Lysine vs. Valtrex for suppressing herpes outbreaks?

[kate33]

I am new to this whole thing and am still trying to figure out if I should continue taking Valtrex daily. A friend of mine recommended Lysine, as it is a natural approach to suppressing any outbreaks.

 

Any thoughts anyone?

[vanessayee]

I personally like taking something called "Super Lysine" (not just ordinary lysine) and it's the one where the back of the bottle also says it's good for cold sores, you can google it. It has a turquoise lid. Mine comes with 180 tablets for around $30-40 and they taste garlicy and I really feel they help. They are not perfect though as some outbreaks have still come back but I felt there were many amazing clear days when I took this. I would take it once a day and they are a lot cheaper than the antivirals like acyclovir and Valtrex which is very expensive if one doesn't have insurance like me and this Lysine comes with a lot of tablets. Some ppl find that Lysine does nothing for them, others find it helps. But it's effectiveness might depend on what stage someone is at in your diagnosis too. I started taking them on year 2 and the longer someone has had H then the less frequent the outbreaks should be anyways. I'm not sure if they would have helped me a ton when I was on my first year when the outbreaks were more strong and frequent.

[WCSDancer2010]

L-Lysine (in any lable) is what you are looking for the "Super Lysine may have other ingredients (don't know that one) that help to fight viruses which would be ok too... and there are several things to take into consideration when choosing what to take:

 

1) Whether it works for you. Some report amazing results, some get nothing from it ... but the same goes for Valtrex. The secret is to find what sets your bodies' environment up to be able to suppress the virus and that can be very different from person to person. Remember Herpes has been around a LONG time and part of the reason is that it's REALLY GOOD at hiding and dealing with coping with a range of immune system attacks on it ...

 

2) Whether you are in a relationship or not and what your partner feels about the risk ... and their H status ;)

 

3) Your feelings about drugs... I'm not a big drug person but I DO believe that when taken judiciously, they are useful. The long term side effects are mostly not too bad if you don't already have liver or kidney issues... and most just go on them for awhile until they feel more in control of their OB's and generally coping with it.

 

Either way, you just have to experiment with what works for you both physically and within your personal needs and beliefs ;)

 

[Ihaveittoo1975]

I also take the Super Lysine but they are considerably cheaper than $30-40, on Amazon it is less than $15.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Super-Lysine-Tabs-Bottle/dp/B001CMZB4U

 

As far as Valtrex vs lysine, I personally really can't tell you. I only used Valtrex for the first week, after that I have only taken various supplements including the Super Lysine. Besides one ob from having sex, I have only had one small ob since my initial one in October. At the time I had had very little sleep, lots of time zone crossings and less than ideal food for an extended period of time, prime triggers for an ob.

 

Keep in mind that we all react differently, and what works for me may not work for you. Should I enter into a committed relationship I would start taking Valtrex for the sake of protecting the partner.

[vanessayee]

@ihaveittoo1975 Oh awesome if you can get the Super Lysine for less online at Amazon. I found mine in a health supplement store.

 

Should I enter a committed relationship I too would get Valtrex as that would be the best peace of mind for me.

 

At the moment when not in a relationship I prefer not to be on meds (plus I can't always afford it either) and will just take the natural lysine supplement or just let it run it's course. But If I'm having a bad breakout and just want it to subside sooner for the sake of comfort, I have gone to get the antivirals like Acyclovir or Vacyclovir whatever they call it now which is similar to Valtrex.

 

So @kate33, you don't always have to take Valtrex, you can let it run it's course on it's own or try natural things that help it on it's own then when in a serious relationship you can use the Valtrex. But if you like using Valtrex all the time for peace of mind to minimize outbreaks then do what works for you. :)

[Ihaveittoo1975]

Actually, come to think of it, I was out of the lysine when I did get that small ob. Of course the lack of sleep and constant travelling were probably the main reasons for the ob, but maybe the lysine would have stopped it in its tracks.

[WCSDancer2010]

@vanessayee

 

regarding meds costs - Google Rx Prescription Discount Card ... they can same you a bunch of money on anti-virals :)

[vanessayee]

Thanks! @WCSDancer2010

[seeker]

and walgreens has a card for 20$ a year that gets you a discount on RX there ( plus other in store products). my acyclovir is 27$ for a months suppressive and its around the corner unlike planned parenthood which was 25 for a month and an hour drive thru traffic there.