Hi Scott tom, I finally got my valtrex (GSK brand) . I know most of you talk about 1000 mg per day on maintenance. I have been taking 500mg per day and am doing well but am in remission now so doing well no matter what I do. Do you honestly take 1000mg per day? Do you ever try cutting down to 500 mg? Thank you, Dwaynehoover
I'm glad to hear that you're in remission. Antivirals might be something that keeps you there as they suppress the virus from coming back. People will genital herpes also go into remission, and Valtrex is also used for them to keep the virus in remission. Yes, i take 1000 mg per day as instructed by Dr. Gacek. I have no desire to find out if reducing it will bring back symptoms, since this is a perfectly safe dose and i do regular blood work to make sure it is not affecting my organ functions. My personal doctor also takes Valtrex for shingles (has been for 7+ years), and she tells me that it's fine to take for life. I cannot advise you on what to take, but can only tell you what i take. This is what works for me.
Oh, you might also consider taking Lysine with it. I am currently taking 1000 mg per day. JOH can expand on that more than me, as he knows more about it. I believe it helps with viral attacks as well, but needs to be taken WITHOUT food.
As demonstrated in thousands upon thousands of cases involving cold and genital sores caused by a herpes virus, the taking of the simple amino acid lysine suppresses and often terminates herpes viral activity. It does this by its chemical simularity to the amino acid arginine. Arginine is required by herpes viruses to replicate, to reproduce. That's why many cases of herpes infections, including the majority of Meniere's cases, get worse when the person consumes arginine-loaded foods. Ample arginine promotes herpes infection, replication, and activity. But because lysine is chemically similar, it, too, is taken up by replicating herpes viruses. But lysine, when chemically incorporated into herpes viruses, gums up, stops, or suppresses viral activity. There must be an abundance of dissolved lysine in the blood to accomplish this. That's why it's important to take each day, as a minimum, three, separated doses of 1000 mg of lysine. These doses must be taken so as not to mix the ingested lysine with food, so taking the doses at least 20 min before a meal, or at least 2 hours after is required. (This dosing schedule works: 1000 mg upon arising, at least 20 min before breakfast; 1000 mg in mid-afternoon, at least 2 hr after lunch; and a final 1000 mg just before retiring, at least 2 hr after supper.) If mixed with food, the lysine is consumed by the body in normal protein-building processes, with all the other amino acids in the food. Little or no free-floating lysine molecules are retained in the blood and few or none stick to replicating viruses. Information on this, and related topics, are in my document here: http://www.zoominternet.net/~kcshop/JOH.pdf --John of Ohio
This link is helpful in identifying the lysine/arginine ratio in common foodstuffs; http://www.herpes.com/Nutrition.shtml
I'm a bit confused by something, and i hope you can explain further. If this cannot be taken with food, then does eating foods with high lysine even matter? Why is it ok to eat high lysine foods, but not take lysine supplements with food?
I merely stated that I would like to see a proper clinical study for the benefit of all. Some reactions to that have been somewhat extreme.
