Thanksgiving Outbreaks

[MattPhilly]

Hey everyone,

My first post here! Pretty nice forum.

Well, it's Thanksgiving week, and my outbreak started. The weird thing is that for the past 3 years, the only time I ever get an outbreak is during the 2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving! What do ya know? 3 days ago it started!!

Went to the Doc yesterday and he thinks something that I eat this time of year triggers the OB. The only different things that I eat is Pumpkin pie and Pomegranites, could be one, I don't know.

I get it bad inside the mouth, to the point I can't even swallow. Last year I wound up in the ER because of it !!!! And I can never eat Thanksgiving dinner. I can't eat, talk, or swallow my saliva, gotta spit.

As soon as the OB started, I started doing 8 grams of Vitamin C a day along with Valtrex and that seems to be taking the edge off, Thank God.

Anyone else have any food or seasonal triggers?

[scgal]

I too have outbreaks on the inside of my mouth. I have not found a food that triggers it.......am suspicious of oatmeal though. My outbreaks tend to be during stressful times. Are you always stressed at this time of year? I just started Valtrex as an episodic treatment. It seems to help a lot so far. I was able to prevent a full blown breakout when I started the rx at the first sign.....burning and tingling in the lips. My outbreaks started 2 years ago and seem to be getting more frequent. My dr says they should diminish now that I have started the rx. Oh, also, I found a lysine lip cream that is very good. It is made by Quantum. I found it at Sav-On. It seems to be very effective and has been very soothing on the lips. Hope you get better soon.

[MattPhilly]

oooouch

Glad you found something that works for you. I'm still trying, nothing seems to be working. Not even 2 grams of valtrex a day. I have it so bad inside my mouth that I can't eat, which really sucks. Can't even talk or be seen in public. The weird thing is that it's only inside my mouth, kinda like I have a mouthfull of lava. Very distracting. Just glad it only happens about once a year, but I'm totally out for about 2 weeks. Are you on suppressive therapy?

I have inside my ENITIRE mouth, inner lips, cheeks, palate, under tongue, etc, anyone else have it like this?

[Cherry Cola]

Sorry to hear that Matt,about not being able to eat and all.

Is there anything you can take for the pain so that you can eat?

I've had mouth pain (for other reasons) and found I was able to drink meal replacement drinks and shakes like Boost or Ensure.Also ice cream or slushes helped numb the pain so I could eat something soft.

Hope you find something that works.

[scgal]

My OB's are also entirely on the inside of my mouth, weird isn't it? I've had 3 OB's and was able to prevent the 4th by taking 2 grams of valtrex each day for 2 weeks at the first sign of tingling and burning. I usually get burning eyes and lips before the OB. Do you get any advance warning signs? I am not yet on supressive therapy. I'm hoping to be able to use episodic treatment. My first 2 OB were terrible, like yours. I couldn't swallow either. My lips were so swollen and cracked, I too couldn't go out in public...it sucks big time. My episodes seemed to take 3-4 weeeks to completely clear. I ended up taking prednisone (steroid) during the first 2 OB's to reduce the swelling. It helps but prednisone makes me unable to sleep and extremely irritable....I hated it. Have you tried Gelclair Oral Care? It is a rx mouth rinse that cancer and Aids patients use. I found it very helpful to ease the pain of the sores in my mouth. Also, do you get flu shots every year? I am suspicious that it might be causing my OB's. Unfortunately my OB's seem to be coming more frequently. I am praying that this Valtrex will help to diminish the number of OB's. Also, I am beginning to follow the diet advice of keeping my lysine levels up. I am going to talk to my dr about taking lysine supplements too. Hope you are getting better. Keep in touch.