Question:
What I'm about to type hopefully gives others the hope and positive outlook that's so desperately needed when faced with this herpes virus. First and foremost that fact that you carry the virus does not mean the end of a social or sex life by a long shot. I've Lived and dealt with this virus for over 15 years now, and can honestly say it was due to lack of education, My then girlfriend was experiencing itching in her vaginal area, so we go to the store to pick up some mycalex (sp) cream, thinking it was just a "female thing" I had no idea of what Lurked beneath the surface of her problem was called genital herpes and she would soon pass it to me. Both of us just having no earthly idea that it could be that. I knew of herpes, but I always thought it was just a cold sore that some people get on their mouths. Un-fortunately I found out what it is the hard way. Needless to say, when the virus first wreaked havoc upon my genitals, I didn't know what the hell was going on! My first Line of defense was to run to the store and pick up every ointment I could find and bombarded the circle of sores that was so violating my manhood. Nothing, it seemed to have made it worst! That's when I went to the doctor and it was explained to me exactly what it was and how I contracted it. I couldn't be mad at my girlfriend either cuz she had no idea and we both made a conscious, adult decision to have sex with one another, and therefore now I was faced with the "Life-Long" task of not only finding out everything I could about this virus, But CONTROLLING it so that my Life could and would be as "normal" as possible under the circumstances.

Knowledge of The Herpes Virus- Knowing exactly how the virus works and replicates itself is the absolute 1st step in controlling this thing. Some people experience frequent outbreaks, while others such as myself might get one once every couple of months or so, 7 months is the Longest I've went without experiencing an out-break, but when it would happen? It would only last a couple days then I was good again. Keeping and building your Immune System up is paramount, There are several "Immune Boosters" on the market and in drug stores that can assist you with this. The herpes virus CAN BE HELD IN CHECK! But it's up to you and the maintenance of your body that will help in doing so. The herpes virus is an irritating piece of shit that can only "act up" if given the "proper" environment to do so, So if you do everything on your part to make your body is a vehicle that says, "hey, you may Live here, but you're not welcomed!" the only thing it can and will do is just lay dormant until you give it an opportunity to wreak havoc on you. Stay away from foods rich in Arginine like chocolate, peanut butter, caffeine, cashews, oats, etc.. Proper oxygenation is extremely important as well, so if you smoke? QUIT!Is that cigarette more important than keeping sores that burn from off of your genitalia? That's an easy one for me to answer. It's been scientifically proven that just about all diseases can be traced to lack of oxygen in the body, herpes is no different, There are products out there that claim to be able to give the body proper oxygenation, but read up on them and choose wisely and carefully. Let's be honest, someone with genital herpes will try just about any and everything to make it go away, And while herpes will not just "go away" it CAN BE HELD IN CHECK! and with that said, there's a lot of not so reputable companies out here who have preyed on people with the herpes virus.

Your New Love Life- Just because you carry the virus, that does not mean you have to be alone. There are literally millions of people with this disease, so there are support groups out here where you can actually meet someone like yourself and will obviously understand what you're going through. You have to be honest and up front with whoever you choose to date though, especially if the relationship starts to get serious. herpes is not something you can keep hidden from a mate nor should you attempt to do so. I've been in a serious committed relationship with a wonder woman now for over 5 years and she does NOT have the herpes virus and we're gonna get married sometime in 2004! Sometimes I even forget that I do have it cuz it's such a non-factor in my Life now, when I first got it though. it was really tough until I fed my brain with all the knowledge I could about controlling this thing! I know it's extremely hard to tell someone that you have genital herpes, but if you really care about them, and they really care about you? This is something you can both deal with, because it is CONTROLLABLE! You just have to be honest with them and yourself as well.

Medication/Prognosis- What I've found is that while medication such as Acylovir and Valtrex can aid in the healing time of an outbreak, Taking medication for this on a regular basis for "suppression' is NOT good, and my saying so is based on the fact that I've carried this for so long and know all the ins and outs of what's effective and what's not, at least for ME! My reasoning is that if you take a medication over a long period of time? Your body will actually work up an immune to the med to where it's no longer effective. This make's all the sense in the world if you think about it. Here what has worked wonders for me: Lysine, Garlic (2 cloves a day), A Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and I stopped smoking!

