Once a month?!

[annyi]

It is like scheduled... the 12th day after bleeding starts, the tingling begins... Almost a year now, only four months without it... I took valtrex once the tingling starts, not really helping, still took 4 days to go away, if I was on a trip, took 7 days... I also have a little faver right after the bleeding ends... Two month ago I started to take echinacea and olive leaf extracts, had last month free, but now it comes again! Also I am taking women multivitamins. Found also if the lymph notes are up, it is coming... Two or three blisters turn into lesions.

Anyone is also experiencing this??? So frequent... Any way out of this?

Thanks!!

[WaxedWrong]

obs are common around that time of the month, maybe instead of taking the valtrex only when you feel the tingle, how about trying it out for like a entire month or two, and see if that makes a diffrence. also maybe adding some l-lysine to your routine. really if it this bad, you need to do stuff more then when you feel it coming on, but prevent it from even getting to that point

[Caliope]

I agree with WW. If you tolerate the Valtrex well you may find that you get better results by taking it daily for at least a month and see if you can reduce the number of ob's. If it is too expensive you may also want to ask your dr about Acyclovir it is another form of antiviral and although you'd need to change your dosage it is far less expensive.

Sometimes changes is diet can help especially if you learn to avoid foods that are high in the amino acid called arginine and eat more foods that are higher in Lysine. You can also take vitamin supplements that help to build your immune system at the same time as slowing down the herpes virus process of replicating.

Here are some helpful links.

http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/amino-acid-lysine-for-herpes.html

http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/immune-system.htm

[annyi]

Thank you both! I took lysine for a week also, but found my sleep was affected. I saw some posts say they took lysine in the morning and noon. I will try that. What is the daily valtrex dosage? Also 500mg? I tried last year to take valtrex earlier with antibiotics, assuming the antibiotics kill the bacteria(host) release the virus out and valtrex then kill them, worked one month, but then back again. Guess the antibiotics weaken the immunesystem. This month I am taking both echinacea and olive leaf at lunch time, maybe it was the contraceptive drug gave the OB, which was ninth day in the cycle, much earlier than it used to occur...

[Shayna]

L-lysine is an amino acid, I'm wondering if something other than the L-lysine was diturbing your sleep?

Also, did your doctor have the idea for your taking antibiotics with valtrex, or was that an idea you had? I'm curious about this.

Thanks for sharing.

[Caliope]

Anniy-I am confused by your response post. I simply don't understand what you are trying to say about antibiotics and a bacterial host.

As for Valtrex it is an antiviral and for daily dosages for suppressive therapy the usual recommended is one pill daily at 500 mg. Herpes is a virus and the antiviral medication stops it from replicating itself and causing ob's.

I take Lysine almost exclusively in the morning and at the noon hour because it can cause some discomfort for people with a sensitive stomach but I've never seen it disrupt my sleep. I take 1500 mg. daily in addition to vitamin c with bioflavanoids, olive leaf, probiotics, vitamins d, b6 and e, and calcium magnesium.

Antibiotics kill bacteria and could weaken the immune system but more than that it can kill good bacteria in your intestinal tract and this can lead to yeast infections for some people.

Since using the Acyclovir I no longer get ob's near my period.

[annyi]

Thank you for the post...

I read the Arginine level is controlling the sleep, while the balance of lysine vs arginine effects the body immune system level, as it suggests in this website, which matched my experience... I did not know this and took lysine in the evening by 1g for a week and I always woke up at 4am. After I stopped doing it, my sleep got normal.

The antibiotics combination was my idea. Since I had low fever right after period, so I was taking antibiotics prescribed by the doctor. Same time I read about the virus usually stay dorment in nerve ends but they are DNAs so have to live in cells to stay alive. I thought taking antibiotics caused viruses leaked out thus ob--because that time ob happened earlier than it should be. So the following month I took valtrex and antibiotics together after period, it worked that month, but the following month it failed. So I gave up on it. Thank you Caliope for the detailed information. I am going to try your method. Are you taking the vitamins each kind per pill or as multis? Does B-complex also help since it nurture the nerves?

Thank yo very much!

[gutted.]

ive been taking lysine for a month now, it hasnt affected my sleep

alltho, it has helped me as reards to my OBS

i dont get that many to be fair anyway - maybe 3 - 4 a year

but i did get regular tingles and aches, but they have stopped since i started taking lysine!!

[WaxedWrong]

antibiotics wont do anything for a virus. you need antivirals, which valtrex is, and yes the daily dose is 500 mg

[annyi]

Thanks for your posts! Yeah, I realise the antibiotics doesn't help in this case now... I will take lysine 1gX2 per day, hope it will also work wonders for me!!

[Caliope]

anniy - to answer your question about vitamin supplements.