To my knowledge, consumption of foods with elevated lysine content (I cannot identify these; don't know of them) has no effects on the course of a herpes virus infection. If the lysine is in food, which would be in lysine-rich proteins, digestion and absorption of the lysine will be immediately followed by the lysine's use in synthesized new body proteins. Little or none of it will remain circulating in the blood, where it would be otherwise absorbed by replicating herpes viruses. The amounts of lysine in foods has no effect on the severity or suppression of herpes activity. But consumption of foods containing elevated arginine (perhaps that was your real question) does affect herpes activity --- the arginine promotes it. The key is this. Herpes viruses preferentially absorb and use arginine to replicate (make more virions, viral particles). Lysine --- if in large-enough concentrations (crucial) --- will then also be absorbed by the virus. In high enough concentrations, enough lysine becomes incorporated into the virus replication process so as to thwart any subsequent activity. Again, herpes viruses prefer to absorb and use the few arginines floating around in the blood. If there are but a few lysines, not enough will be absorbed to stop virual replication. Hence, take sufficient lysine each day (3000 to 4500 mg), in the absence of food, so as to provide enough circulating, free lysine to be competitively absorbed by the new viruses. A few Meniere's people have posted here that MM symptoms have resumed or become more severe following the eating of high-arginine foods. They listed what those were, but I have not recorded them. Personally, I once took some supplemental arginine for a different purpose (not Meniere's). Bad mistake. Shortly all of the symptoms resumed. The increased arginine out-competed the lysine, and the herpes viruses in my inner ear gleefully resumed activity. Again, lysine-containing foods are of no consequence, good or bad (for Meniere's, anyway --- Linus Pauling took lysine, among other supplements, to suppress heart disease). The key is free lysine, in adequate amounts each day, not digested with any foods. --John of Ohio
No, I've "missed" nothing of signficance regarding dietary lysine in it's putative suppression of herpes symptoms. You have provided merely a list of foods with a supposedly favorable lysine-arginine ratio. Fine. Now, present evidence that shows any quantified evidence that eating high-lyisine, low-arginine foods actually suppresses Meniere's symptoms. I've been studying all of this since late in the last century (when I began devising my regimen) and have never found such evidence. Personally, I do have quantified evidence that my lysine-based Meniere's treatment regimen actually does bring relief to the vast majority who diligently and compliently use it. But the lysine is in the form of a pure supplement, not dietary lysine. Big difference. Presently I have 275 detailed personal accounts from users of the regimen (144 pp of documentation). Of these, 242 regimen users report complete or substantial reduction in Meniere's symptoms, 88.0%. These results closely parallel those taking antiherpetic drugs to suppress Meniere's symptoms. Both lysine and the antiherpetics chemically inhibit herpes virus activity. Of course, those objecting to my presentation of both the regimen itself, or the very favorable results will claim my documentation is contrived (implying that I made this all up, that I'm a fraud), or that, somehow, only those who got good results took the time to email detailed accounts. Again, there is no evidence that consuming a high-lysine, low-arginine diet will have any favorable results concerning Meniere's disease. If there is evidence for such, please present it. --John of Ohio
Oh dear, here we go again? I merely provided the link to highlight some foodstuffs that were relatively low and high in argentine and lysine. I was not seeking to provide scientific evidence to contradict any of your long held beliefs. If we are not careful with the words John you know that the anti-troll brigade will pipe up again.
Hey River Rat.. I know the feeling about sensitivity.. My wife thinks I am crazy as I read side effects and worry to the point of stress as most medications seem to really affect me big time.. I may come across crazy but often I read about BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER in medications. Those that do cross and those that do not. In my head I feel like I don't have barrier lol. Whatever I take always seems to affect my brain. So I typically have to EASE myself onto most medications to allow my body to adjust. What dosage are you on the Acyclovir? What side effects if any hit you the worst and how soon?
Very interesting information.. I feel like I have been out of the loop in forever. I guess when your symptoms die down so much that you forget about it for 10 years mostly that is a good thing. I thank John of Ohio and his treatment for most of my success where modern medicine failed to care or failed to want to care about alternative treatments. 1. In Regards to Arginine vs Lysine in diet. Do most of you if you take lysine feel it is satisfactory to just get enough free floating Lysine in the system? Or do you all try to avoid arginine as well? Seems hard lol. 2. If I went to my DR this week and asked him to start me on anti-virals. Do you feel Acyclovir or Valtrex is best to start? And is it safe to start generics? I am on medication for an irregular heartbeat and I know VERY WELL how jumping from one manufacturer of generic to another can wreak havoc on a nice symptom free time period.
Valtrex is better than generic valacyclovir, which is better than acyclovir. Avoid the Mylan brand of generics.
Thank you scott So ranking 3 being worse to 1 being best 1. Valtrex 2. Valacyclovir 3. Acyclovir and no mylan ... lol funny mylan sucks at those.. on my other meds i scavenged the country to find mylan for my heart pills lol.. and ended up ordering them from canada till they stopped making them there as well. now they are made in india.. (joy.. nothing against india... but i find it hard to believe the FDA can hold foreign companies to inspection standards from here)
OUCH! acyclovir is least effective but looks like that is the price avenue i'm going to have to try =/
It worked for me and a lot of other people. With acyclovir, the important thing is to spread the dose out across the day as much as possible, say in five doses. It does not do that on its own like the other two. This was explained to me by an eye doctor who uses antivirals a lot.
