ok guys... here's my story in a nutshell

I have never had an outbreak, at least none to my knowledge.
never even a coldsore my entire life.

so after being told on my (bday) which wasnt the best present to recieve i was told i had exposure to hsv2
which meant antibodies.
now how could this have happened?
i didnt even see my doctor with symptoms
he was a gay doc and i am a gay man so I went to ask his opinion and run everything.
he said Herpes doesnt get done in a standard STD panel. That i wasnt aware, when i see patients its always outbreaks are present but to just do bloodwork it doesnt make sense.

anyway, he ran the herpselect test and hsv2 was positive. After being completely distraught for 3 months now im trying to regain my sex life.

he told me the following:
im most likely not viral shedding since ive never had an outbreak or dont suffer from them but its still possible.
he also told me i didnt have to tell prefvious partners because it brings up all sorts of mental anguish which isnt necessary for my already stressful life.
he said just keep it in the back of my mind.
he also said 50+million men and women have exposure and no symptoms. thats 1 in 4 over the age of 12
and gay men thats 1 in 3
90% go undiagnosed!!!!
also by the year 2025 70% of the population will have this on the earth not just america! he said it will be more than half the population of the usa will have antibodies by this time. He does family practice and infectious disease and i dont, so i didnt have any idea of these findings.

he also said its not reportable to the health department and doesnt kill you. very rare you find brain swelling but its mostly infants, none he had ever seen in adults.
he just said its pesky and annoying

he also said i dont have to tell partners, which i found odd but he said so many people have it, you can choose to be considerate and tell but if you notice anyhting from an ingrown hair or tingling... start the valtrex. (which by the way cost me 190 bucks)
he also said its extremely unlikely that its in my saliva so he told me to not worry when it comes to oral sex but remember they could have it on them if i perform the oral sex on them.
he said sometimes thats an entry way into the body but it doesnt stay to spread in the saliva because HSV2 usually is in the base of the spine.
dormant. He also said its usually sleeping most of the month and if a person suffers outbreaks more than twice a year than most likely 3 to 8 days out of the month you are "asymptomatically shedding"

so he told me to start taking l-lysine and vit c and zinc
so here's what i take
super lysine+ caps which i got at the store
contains
100mg vit C
l-lysine 1500 mgs
garlic bulb 200mgs
echinacea 100 mgs
propolis 25mgs
licorice root 15 mgs
goldenseal root 15 mgs

you take 3 capsules on an empthy stomach daily

also RMA
red marine algae (rhodocept) 540 mgs and 1 capsule daily. oh and a hint... buy it online it way too expensive in stores 25 bucks a bottle

also i take an additional l-lysine 500mg tab

so its 5 caps a day
then a multi-V(antioxident formula) with a meal and an r-alpha lopic acid

i eat well, i do eat peanut butter because i dont eat meat only occassional fish
and i do go tanning
im writing this to see if it helps anyone else out
this virus is a mind game more than an STD so keep your mind in good thoughts and focus on "willing" the virus to sleep.

im still stunned but getting on top of this.. i never learned so much so fast.
:dizzy:

Wow, that's a lot of supplements to take each day. You would need an organiser to remind you what to take and when to take it :P But if it all helps then it's well worth it.

I have type 2 and in my first year and a bit i was only getting o/b's every few months and then they became more and more religious and were occuring once per month. Then again, i am female so something was triggering mine inbetween ovulation and my period starting. So i went back to taking a multivitamin, garlic, lysine, olive leaf and the o/b's kept occuring.

It's only in January that i read about echinacea trials so in February i took it in liquid form for just over 2 weeks and no usual o/b. Again in March no o/b. Prior to the echinacea my o/b's were so regular you could set your watch by them. Apparently with echinacea you need to take regular breaks from taking it as it can work in reverse and affect your immune system.

I have also heard of red marine algae, but couldn't find that in the healthfood store. I have recently read about licorice being beneficial. Drinking peppermint tea is supposedly good too.

I have never taken any prescription med's for this and in your case where you aren't even getting o/b's i'd personally not take med's. It's your choice though.

If i was dating, i would believe in telling future partners that i have the virus. This is one area i disagree with your doctor. I would hate to infect somebody b/c i would hate someone knowingly infecting me if they had the virus and i didn't. Imagine finding the perfect partner and not telling them, they get infected and questions are then asked and then they dump you for not being honest with them. It simply causes to many dramas to lie about it.

