Questions about Acyclovir...HELP!

[ouch]

So...after months and months of NO outbreaks....using only lysine and vitamins...I am having one again. (sigh) I am SURe it is from stressing out over stupid pimple like things on the palm of my hands (freaking out that it is herpes whitlow...when I doubt it is...but I AM my worse enemy.)

So...a few days ago I started to get that "heavy" feeling in the old nether regions. I started to take Acyclovir. Doesn't seem to help much seeing how I am developing one nasty sore on my labia. The dosage I have is 400mgs per tab. How many should I take a day, roughly. The little information sheet that came in the pack of pills says 200mgs, every 4 hours, 5 times a day! (for intermittant therapy).

The only time it says to take 400 mgs (twice a day) is for chronic suppressive therapy. Which , as anyone who has read my posts...KNOW I do not want to do....

SO! ...any words of advice out there? I tried calling the nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood and she is way busy...have not heard back yet (yeh, I get "house calls!") So rather then keep on with the med saturation, I would like to hear what those in the know have to say (who do the same sort of "program" I do...which is to take suppressives only at the onset of an outbreak.)

also, I am weaning my nursing son...can this stuff hurt him. The people who prescribed it to me didn't seem to think so....(MEN) and on the pamplet I have, it just says that trace amounts can be passed to the baby via breastmilk. Any words of advice THERE? (meaning, have any moms taken this stuff while nursing...I need to get this kid weaned, but he is not having it! )

Thanks again for any help!

[SpecialGuest1234]

So...after months and months of NO outbreaks....using only lysine and vitamins...I am having one again. (sigh)

How do you know for sure that it's the lysine and vitamins that have been keeping your outbreaks away? Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you are just one of those people that has herpes and won't get very many outbreaks constantly?

I am SURe it is from stressing out over stupid pimple like things on the palm of my hands (freaking out that it is herpes whitlow...when I doubt it is...but I AM my worse enemy.)

Instead of stressing yourself out.. why not go to the doctor and see if he/she can figure out what is going on with your hands? No sense in trying to guess what is going on, right? That would just stress you out even further and we all know that stress can certainly be the cause of outbreaks.

So...a few days ago I started to get that "heavy" feeling in the old nether regions. I started to take Acyclovir. Doesn't seem to help much seeing how I am developing one nasty sore on my labia. The dosage I have is 400mgs per tab. How many should I take a day, roughly. The little information sheet that came in the pack of pills says 200mgs, every 4 hours, 5 times a day! (for intermittant therapy).

First of all.. not every itch or sore down there is because of herpes. Sometimes I think people should give it a rest, wait, and then see what happens. Sometimes people need to have other things ruled out.. for example, yeast infections, or BV. Trying to self diagnose yourself isn't alway the best and can stress you out even further.

The only time it says to take 400 mgs (twice a day) is for chronic suppressive therapy. Which , as anyone who has read my posts...KNOW I do not want to do....

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what is going on with your body. Also, why not look up the prescribing information on the internet? I realize this is an older posts so perhaps you can give us an update on how you are doing and if you were able to figure out what is going on with the help of a doctor?

SO! ...any words of advice out there? I tried calling the nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood and she is way busy...have not heard back yet (yeh, I get "house calls!") So rather then keep on with the med saturation, I would like to hear what those in the know have to say (who do the same sort of "program" I do...which is to take suppressives only at the onset of an outbreak.)

Why don't you get up, and actually go to planned parenthood instead of waiting for them to call you back? Don't they need to see you anyway?

also, I am weaning my nursing son...can this stuff hurt him. The people who prescribed it to me didn't seem to think so....(MEN) and on the pamplet I have, it just says that trace amounts can be passed to the baby via breastmilk. Any words of advice THERE? (meaning, have any moms taken this stuff while nursing...I need to get this kid weaned, but he is not having it! )

I am still nursing my nine month old and I don't worry about that too much. I think it's perfectly fine to treat your outbreaks. But, you don't even know if what you are experiencing is an outbreak. What were you able to find out?

Thanks again for any help!

Hope you had a chance to work it all out..

Angela

[ouch]

How do you know for sure that it's the lysine and vitamins that have been keeping your outbreaks away? Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you are just one of those people that has herpes and won't get very many outbreaks constantly?

That very well could be, that my own immune system was what helped prevent many outbreaks...I just find it a little too coincidental that when I STOPPED taking Lysine, then the outbreaks became more vicious. Nah, I will stick with my "placebo effect" thanks! Can't hurt! And I DO get outbreaks all the time now, since I was pregnant. I believe it to be something related to hormones.

Instead of stressing yourself out.. why not go to the doctor and see if he/she can figure out what is going on with your hands? No sense in trying to guess what is going on, right? That would just stress you out even further and we all know that stress can certainly be the cause of outbreaks.

I did some research and I think that it is my eczema, just acting up in a different place. But since I contracted herpes, NOTHING is the same to me any longer...and I am sure you will find many people on this message board who will say "a pimple is no longer just a pimple to me." ultimately, it turns out to be just a pimple, but I for sure do not look at any funky bumps, lumps, pimples, etc in the same light. I would rather err on the side of caution than be flippant about it. because I DO have eczema, my chances of spreading he virus to other parts of the body are heightened (due to the skin sometimes being open and exposed, as compared to someone without eczema. My dermatologist told me this...so....)

First of all.. not every itch or sore down there is because of herpes. Sometimes I think people should give it a rest, wait, and then see what happens. Sometimes people need to have other things ruled out.. for example, yeast infections, or BV. Trying to self diagnose yourself isn't alway the best and can stress you out even further

I have had this virus long enough to recognize the signs of an impending outbreak. Sometimes it will go to only prodommal sensations, but no outbreak. Sometimes it will go into a full on outbreak. I think MOST people can sense when they are on the verge of an outbreak. It just takes listening to your body, being aware. Thank goodness I have not had a yeast infection in YEARS . yay! One less thing to worry about!

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what is going on with your body. Also, why not look up the prescribing information on the internet? I realize this is an older posts so perhaps you can give us an update on how you are doing and if you were able to figure out what is going on with the help of a doctor?

I have decided not to take meds at all. They do not work on me. I am happier now that I have eliminated them from my "herpes prevention" routine all together. The doc agreed with me, I was having too many side effects.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what is going on with your body. Also, why not look up the prescribing information on the internet? I realize this is an older posts so perhaps you can give us an update on how you are doing and if you were able to figure out what is going on with the help of a doctor?

Um....at the time...I didn't have my CAR. My boyfriend needed it to get to/from work as HIS car went on the blitz. So....I DID go and talk to my ob/gyn who delivered my baby. He was the one who said he thinks I have a new strain, yada yada yada...I think that I spead it around once long ago when I had sex and didn't know I was in the midst of an outbreak until we started to (with condom, thank god!) But as I stated before, meds are out. Until something new comes out that doesn't mess me up as much, I will use alternative methods to fight back. Also, my doc said taking valtrex and acyclovir, while trace amounts might pass onto the baby, will not hurt them. So that was a relief to know....

But yeah, as far as meds go, I am done with them. The side effects were too much....and they never really helped with the outbreak itself, NOR did it help when I tried to use the medication as a form of suppression...I was in a constant "prodomme state" It was weird.

anyhoo, thanks for replying.....

[vita_min_md]

typical problems

As a physician with herpes.. I agree with all said above especially about the self diagnosis of outbreaks, keeping the immune system healthy, stress, the uncertainty of HSV because its niot unusual to go MONTHS and not get an OB, then when you get one you try and figure out a cause!!