Any long-term lysine users?

[Guest Anonymous]

I got some feedback that lysine shouldn't be taken daily but only during outbreaks. Although, if I miss it for one day, I get an outbreak. Anybody used it daily without losing effectiveness?

Thanks,

Layla

[biophilia]

Long term Lysine

I was just doing some research on using Lysine in the long-term. The bottle says it isn't good to use for more than 6 months because (I think) it throws the balance of your amino acids off internally. I was wondering if I was experiencing this as I am very sensitive to going off of Lysine as well getting a cold sore almost certainly 5 days before my cycle starts if I am not taking it.

I have solved this by ensuring I am not introducing foods into my diet that are high in Arginine - the amino acid Lysine is combating on your behalf and one that the cold sore virus needs to flourish.

Here's a list I pulled from herpes.com...

Fish, chicken, beef, lamb, milk, cheese, beans, brewer's yeast, mung bean sprouts and most fruits and vegetables have more lysine than arginine, except for peas. Gelatin, chocolate, carob, coconut, oats, wholewheat and, white flour, peanuts, soybeans, and wheatgerm have more arginine than lysine.

I find coffee also triggers cold sores (I think it is the acidity and that I am sensitive to it) and anything that reduces my immunity like overexercising or a flu. I got mono recently and it was cold sore city - ugh!).

Sometimes I use Lysine when I feel like being bad and eating peanut butter oat chocolate squares for breakfast with coffee and sugar on the side - if I don't I can guarentee I will get one.

Hope this helps!

[Sophie D.]

I do not think the advice is to prevent lysine from losing its effectiveness, but to protect you against any side effects.

[simong]

I take 1000mg everyday.

I don't really care what effects it has apart from prevent breakouts. NOTHING could be as bad as walking around with a big FAT OB on your lip.

[JS21]

I am experimenting with not taking lysine as it seemed to have lost its effectiveness. I don't know if it was six months or not. Sounds about right. I don't know how long my pause from lysine will be. If I start taking it again and have good results, I'll post them.

[regret]

i had read somewhere that after 6 mo one was suppose to take a break from lysine..i dont know for how long, i would do more research on the pill and see what you come up with..ive taken it everyday for about 6 mo i am going to try and take a break from it for about 3 mo and maybe start it up again..

[anna99]

This might already be posted on here somewhere, but just in case: Lysine side effects are not very common and animal studies into these supplements report that taking too much lysine can cause gallstones and an increase in cholesterol levels. Lysine research also showed that people taking more than 15 grams of lysine per day reported lysine side effects such as abdominal cramps and diarrhea.

The following drugs may become toxic if you take them together with lysine. Tell your healthcare provider if you are using any of these:

gentamicin (Garamycin);

tobramycin (Nebcin, TOBI);

amikacin (Amikin);

kanamycin (Kantrex);

netilmicin (Netromycin);

neomycin (Mycifradin, Neo-Fradin, Neo-Tab);

netilmicin (Netromycin);

streptomycin; or

tobramycin (Nebcin, Tobi).

http://www.healthline.com/multumcontent/lysine/2#H8

Hope this is helpful, anna

[Zen3]

Super lysine

I was taking super lysine for a while (now i take mms daily cause it's more affordable and potentially more effective) Super lysine is a tincture that has lysine, shitake, and echinacea. I took it once day and when i felt an outbreak coming on i took it 3-4 times a day and i stopped it within 3days. Maybe i should have just taken it twice a day - it's a bit pricely though (around $11 a bottle)- but better than lysine pills that i took before and found mildly effective.

[lovestheoutdoors]

I take 1000mg Lysine daily and it just so happened the few days I forgot to take it, I get a cold sore like a day later. I haven't had a cold sore since March/April of 2007 and now I have one in January 2009. The only arginine foods I really eat are oats, nuts and diet sodas, but I can easily take out the sodas and limit the nuts. Now that I have a cold sore, I am taking in excess of 3000mg of Lysine.

I will take 1000mg a day of Lysine every day until the day I die!

