Herpes Treatment Options

Hi! I'm a 30 year old female recently diagnosed with HSV-2G. My primary outbreak occurred in November. Almost immediately I started taking daily Valtrex. Once I felt my symptoms diminish, I stopped taking the pills, as I felt it was unnecessary to keep pumping my body with the chemicals. Just a few days later, I had a second outbreak. I realized that the Valtrex was truly only a suppressant, and decided I needed to seek out other options. I've come across many treatments.. And it's hard to know what to trust and invest in. I'm a generally healthy person otherwise. Perfect weight. No issues at my physicals. I work full time and raise a family. Anyways.. I decided to take what seemed to be a safe route and work on building up my immune system. I started taking lysine, echinacea, turmeric, emergen-c, and cleaned up my eating habits. (I have yet to quit smoking or give up coffee... Which I know eventually is a must.. Small shifts, right?) I also ordered a product called Quickclear which included ingredients to boost immunity and promote cleansing. I haven't been able to find much information on it otherwise, but it seems to be working to lessen the entire situation. I started taking the pills mid-December and stopped taking the Valtrex about a week later (in my mind I wanted to give my body the ability to fight the virus head on). I had mild symptoms for the rest of the month, but things seemed to clear up around the first of the year. Maybe it was my positivity? I started to get a bad sinus headache about five days ago and started coming down with something. . (Also hormonal because of the week before my period) I got another outbreak. I double dosed on lysine the first day and have been on top of it since. The symptoms are far less severe than the first two, but the emotional effects are what really get me. I have suffered immensely inside over this.. My resentment towards my partner has ruined our relationship.. And the anger I feel towards myself sometimes is crushing. I need to find a balance here.. And am determined to change my life in whatever way I need to make it better. I'm interested in hearing others experiences with Quickclear.. And other treatments::

Medical grade hydrogen peroxide, MMS, Chinese herbal supplements, reishi mushroom, olive leaf extract.. And particularly, Biogetica.

I've also seen a lot about emotionally healing, forgiveness, meditation and yoga. I know some of you have suffered with this for a long time and some have not "suffered" from it at all. I just need someone to talk to about this.. And some solid suggestions on how to pull everything together. Thank you in advance!

First things first, welcome to the club! You are far from alone and statistics show that 25% of America also joined the club, but only 80% of them know they're even in it. You, me, and so many others are on the front lines because we do show symptoms.

Here's my two cents, and like you, I found out not that long ago and have been doing more research on it than I care to think about.

1. Immune System boosters. Don't waste your money. Remember those guys selling snake oil in those old Hollywood westerns? Yep. That's what it is. There is no medically proven way to boost immunity. All of our immune systems are different and have a peak efficiency level determined by our genetics. Thus, things like eating healthy, living healthy, not smoking (I have no room to talk), etc. are the only proven ways to keep it working effectively. There is no pill that will supercharge it.

2. Health aids. Things like Melissa Baum, Tea Tree Oil, Raw Honey, Aloe/Zinc creams, etc. have been shown to provide natural remedies to herpes ailments. Like you, many of us are not big fans of big pharma's chemical prescriptions. As far as Lysine, a maximum of 1500mg a day is all you need. Your body can't process/absorb any more than that. Anything above that number simply gets flushed out and you're wasting money on extra pills. Also, I'm a big proponent of broccoli. There was a study a long, long time ago that showed the substance indole-3 carbinol found within cruciferous veggies was highly effective against the herpster. I simply added it to my diet, and while I don't know if it's placebo or real, I've noticed a difference.

3. You're in the adjustment period right now. Me too (as are a lot of people reading this!) Our bodies are just discovering how to cope with this virus. Your OB's are going to be a little strange right now, but don't think they're establishing a pattern just yet. I had an almost silent primary OB, followed by 3 weeks of living hell. Then nothing. Not even a solitary tingle. Each of us responds differently, and you'll just need to give it time to know how yours is going to cope. If you want, start a calendar. When you have an OB, write down all the things that you think might be triggering it. That will help establish patterns that you can adjust your life around to prevent them. Well, except for Mother Nature's monthly reminder of your womanhood.

4. The mind is like the A-Bomb to viruses, and especially ones like herpes. Being positive, staying upbeat, staying focused, and looking ahead instead of behind is essential. I even talk to my herpies, occasionally calling them nasty names, but hey, we have a love hate relationship going on. By staying positive, you allow your body to focus on the virus instead of letting your fears stress your immune system. In turn, your bodies immune system functions a lot more efficiently.

5. Meditation, yoga, exercise are great weapons to bring to the fight. They really do help. You also may want to consider adding counseling, hypnotherapy, and others into the mix. All of them can help you effectively make the transition into being HSV2 free to being virally enhanced. They might even be able to help you repair your relationship with your dancing partner. ;)

6. Cures, vaccines, and unknown medical miracles. I know you've looked them up, so I'm just going to address this. Yes, there are currently 5-6 good vaccine/therapeutic cure trials in various stages of the process. Some are promising and based on solid medical science. Some are long-shots. Some are even tied to the same HIV vaccine research that is making headlines. They're still at least 5-6 years off even if someone like Dr. Fraser hits a home run (He created the HPV vaccine Gardasil).

7. Yes, the mental and psychological impact of herpes is far worse than the physical. It's like the Hulk and if you let it, it can crush you. However, the moment you look in the mirror, flip it the bird, and say "I'm not going to let a temporary skin condition ruin my life" that big green monster becomes nothing more than a whimpering little puppy that occasionally pees on the carpet.

Beautiful! Thank you for lifting my spirits this afternoon

I'm having a really hard time using this .. I just typed out about three paragraphs and it only posted one sentence lol. . Anyways.. my kids are screaming for lunch.. But Thank you for lifting my spirits!!!

Atawnyblue

First - Welcome. So glad you found us!

Herry hit most of the points I would have made. One place I do disagree is Immune Boosting supplements. I believe that there ARE some good ones out there. The problem is, finding them. You HAVE to make sure the company that makes them is reputable (ie, not just jumping on the latest bandwagon) and has the highest standards for testing and producing a product that is the same in every bottle (not an easy thing when you are using plant materials and such as the ingredients because how they are grown, WHERE they are grown, and when and how they are harvested will all affect how much of the active ingredient is available in the plant. Also, beware of cheap versions which usually have fillers and other stuff in them. Learn to read labels and look to make sure there is something somewhere about the amount of Active Ingredient in each pill/dose. If they don't have that don't buy it.

For me reishi mushroom is a great thing and I love the Immune Booster from New Chapter that is mushroom based. I use it more for when I think I'm getting a cold than for the Herpes thing simply because I rarely have OB's any more but I think it's worth a try :)