Question:
I am new to the board, but have spent all weekend reading post and trying to see what my be working for others. Suppressive therapy seems to be working OK for me after having fairly constant outbreaks over the past year. However, my fiancee is really struggling with constant outbreaks in various areas (thighs, waistline, top of hand, top of feet, facial outbreaks on chin, etc.). Right now he is taking 1 gram Valtrex, 3000 mg L-Lysine, "herdox" supplement. Still, the outbreaks keep coming. We are not sure what to do next. He is anxious about exposing my children to the virus even area is clear because of shedding. This is causing us both even more stress, which I know works against us. Any suggestions about this product or others would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:
I've tried these and I can't say I've met with any success. I have gotten to where I experiece a breakout every 2-3 weeks. The last breakout (last week) I tried a supplement called Virox and found it to be effective. It pretty much stopped the breakout. I also applied Choraphor with makes it scab over quickly. I'm using the Virox everyday to see if it will suppress the virus. I have also started lauricidin supplements, which is recommend by Dr. Andrew Weil. A lot of the suppressives take time to work and they must be taken on a consistent basis to be effective.

Answer:
Thanks for sharing your experience! Have your OB always been this frequent? Do you mind me asking how long since your initial OB. I am hoping over time this will get better as far as frequency and duration. Did you get the Virox from a Health Food Store or order online? I had read about the lauricidin supplements and found a website, Med-Chem labs. Is that where you got yours? How do you know what dosage to start with? Also bought some Olive Leaf extract today. Have you tried that? Again, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

Answer:
I never knew I had the virus until I gave it to someone. I suspect my first husband gave it to me as he had frequent coldsores on his lips, but that was 28 years ago. The first time I can recall something "suspicious" (and I'm talking gential herpes) was about 14 years ago when I had a doctor look at what I thought was a pimple. The doctor agreed that it was. Since then I occasionally, probably in the last 7 years, would get a very small itchy spot that I thought must be eczema. No one I was ever with had herpes (Ha! obviously someone did) and I was married again and my husband never had any symptoms. I have also had 4 children and never a problem.

About 2 years ago I had that itchy spot again, but I was involved in another relationship (I'm a widow). Unfortunately I gave it to him, as he had quite a flare-up and I put 2 and 2 together. Since then, they have come more and more frequently. I'm still with the same man I infected, and he was very accepting of what happened.

I breakout at my period and now it seems any time I have a hormone shift, it triggers it. I've tried just about everything and spent much $$$. The Virox (I ordered over the internet) seems to have helped. The laurcidin I purchased online from site you mentioned. I'm hoping that if I can make it through a month without an outbreak, I'll have found something that works. I haven't tried the olive leaf, but I've tried several essential oils, all which have been a disappointment.

Sorry for such a long post, but if you want to know about any other treatments, ask me, because I've probably wasted my money on them. :)

Answer:
Well, I tried a lot of things. I tried red marine algae, but don't think it helped. The H-balm seems to help but I find that the suppressive daily dose only stresses me out! thinking about it all the time makes it worse. So I'm on Valtrex for now, and am very strict about my diet and sleep. I believe I've never been healthier!

However, there is one thing I've noticed. I got more OBs once I was diagnosed. And, the thing that seems to trigger them is emotions. Stressful emotional situations (such as when my boyfriend withdraws and makes me face my abandonment issues), family disputes with my mother, these things seem to trigger an OB. Every single OB I've had was during an emotional time.

Even the cold sores (I have both types of HSV), though they are now triggered by the sun, they never used to come before I was tested and found out I have HSV1 as well as HSV2. So it seems very psychological.

For many people, doing yoga, getting healthy, and mastering emotional traumas and managing the old baggage will probably do the most to prevent situations of constant outbreaks.
Good luck!