Your doctor is correct in saying that it is a nuisance, and it wont kill you. For some reason i tend to read about more females suffering from regular-ish o/b's rather than males. A lot of males don't even get o/b's or rarely get them.

I definitely wouldn't take valtrex with no symptoms...just take them if you have an OB. Your doctor seems very informed about herpes. My guess is that he probably has it himself and that's why he knows so much..HA!

Thanks for the suggestions...and the super lysine + caps are ONE pill right? All those ingredients are in the one capsule? I'm not sure that was clear enough. I've never seen super lysine+ in a store before only on the internet.

thanks audrey
your so helpful i have been reading your posts. across the board.
i have been researching like a mad man

they are trying some clinical tests where they can predict when your shedding. sort of like an ovulation kit except it detects surfacing of the herpatic function.
that would be great.. i hope they succeed!
and it is true my doc said women have periods and suffer alot more because there hormones get all out of wack
men usually comes in heavy break outs or hardly sweat pimples and mild, thats why as guys we dont know

so 7 vitamins a day all first thing in the morning , im a gym type of guy so taking supplements work for me
and that one blend i take has it all in there
and the echineasea thats in it is a level dose, meaning it can be taken over a longer period of time.
but i agree when you take ech.. by its self you have to stop for a few weeks then start again.

did you ever hear of the lemon balm or liquid oxygen method?

dmso cream?:p

I have heard of the lemon balm, liquid oxygen and dsmo cream among others, but some things aren't easily available while others are either tricky to use or some people say can have adverse affects if not used correctly so i stick to what i can buy over the counter and wont harm me in any way.

I have learnt to live with this virus and know it can't be gotten rid of for good, so i'm simply happy not to get o/b's if possible. I think if i was in your situation i'd not be worrying considering you don't get o/b's.

I too thought your doc seemed well informed and did wonder whether he either has it himself or has a partner who has it.

Good luck with your research. There is so much info on this board, but a lot of it could be quite a few pages back.

hey audrey and keepsgoin,

yeah my doc and i are very close. I have to be careful of what i say because the moderators have already booted me a few times for "breaking" the rules and i dont want to do that again. This board has basically gotten me out of depression
Since i found this board it really has been so helpful and put me at ease. I thank you all
because even though i never had an outbreak i want to prevent and help anyone i can to not get another one. and it is soley my opinions as this is a peer group

but keepsgoin, its 3 caps of that super lysine+ a day. empty stomach. so i do it as i have my coffee in the morning. i know they say caffeine is the worst but i cant give up my cup in the morn
it gets me going and takes the evil-ness i am in the morn lol

audrey your great thanks again
im trying to get the link to the studies being done about the surfacing of the herpes virus so you can be prepared in advance for outbreaks
in my opinion that woulkd be great if they prefected it. Its funny after all the docs i have seen on this they tell me to go natural but then of course they push the valtrex.. but there are so many reports on line that show valtrex vs herbal
hope anything i can say helps
:wave:

Hi overitall, i'd not worry about your morning coffee. I only have a coffee in the morning with my breakfast and it's not a strong coffee either. I like mine a bit on the milky side. Other than that, i am normally a tea drinker, but have taken to drinking the new tea from Africa which you can mix with milk, like normal tea, but it is all natural and no caffeine and is the closest thing taste-wise to normal tea. I have to do this as my iron levels got so low and i'm now on some pretty strong iron supplements and i want to consume as little as possible any foods/beverages which could stop my body absorbing iron.

You hear a lot of people saying chocolate or peanut butter or some other food will bring on either oral or genital herpes, but for me personally i dont appear to have this problem. But that's the problem with herpes, it works differently for every person out there so you really have to experiment and experiment some more to figure out what works for you as an individual.

I think either what you are doing or your body itself has got the herpes under control. That's not to say you wont ever have an o/b in your life, but i doubt you will be one of those people who gets them a lot. Lucky you :) Now you need to focus on not letting it rule your life either and live life without focusing on the herpes 24/7 as that will get the depression happening. Then next step is to work out your dating technique, when to tell and how to tell a prospective partner. I still think telling a partner prior to any form of sexual contact is a must, your conscience will rest easier. Some potential partners might not take the herpes news well and will move on, but you are bound to come across someone special who will want to learn about it and be your partner. Have you read the "Happy Couples" thread? That's a good one to read b/c as a lot of people have written some very positive stuff there.

Have a great weekend :)