[holyheck]

I am also wondering about the "internal balance" thing. Does your body get too used to it and stop producing/absorbing other amino acids?

One thing I know, is I feel better about taking Lysine than Valtrex. Lysine is just a vitamin. Valtrex is an expensive supressive drug that treats 1 virus. Any company that profits that much off of people staying sick... there just seems to be a slight conflict of interest.

[dotherightthing]

strange

After two doctors telling me that Lysine had no effect, I went off. Whether it was a psychological effect of not having the lysine every day or a coincidence I started getting a cold sore bi-weekly for a month and a half and just went back on to break the cycle.

What I find strange is that lysine gives me a bit of a sporadic tingle at the spot of my initial outbreak (between my lower lip and where the skin starts on my face) where there's a little scarring. When I don't take the lysine, it doesn't tingle. Whatever, I can live with a little face sensation if it means not having to deal with a cold sore!

[vhstapes1]

Dotherightthing, I have the same tingle also! Maybe it's psychological but sometimes it scares me so much that I run to the lysine bottle and refrigerator for ice.

Anyway, I have HSV1. I've been taking lysine for less than a year now, and I've only had 1 outbreak. I average 2-4 outbreaks a year however I'm trying to never get one ever again. My most recent outbreak happened before Thanksgiving. That outbreak happened to be when I stopped taking lysine regularly and I ate some chocolate and nuts. Bad idea....

I've started charting my outbreaks so I know when they usually happen and the reasons for it. According to that chart, my next regularly scheduled outbreak should happen around April/May if I can't prevent it.

I'm currently taking 1000mg of Lysine, 1000mg of Cat's Claw, and Acidiphilous a day. Hopefully I can hold back the outbreaks and live a happy and outbreak free life. And btw, I refuse to ever touch chocolate again in my life.

[beatrixy]

I am also wondering about the "internal balance" thing. Does your body get too used to it and stop producing/absorbing other amino acids?

One thing I know, is I feel better about taking Lysine than Valtrex. Lysine is just a vitamin. Valtrex is an expensive supressive drug that treats 1 virus. Any company that profits that much off of people staying sick... there just seems to be a slight conflict of interest.

WOOAH NELLY!

i know what you mean about feeling like it's better because it's more "natural" than an antiviral i.e. lysine is found in nature and part of most organisms while valtrex is not

but that does NOT mean it can be any less dangerous than the antiviral. lots of critical conditions are due to over-exposure to naturally occuring things!

look at St John's wort for one! that's natural and no one pharmaceutical company is making a killing off of it but it can kill you if you take too much or in bad combination!

don't underestimate the effectiveness and dangerousness of natural remedies!

i say always go to the science as much as you can. i know doctors can be cracks/hacks but i'd take their word over the feeling of natural being better.

does anyone know what the science says about prolonged lysine supplements?

the rest is more of a digression...

also, i know what you mean about who you use your purchasing power to support in a free market economy and how you'd rather not give it to pharmaceutical companies. i agree completely.

the nice thing about herpes (...yeah. i just said nice in ref to herpes and totally mean it!) is that the symptoms do go away naturally and prevention of symptoms can be done with diet, habit. so there's no need to give anything to big-pharma if you hate them enough! (no need compared to other STD's like syphilis, etc that will most likely not go away with diet, habit)

but then again i guess this is only true because there's no cure yet... as soon as they come up with one then we're all gonna be suckers of big-pharma and loving it! oh the irony!

at least in canada i can feel a little bit better with the generic valtrex.

but bottom line: making huge profits from an epidemic is disgusting.

[beatrixy]

yeah tacky to reply to myself but forgot to add,

lysine is an essential amino-acid. as in your body doesn't have the machinery required to produce it. so you must take it in from diet.

i'm not a doctor or even a biochemist but one possibility might be that your body doesn't bother to take up lysine as effectively with prolonged high dosages?

i know that that's true of vitamin C. once you stop taking it on a daily basis you're in higher danger of scurvy because your body isn't absorbing it efficiently.