Hi Dianna,

I'm also a vegetarian.  Wish I had your work-out ability, though!  

Check your vitamins.  They may contain Arginine.  That may or may not encourage
the herpes virus.

Try cutting out the foods for a few weeks.  If you don't see an improvement,
then don't worry about it and put the foods back in.

Stress??  Yuck.  Try meditation.  Or some other stress relieving activity.  I
think exercise should qualify for that, though.

ar

Granted, you'll need a doc to renew your prescription every year or
so. But very few of us depend on a doc for help beyond that. You'll
soon become more of an expert on Herp than most doctors. Very few know
more than the average layman. It's scary.

Just keep it up then. You're ahead of the game.

I just woke up and that reminds me. I haven't made coffee yet.
Back in a minute.....
<a few minutes later>
..... ok, I'm back.
You'll find that "triggers" are very individualized. A trigger for
some people won't be a trigger for everyone. Same with remedies. Some
people swear by L-Lysine. For others, it doesn't help (and for a few,
it seems to make matters worse). So you'll eventually have to figure
out which ones affect you and which ones don't. That can take quite
awhile of trial and error on your part. The good news is, you might
NOT have to give up some favorite things that people are telling you
about.

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know it's tough right now. But know
it'll eventually get better. Someday you'll look back to see this as
just another bump in the road.

Yep. For now. But maybe the frown won't be permanent. I hope not. But
yes, you'll need to keep track of what you eat and compare it to
outbreaks to see if there's a correllation. Get yourself a callendar
specifically for that purpose. Keep track. You'll get a better handle
on it that way.

Tell me about it. Especially if it's part of making a living. But who
knows, stress may not be a trigger for you. Try to keep track of it on
your H-calendar along with the other possible triggers.

Looking back at your original post, we left a few questions
unanswered. I'll give that a shot
1. Three times a day (instead of two) is not an unusual dose for
Acyclovir. When you find a new doc, ask him about it. There may be a
reason for you individually that your original doc prescribed only
two.
2. I've heard conflicting reports about L-Lysine dosage. Some say
higher is better, some say higher isn't healthy. And like I mentioned,
for a few, Lysine seems more like a trigger.
3. Let us know your experience with Marine Algae. There aren't many
credible sources for that info. The only poster that's talked about it
much here was a spammer a few years ago. He swore by it but, of
course, he was selling the stuff.
4. Yes, a few people experience outbreaks even on suppression. The
drugs work for most people, especially once the dosage is right, but
they're not for everybody. If you're having outbreaks while on
suppression, I'd be willing to bet they'd be more severe and last
longer without drugs. Before you give up on them, I'd try a higher
dose. I don't see the point in switching medications. You're right.
Valtrex becomes Acyclovir to fight the virus. The once per day dosing
of Valtrex is the selling point I think. If money is an object though,
and you can remember to take a pill 5 times a day, Acyclovir should
work just as well.
5. Welcome to the group. Let us hear from you again with questions,
answers, rants, or whatever.

M2

Hi kd ~

Oh definitely!! ;-)

Where are you located if you don't mind my asking. You might be able to find
a good herpes aware doc via this page:
http://www.yoshi2me.com/herpes-doctors.html

You might also see if there is an H Pal you can contact that might be able
to point you to a good herpes aware doc:
http://www.yoshi2me.com/herpes-h-pals.html

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps there is a herpes support
group located near you that has a medical advsior you can talk with about
all of this:
http://www.yoshi2me.com/herpes-support.html

I know for a fact that all the HELP groups have to have a medical advisor
because I faciliate the Omaha HELP support group. In any case these are just
a few options I wanted to share with you so you don't feel as though you
have no way around getting to the bottom of what is happening to you.

I want you to pat yourself on the back for trying all these things. But
whatever you do ~ please do not beat yourself up if and when none of what
you are doing does not work to illiminate the outbreaks. Stress may very
well be the only thing OR perhaps it's something completely different going
on down there.. ya know?

The reason why I say don't beat yourself up over it if none of those things
work is because (like you) I tried just about everything and monitorred
everything that I was trying (including L-Lysine) very closely. Nothing
worked to make my frequent outbreaks stop.

So kudos for trying but don't beat yourself up if these things don't work
out.

Hang in there and keep us posted, ok?

Angela ;-)

I know EXACTLY how you feel!!

I sure hope you find something that will work well for you.

Good Luck and keep us posted, ok?

Angela ;-)

Well said, Dianna.  Thank you.

You said you have immune system trouble.  My immune system improved greatly - it
was out of balance - when I switched to a raw food diet.  I know you're vegan
and eat lots of fruit and veggies.  Do you eat a lot of soy?  Soy is not the
wonder food that many wanted us to believe it was.  I don't think soy would
affect your herpes but it might bother your immune system.  I'm reaching for
straws here because I want to find something that helps you.  Unfortunately, I
think the only thing that is going to help is time.

ar