Hi Jeannie,

You are only looking at one aspect of taking the medication and that's why you
don't understand those of us that choose not to.

Drugs are not all harmless to all people.  For instance, there are the fillers
in the medications.  Take thyroid medication, specifically.  I actually must
take that medication in order to live.  And it is nothing but the hormone, won't
cause any trouble in the body, right?  However, most of the brands of thyroid
pills contain lactose so people who are lactose intollerant have problems.
Also, each brand uses a different filler and some people react so strongly to
the filler it makes them horribly ill.  I have spoken to one person who becomes
so ill with even the smallest dose of thyroid med that she can't take it at all
and what's she supposed to do?  And for those of us who are vegan or vegetarian,
there are animal products in many of those pills.  Heck, gel caps aren't even
vegetarian.  And once, I took a harmless antibiotic for bronchitis that kicked
off such a terrible systemic reaction in my body that I suffered for many years
until I detoxed my body and got healthy.

That brings up my next subject.  Masking what the outbreaks really mean.  I feel
that if you're having a terrible time with outbreaks or you are trying to
protect your partner from getting herpes, then fine.  It is a decision that is
up to you.  However, it is my opinion that these outbreaks indicate a problem
with the immune system.  By taking the pills you may be overlooking your body's
early warning signs.  You may continue to harm yourself because you've turned
off the "internal alarm."

I would much rather be in tune with my body.  

Now, some of us have livers that really can't handle these medications as well.
My liver is rather precarious.  When it gets out of balance, it keeps my thyroid
hormone from getting to my organs.  The last time that happened, I developed a
severe illness and could have easily ended up in the hospital.  Thankfully,
accupuncture works wonders for me.  :)  But I don't feel the need to take a
medication just to make me feel better and run the risk of hurting myself.

And that leads us to my next point.  Herpes meds are not medically necessary.
They just make you feel better.  Why should I risk my health for something that
I really don't need.  Whereas I really do need my thyroid med.  I suppose it is
the difference between WANT and NEED.  So in the meantime, I eat right, I
exercise, and I work hard to get plenty of rest.  I'm healthier because of it
and I rarely have an outbreak.

And, what exactly IS long-term?  Long-term tests show there is no risk to taking
the meds.  But, is that for everyone?  Is that 20 years, 40 years, 50 years, 60
years?  Taking a "feel good" med now that might end up harming me in 30 years is
not my idea of a good time.  Weighing the risk...coming up with "not worth it."

I hope that sums up at least some thoughts on the matter.

ar

Hi Jeannie :)

I myself don't understand it either Jeannie. I can understand people finding
ways to keep themselves healthy but there are so many factors involved that
people forget have a lot to do with their outbreaks and frequency of.. like
which type of herpes they have, where it's it's located, and how long they
have actually had the virus in their body.

Exactly.. and there are going to be people that experience some of the side
effects listed. I personally have never had any real side effect issues
taking Valtrex. One thing that I think its interesting are the people that
believe once you start suppressive therapy you won't be able to stop which
is utterly ridiculous.

I've had herpes for ten years and two out of those ten years I was on
suppression taking Valtrex 500 mg daily. The first reason I went on
suppressive therapy was because my outbreaks were too much to handle. I had
them every two to three weeks and if I wasn't having an outbreak I was
having a menstual cycle or vice versa. It was never ending and horrible for
me.. I was open minded enough in the beginning to try those "special diets"
everybody raves about and was thoroughly dissapointed when NONE of it worked
for me. I even tried those "natural better for you supplements L-Lysine"
that everybody raves about and cried when it did absolutely nothing for me.
I ate right, excercised, and even quit smoking for the cause and THAT did
NOTHING for me. At that point I threw my hands up in the air and kept track
of my outbreaks for one year treating them only when they happened. I
discovered between Famvir and Valtrex that Valtrex worked my better and
faster. Two years of suppressive therapy was the best thing that I could
have ever done for myself.

The other factor that instigated my staying on suppressive therapy was my
relationship with my boyfriend at the time (he's my husband today). Keeping
transmission to a non-infected partner at bay by 50% was important to me so
I stayed on suppression. So for those people that poo poo it ~ it's kinda
shameful because there are other reasons to consider it that do not have to
be selfish in nature. It could be merely trying to protect the one you love
from contracting the virus.

Then there are those that say "Gosh I you stop suppression you'll start
getting flare ups all over again and all the time." That's hogwash because
when I stopped suppressive therapy (before Don and I got married) I didn't
get a single solitary flare up for nine months. I only treated that one for
three days of Valtrex and didn't get another flare up for a year. So that
right there blows THAT theory right out the window.

I don't feel guilty about it either Jeannie.. and see your situation is
probably very different from mine and you are doing what seems to be working
for you and nobody can mock you for it.

I don't understand the negativity either.. each person is entitled to do
what they feel works best for them without putting the other methods people
are using that work for them down. I get irritated when people say to stay
away from proven herpes antivirals when they #1 don't know what the person
is going through, #2 don't understand their unique circumstances, #3 refuse
to understand that particular situation and realize that they can not own
it.

I'm not negative towards anybody that chooses to do things "naturally"
because it's what works for them. But, when those people start saying that
it's "better" and "safer" and that others should never try anything that
been proven to treat herpes in the form of a medication then I have a
problem with that..

I understand what you are saying Jeannie.. those same people are probably
going to say that we are doing the same thing. I can honestly say that I
believe people need to do what they feel is best and to base their decisions
on facts and not on feelings.

I appreciate what you've posted here Jeannie and felt compelled to give you
the honor of a response that is based on my own personal experiences as well
as "the facts" surrounding herpes, treatment, and moving on in life.

((( hugs )))

Angela :)

Like the great research with Vioxx?  Celebrex?  The recent findings with
Viagra?  Do I need to mention Seldane?

acyclovir is a chromosomal mutagen.  I've already got one such mutagen,
the virus itself; adding another isn't really welcome.

While it's true that it works pretty well, the truly long-term effects
of acyclovir aren't known past 20 years (potential cancers take a long
time to show up).

I myself am holding out for a vaccine which uses the body's natural
defenses: antigenics.com, stressgen.com, cytogenix.com, etc.

To be honest, I have no fear of taking it short-term for each individual
breakout, but I would never be in the camp that just trusts the drug (or
any drug for that matter) and put it into my body daily for 20 years or
more.

No problem, no offense taken.  As I've already said, there are those of
us who will continue to take it for the most dire breakouts, but
hopefully in the future we can rely on vaccines (therapeutic) which will
help our body actually fight it instead of simply terminating the virus'
RNA chain.