Lysine-I take 2000 mg's of Lysine daily, it has been proven and is a fact that the herpes virus carries an Arginine base and Lysine is it's antonym! Keep your body loaded with Lysine and this alone will significanlty help you in keeping this virus in check! Now, it's recommended that you take up to 3000 mg's of Lysine if you're having an outbreak, then take 1000 mg's daily to help keep it in check, but I made a conscious decision to take 2000 mg's daily. (whichever dosage work's best for you)

Garlic- The actual thing, NOT the pills, garlic has been used as a penicillin for years and it has been medically proven in a laboratory that garlic kill's the herpes virus! I firmly believe that the cure in genital herpes lies within something as simple as garlic but for some strange reason this isn't be researched enough. The anicillin (sp) you get in real garlic is what kills diseases and you can't get it's full benefit in a pill form, It sucks but hey, just make sure you brush your teeth and keep some listerene on hand and you'll be o.k.! lol needless to say because my body is laced with garlic I haven't had a cold or the flu in years! Keep your flu shot, I got Nature's flu shot in Garlic!

Multi-Vitamin- I take 1 daily with the most Zinc, Normally Vitamin C is the highest milligrams represented in a multi-vitamin and this is a good thing, Zinc for some reason has been proven effective against the herpes virus as well, Plus other anti-viral vitamins are in a multi, so it's all good!

Vitamin C- Extremely important, having your body loaded with vitamin C, sure you'll go to the bathroom a lot, but who said this is bad? I prefer to drink Hi-C and a lot of fruit juices (minus carbonation) that promote 100% Vitamin C and this is good! Plus it's something I enjoy. before you go loading up on orange juice be forewarned that the acid in OJ can cause other problems with your digestive tract, so I'd stay away from too much orange juice.

Vitamin E- This vitamin is actually the "sex vitamin" and enhances libido, but other benefits are for your skin, your heart and respiratory. I read somewhere awhile back that it was highly recommended in helping against the herpes virsu, so fuck it, I was sold!

Well, I hope this thread give's someone the inspiration and hope with this virus because it is CONTROLLABLE and you can still live a happy life, I'm living proof! Even though I know I carry the virus, I've almost rendered it non-existant, at least to the point where it doesn't bother me at all anymore, really, But again, it start's with education and attitude. a month supply of Valtrex will last me for a year damn near! I opt to go the "Natural" route moreso, and that has worked wonders for me, Hopefully my "routine" can help others, or i nthe very least start Limiting those frequent outbreaks for you. They're close to finding a cure (be on the lookout for this thing called Resquimod Gel ) supposed to be better than any herpes med ever, valtrex included! so they're getting closer, but until then, I'll just stick to the regimen up top that has worked for years, Good luck to all of you and keep your head up!

Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for showing your encouraging attitudes toward life, and sharing those tips!!!

Since you capitalized the word "CONTROLLABLE" :D , I just want to add my point of view. Though I don't mean to offend you or anything at all. Just a different point of view.

Personally, I don't think herpes is controllable. To some people, yes it may be. But to some, it still is a huge physical drag that they can hardly control. Some people are still suffering from bad physical symptom even after years from the first outbreak. I've been having HSV for a little more than 8 years. So my symptom is now much milder than 8 years ago. But still, I sometimes get a huge headache and pain in my back and arms ( sign of outbreak ) out of the blue, and it makes me difficult to pursue my work, and to communicate right with people around who don't know what I'm exactly going through. I've tried so many stuff that are supposed to boost my immune. First, they seem working so well, but as soon as my body get used to the product or the life style, they don't work any more. ( Bad body, huh? LOL )

So... I put herpes as something that I can't control. Then I found peace in "not" fighting with something I can't control.

So are many other things.
We have so many things we can't control in our lives... sickness, disasters, accidents, other's behavior, opinion, someone's feeling, ..etc etc. Trying to fight with them and trying to control them give you so much stress, because it's impossible to win. Then that makes you feel.... it should've been/should be this way, that way, I could've done this way, that way... And that makes you feel depressed.
But if you accept that you can't control it, then those things become only "sadness" to you. There is a huge difference between feeling sad and feeling depressed.

Being happy doesn't mean that you don't have any sadness in your life.
Sadness adds more value to your happiness, and makes your life balanced.

By changing ourselves, we can change how we see things that happen to us, then things will look and mean different to us. As a result, we can change our lives in a positive way.
I think THAT's called "controlling". And IN THAT SENSE, our life is controllable. So is herpes.

I agree, this virus doesn't ruin our lives at all. We surely can live very happily. <smile!>


Faith

Answer:
Well said... I do those things anyways! I take a one-a-day, a vit C and a vit E... good stuff... you are very inspirational and I hope people listen to you because I feel the same way you do. I have only had it for some months now, and I break out few and far between, so I feel you and I are on the same page... It's a great idea to take natural supplements, they work for keeping healthy too! Excercise is good too, as well as good hygene... I haven't tryed lysine yet, don't even know what that is, but I did buy garlic today to put in with foods I eat... I hope everyone can control this so everyone can be happy:)

Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for showing your encouraging attitudes toward life, and sharing those tips!!!

Since you capitalized the word "CONTROLLABLE" :D , I just want to add my point of view. Though I don't mean to offend you or anything at all. Just a different point of view.

