a few days (around the 2 week mark). So in a few days, once I know for sure my symptoms are gone, I'll contact the clinic that got the meds for me and ask whether I should stop after a week. The meds came in two bottles, so I could give one back, still sealed…

Glad you are starting to feel a bit better and hope you continue to improve.

[Axel83]

22 minutes ago, JakeTurner said:

@Axel83 thanks for all those pics! If I had to guess you only had MP, not herpes. Most of those lesions look like classic MP lesions. Though they are in a group - which is typical of herpes. So who knows. [And, minus the lesions - nice hole!]

@JakeTurner You could very well be right. I think I had both as the clustered blister-type sores look and felt very similar to previous herpes outbreaks I've had. However, those 2 bigger sores that appeared early on are definitely not typical of my herpes symptoms and I assume it was also monkeypox.

Unfortunately I have been unable to receive a formal diagnosis having travelled to 4 different countries in the last month and encountering numerous stresses and challenges with the different healthcare systems (being a foreigner) and language barrier. Just getting a standard and quick STI screen to eliminate syphilis has been a nightmare - I can't believe how hard they make it. It's not fun being sick when you're not at home, especially with a virus that is relatively unknown in the West. The other challenge I would have encountered if I was formally diagnosed is that I would have been forced to isolate for 14-21 days (as required by most European countries now). I am due to head home soon so I couldn't risk getting properly tested. I just waited it out and have kept to myself - which is all I would have done anyway if I was diagnosed given there's no treatment.

Glad to hear you're on the mend 🙂 

Edited July 22, 2022 by Axel83

[120DaysofSodom]

That first picture looks like an ingrown hair thats infected and is likely a cyst. Not an expert though but where you mention it is on the area of the body (the bikini line), is typically where you get them. I get one every once in awhile and sometimes they can hurt like a bitch and take several weeks to heal. Some mupirocin ointment prescribed by your dermatiologist, and minocycline 2x a day will help it heal quicker.

[rawTOP]

Some guys on Twitter are sharing their experiences which seem worse than the ones mentioned here, so I figured I'd include those as well. Click "view" to see the content (since Twitter has them locked down since they're mostly posting porn)…

 

Silver Steele

 

HungerFF

 

Ziven Sparks

Ziven wrote out a full blog post with his experience…

https://medium.com/@zivensparks/a-sex-workers-monkeypox-experience-5d8b3e4560d6

[JakeTurner]

Just an update…

I had a mild case overall, and I'm grateful that was the case. BUT it just won't quite go away - which ie beyond frustrating.

I started Techovirimat (aka TPOXX) on "Day 11" and just too my last pills this morning (Day 25). Things were going so well that I thought I'd stop the TPOXX early. But then a little over a week ago ("Day 17", day 6 of TPOXX) I took a pic to see how thing were going "down there" (I felt great) and I saw an unhealed lesion. At that point I figured I'd continue the TPOXX for the full 14 days. BUT it hasn't healed in that time. It's looked pretty much like this the entire time…

So that little fucker is going to stop me from having fun this weekend (I'm going to Montréal for Pride). I just want it to heal so I can be done with everything.

 

But the takeaway for guys who are trying to avoid getting MPX is that, if that sore were in my ass rather than just outside it, I would have no clue I still had a problem and I'd be at GI Joe this weekend taking loads - and infecting the tops who fucked me. So this is not a good situation for tops since you can't see the lesions that could infect you and the bottom may have no clue that they haven't healed.

Edited August 4, 2022 by JakeTurner

[tighthole64]

To all, thanks for sharing stories and pics.  I don't have it, but know someone who has it, and as mentioned, in his hole.  Has also apparently effected his prostrate, and painful to even piss.

For those luckily enough to have gotten Vax before it became so limited, just remember it doesn't work overnight!  From what I've heard, anywhere from 10-14 days to be effective!

[rawfuckr]

Hitting 5 weeks here since first lesions appeared and while scabs are off and new skin has come in I'm starting to think the remaining marks are gonna pretty noticeable. The ones on my ass are still of brownish tone and are the ones that bother me the most as it will be noticeable when I'm on my fours again.

[kinky]

Crossposting from another thread:

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Everyone needs to see this. Quite graphic:

 

 

 

 

[Kinkybreed]

Typing this with a very sore ass right now. Been googling my fingers off for the last couple of days and am basically just freaking out. Since there are so many different experiences around this topic and so much misinformation circling around I just really don't know what to do right now. I wasn't able yet to get vaccinated and apparently there are no places around where I live where I could get vaccinated or tested. So I'm starting this topic hoping that someone who had it could share his experiences with me and if it is similar to mine now. Apologies to the admin if I'm posting this in the wrong place but since it might also be something different than monkeypox (fingers crossed) I didn't feel like this would fit in the other threads.

So I had a pretty shitty Date last Friday. On Sunday / Monday I started to notice little pimple-like bumps on my ass including one big one which really just felt like a painful pimple. At first I didn't think much of it since I shaved my ass for my date and stuff like that can happen. First pic here is from Monday showing the little "pimples". 



On Wednesday the pimples started to look worse and turned into sores. Especially the big one. My hole felt sore and I was bleeding a bit from a wound above it. But again, no wonder after how rough this guy was.

Second pic is from today and everything looks way way worse. I'm not really in pain, it just feels like something is wrong (which it clearly is ha) and sometimes I have a tingling / burning sensation inside of my hole which doesn't last though. Weeks ago I've had symptoms for a couple of days which reminded me of gono. I took a test this week and it all came back negative. Then I thought it could be herpes or syphilis but I guess the symptoms would be different? But I also don't have any flu-like symptoms which are associated with monkeypox. And I just have these sores and not the typical fluid filled bumps that you see everywhere.



So... I know you guys aren't doctors and I feel uncomfortable as shit to post pics like that but has anyone here experienced something like that? And to those who had monkeypox: Did it look / feel similar to you? Feeling kind of helpless now so I'm happy about any information or tips that you guys could have.
And no, I can't contact the guy so I don't know if he had monkeypox or not..