Daily - I take these separately not in multivitamin:

Lysine w/b6 (combined)

Calcium, Magnesium and vitamin D (combined)

Vitamin E

Vitamin C w/bioflavanoids (combined) water soluble

Olive Leaf

Probiotics from Jarrow

it is also recommended to take Zinc but I have a very sensitive stomach and this caused me problems.

[annyi]

Thanks very much Caliope! It is really a good idea to take them separately so you know which one gives you problems... I will try lysine and gradually add each one up at a time... I remember when I first took echinacea, it boosted my white blood cell count but the rbc relatively low, and I got symptoms like dizziness and numbness. It was solved by taking iron pills.

[Caliope]

I approached it slowly over several weeks til I found what worked best for me.

best wishes.

[Garage]

My toddler gets them about every 3 weeks.

[Caliope]

garage - what do the dr's do to help him/her? do they happen everywhere or just is specific areas?

[Laura Ann]

I just came through a bad outbreak and an additional 5 times a day dose of 200 mg. Tagamet seemed to hasten the usual slow cure of Zovaraix.

[annyi]

Purell

Hi, I just read about the thread posted by blackwatch, discuss and experimented using purell as a topical treatment. They have a very long discussion there in "treatment", I only read part of it, but very positive so far. Go take a look there...

[annyi]

Just an update... I have been taking L-lysine for more than a week now, one gram in the early morning, one around 3pm(said between meals), so far only one night woke up at 4am... Also take olive leaf & multivitamin(with very high B complex by Sulgar) & echinacea two times at lunch and at dinner. Just healing up from the ob caused by contraceptive(wanted to delay period for a trip). It is much slower healing compared to my former obs this time(from seeing the redish bump till heal up redish 10 days).

Checked my diet, eliminated almonds, pecans, vinegar, lamb, threaded wheat cereal, oatmeal, 90% chocolate... I had all those daily!! They are good foods... guess not for me... maybe that was why my high recurrence...

Just started to take additional Vc 500mg chewable daily.

Sincerely appreciate answers from Caliope, Waxedwrong, Shayna, Gutted, and everyone shared your experience, you are great support! Thank you!

I will let you know how it goes...

p.s. Just last week, my mom had a nerve pain under her armpit going around to her back, like shingles, I asked her to take antiviral herbs and apply purell, she tried tiger balm first night, and purell the second night. This is the third day and her pain has decreased a lot, no blisters, no rash. She felt the purell gave her a much better sleep.

[hopingseeking]

she tried tiger balm first night, and purell the second night. This is the third day and her pain has decreased a lot, no blisters, no rash. She felt the purell gave her a much better sleep.

Ah, Tiger Balm, the good ole Asian cure-all...

[Shayna]

Hey annyi ...

I hope you continue to feel better! Your Mother too!

Sounds like you're on the right track.

It's hard giving up all those things...I lived on nuts, oats, legumes, and loved some chocolate too. Oh well.

Have a great trip! ...Hopefully ob-free!

[annyi]

Thank you Shayna, that is my wish--ob free... I packed loads of valtrex, lysine, Vc, waterproof band-aid, purell... Will update what happens... All the best!

[annyi]

Ah, Tiger Balm, the good ole Asian cure-all...

Hopingseeking,

Actually I was surprised that tiger balm worked on a small scale when I first ran into this... After returning from the waterpark, I had the pain and blisters, I had no idea what it was (doctor's appointment did not come up immediately)and tried almost every topical thing could get hand on: iodine solution, salt water, hydrogen peroxide, new skin, neoporin, alcohol, cosmetic acne cream, fungus cream... you name it. Some didn't show any change, neoporin actually helped a little with the pain, but have the wound stay the same(slow healing?); alcohol was not good once the sore opened(my doctor said, using alcohol now is like rubbing it into the eyes); tiger balm was the only one showed healing result. But now I know purell should work better than it. Had one bottle in the car and just didnot pass my mind to try THAT one!

[annyi]

Trip report... ob free...very happy!

Two days of high UV index sun exposure, three days of diving course with late night reading and quizes and diving, change three hotels within six days(never been to either place), so can't say it was a stress free trip, plus started with forgot sunglasses and evening regular glasses(instead of contacts), broken hat strap...

Pills took: every morning one gram of lysine, two times of multi vitamin, one 250mg olive leaf, one 425mg echinacea, one calcium, with lunch and dinner. Sometimes pop a 500mg Vc if vegetable is not enough that day. The last two days missed lunch dose, and compensated with a late night intake. Applied sun relief aloe gel on the old ob spot when treating peeling skin.

There were two times felt overly stressed by the training schedule and seasickness, used one extra gram lysine in the morning. So far the above combination works ok. Will keep on doing this routine and see how long it can go ob free! Hope this is a useful info!

[Caliope]

That is wonderful news.

[annyi]

That is wonderful news.

Thank you so much Caliope, you gave me so much important suggestions, A month ago, I would not even imagine I could go through this trip ob free!! Hope you feel better too!!