Personally, I don't think herpes is controllable. To some people, yes it may be. But to some, it still is a huge physical drag that they can hardly control. Some people are still suffering from bad physical symptom even after years from the first outbreak. I've been having HSV for a little more than 8 years. So my symptom is now much milder than 8 years ago. But still, I sometimes get a huge headache and pain in my back and arms ( sign of outbreak ) out of the blue, and it makes me difficult to pursue my work, and to communicate right with people around who don't know what I'm exactly going through. I've tried so many stuff that are supposed to boost my immune. First, they seem working so well, but as soon as my body get used to the product or the life style, they don't work any more. ( Bad body, huh? LOL )

So... I put herpes as something that I can't control. Then I found peace in "not" fighting with something I can't control.

So are many other things.
We have so many things we can't control in our lives... sickness, disasters, accidents, other's behavior, opinion, someone's feeling, ..etc etc. Trying to fight with them and trying to control them give you so much stress, because it's impossible to win. Then that makes you feel.... it should've been/should be this way, that way, I could've done this way, that way... And that makes you feel depressed.
But if you accept that you can't control it, then those things become only "sadness" to you. There is a huge difference between feeling sad and feeling depressed.

Being happy doesn't mean that you don't have any sadness in your life.
Sadness adds more value to your happiness, and makes your life balanced.

By changing ourselves, we can change how we see things that happen to us, then things will look and mean different to us. As a result, we can change our lives in a positive way.
I think THAT's called "controlling". And IN THAT SENSE, our life is controllable. So is herpes.

I agree, this virus doesn't ruin our lives at all. We surely can live very happily. <smile!>


Faith
It all start's with attitude, straight up, fuck the herpes virus man!! get up out of your bed every day of your Life and strengthen your body with everything that's known about it to help fight this thing I feel what you're saying, Having this thing can be very depressing, trust, I've had my days in the beginning when I didn't think I'd ever be able to find someone who would be understanding enough or comfortable to still be with me and I'm sure there are people really getting the short end with this virus. Every individual is different, and what has worked well for me may not work for the next man or woman, But what I have come to accept is that although I will carry this awful virus until modern medicine find's a cure, there are ways to "keep it in check" or at the very least , when I say "controllable" I'm speaking in a sense of being able to at least control the frequency of the outbreaks. If a person's body is Loaded with Lysine, Garlic, Vitamin C and highly Oxygenated? it make's this virus extremely hard to replicate and cause a person constant pain and discomfort as you've described. Little known fact, but soap and water kill's the herpes virus (which is probably how it got to be known as an "unclean"disease) we all know this is bullshit, but the stigma that's attached to it along with a lack of education make's it even more difficult to share this with anyone, it's very embarrassing, and I have to admit, it took me a couple years before I was comfortable enough to open up about it. You just can't let this thing get you down or make you feel like everything is just...hopeless or something, Every day is a fight (even when there isn't an out break, but you have to do just that.. FIGHT! get rid of all the toxins in your body as best as possible, keep yourself clean, Load up on Lysine and Vitamin C, and keep your head up!

Answer:
Thank you guest for your positive attitude ,you are an inspiration. It is you "seasoned" herpes sufferers that will help us newly diagnosed be able to cope a little better. Good luck w/your upcoming marriage :D !

Answer:
It all start's with attitude, straight up, fuck the herpes virus man!! get up out of your bed every day of your Life and strengthen your body with everything that's known about it to help fight this thing I feel what you're saying, Having this thing can be very depressing, Hey hey...

Please don't just pick up "words", please read my post as a "concept". <smile> Do I still sound depressing or hopeless...? I'm far from it though.. :D

I understand what you're saying. What I wrote might sound too odd for you to take it as a positive statement. But it is.

I was just talking about life in general. Because herpes is (to me) only one of many thing that happens in my life. ( which taught me a lot of great things in the world :) )

Those tips you shared was great. Plus I agree, I don't think those antiviral will serve you for the best in the long run. I was not saying that what you wrote was wrong, of course.

But life in general, .... to me, life is not "conquering or being defeated", or "positive or negative". It's not so "black and white"........

I find the most strength in flexibility,.... not in fighting and defeating. It's just my way of living my life very strongly and positively -all the way-.

Best wishes..

Faith

Answer:
Medication/Prognosis- What I've found is that while medication such as Acylovir and Valtrex can aid in the healing time of an outbreak, Taking medication for this on a regular basis for "suppression' is NOT good, and my saying so is based on the fact that I've carried this for so long and know all the ins and outs of what's effective and what's not, at least for ME! My reasoning is that if you take a medication over a long period of time? Your body will actually work up an immune to the med to where it's no longer effective. This make's all the sense in the world if you think about it. Here what has worked wonders for me: Lysine, Garlic (2 cloves a day), A Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and I stopped smoking!

Lysine-I take 2000 mg's of Lysine daily, it has been proven and is a fact that the herpes virus carries an Arginine base and Lysine is it's antonym! Keep your body loaded with Lysine and this alone will significanlty help you in keeping this virus in check! Now, it's recommended that you take up to 3000 mg's of Lysine if you're having an outbreak, then take 1000 mg's daily to help keep it in check, but I made a conscious decision to take 2000 mg's daily. (whichever dosage work's best for you)

Garlic- The actual thing, NOT the pills, garlic has been used as a penicillin for years and it has been medically proven in a laboratory that garlic kill's the herpes virus! I firmly believe that the cure in genital herpes lies within something as simple as garlic but for some strange reason this isn't be researched enough. The anicillin (sp) you get in real garlic is what kills diseases and you can't get it's full benefit in a pill form, It sucks but hey, just make sure you brush your teeth and keep some listerene on hand and you'll be o.k.! lol needless to say because my body is laced with garlic I haven't had a cold or the flu in years! Keep your flu shot, I got Nature's flu shot in Garlic!

Multi-Vitamin- I take 1 daily with the most Zinc, Normally Vitamin C is the highest milligrams represented in a multi-vitamin and this is a good thing, Zinc for some reason has been proven effective against the herpes virus as well, Plus other anti-viral vitamins are in a multi, so it's all good!

Vitamin C- Extremely important, having your body loaded with vitamin C, sure you'll go to the bathroom a lot, but who said this is bad? I prefer to drink Hi-C and a lot of fruit juices (minus carbonation) that promote 100% Vitamin C and this is good! Plus it's something I enjoy. before you go loading up on orange juice be forewarned that the acid in OJ can cause other problems with your digestive tract, so I'd stay away from too much orange juice.

Vitamin E- This vitamin is actually the "sex vitamin" and enhances libido, but other benefits are for your skin, your heart and respiratory. I read somewhere awhile back that it was highly recommended in helping against the herpes virus, so fuck it, I was sold!
I forgot one other thing in my regimen that I take daily, probably just as important if not moreso than everything else. I take a Stresstab, High Potency B-Complex vitamin with the Antioxidants C & E, folic acid and Zinc!

Answer:
It all start's with attitude, straight up, fuck the herpes virus man!! get up out of your bed every day of your Life and strengthen your body with everything that's known about it to help fight this thing I feel what you're saying, Having this thing can be very depressing, Hey hey...

Please don't just pick up "words", please read my post as a "concept". <smile> Do I still sound depressing or hopeless...? I'm far from it though.. :D

I understand what you're saying. What I wrote might sound too odd for you to take it as a positive statement. But it is.

I was just talking about life in general. Because herpes is (to me) only one of many thing that happens in my life. ( which taught me a lot of great things in the world :) )

Those tips you shared was great. Plus I agree, I don't think those antiviral will serve you for the best in the long run. I was not saying that what you wrote was wrong, of course.

But life in general, .... to me, life is not "conquering or being defeated", or "positive or negative". It's not so "black and white"........

I find the most strength in flexibility,.... not in fighting and defeating. It's just my way of living my life very strongly and positively -all the way-.

Best wishes..

Faith
I wasn't directing what I wrote at you, Really, just in a general sense...If you sit around all day thinking about it, being sad and depressed because you have it it's gonna be an extremely hard and long road battling this thing. Never under estimate the power of the mind either, I don't know maybe I have a "milder" strain of the virus and is why I've never experienced the pain and some of the other systems that a lot of people speak of, I did experience the viral shedding thing about 3 years ago but that was the only time that ever happened. Friction without lubrication is a no-no, so hand-jobs are out! lol It's not a bad idea to have some DMSO spray on hand either, if you start to experience a podrome? Spray that DMSO on it, and it'll stop it right in it's tracks, the gel form has been effective as well, go here http://www.neveranoutbreak.com These are one of the rare products that's out there that I'd seriously recommened.

Answer:
I wasn't directing what I wrote at you, Really, just in a general sense...If you sit around all day thinking about it, being sad and depressed because you have it it's gonna be an extremely hard and long road battling this thing. Alright. I already got your message when reading your first post. <smile>

Well... I was just trying to show another way of looking at life. And just trying to explain the difference between "being sad" and "being depressed", but ... that's ok. :D I can keep going on and on and on... so, I should stop now. LOL

I guess I'm interested in making discovery about life -through- herpes much more than making discovery about actual herpes..

Ok, let me shut up, before I sound too crazy. :D

Anyway, thanks for those info!!!
(And I take Antioxidants and Vitamin B complex, too. They are good!)

Best wishes..

Faith