l-lysine helpful or not?

[beachday]

I am reading The Truth About Herpes by Stephen Saks, MD. The last time it was copyrighted was 1997. In it he says to avoid L-lysine because they are of no proven benefit. Is this true? I know to the left and lots of people say to use it.

1. For those with recurrent hsv2, did taking Lysine really shorten your outbreaks? I am on day 4 with my face breaking out a little more each day. I am taking 1500 mg of valtrex and 3000 mg of lysine plus other vitamins.

2. Are there any scientific studies that show Lysine is helpful? I am on page 214, has what I been reading not up to date?

Thanks.

[JS21]

I don't know if lysine shortens the outbreaks or not. It lessens the severity, and that's worth a lot to me. I used to get canker sores in my mouth from stress, and taking the lysine stopped them completely. That's how I knew about the lysine for genital herpes. Figured it had to be the same ailment. Just started taking more of it.

Maybe it's different for everyone. It's also possible that the medical-model frame of reference isn't interested in being supportive of things which could help people, but are outside the control of doctors and the AMA, and their ability to make money off of people in need.

[HC-Support-Team]

Lysine has been found to be active against the herpes virus in vitro, as it is able to inhibit the metabolism of arginine - an amino acid required by the virus for replication.

Many studies have proven that lysine, when taken in sufficient doses, is effective in decreasing the frequency of outbreaks. In some studies it appears that lysine is less effective in decreasing the duration of an outbreak when taken at the first sign of symptoms.

From looking at these studies I think one factor that is evident is that in these cases where lysine was less effective the supplement was started when the symptoms began and the virus was already active.

Time should be given for the lysine to reduce the levels of arginine present in the body and therefore restrict the function of the herpes virus. Most nutrients take a period of time to be processed and assimilated by the body.

Studies have also found that lysine taken in low doses has a limited effect. In one study the required dose of lysine was found to be 1248mg and higher per day in order for it to show any substantial effect on the herpes virus.

There is reliable and relatively consistent scientific data showing the health benefits of lysine in respect to HSV. These resources will be useful to you if you are interested in researching this further:

A multicentered study of lysine therapy in Herpes simplex infection.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/640102

Tankersley RW Jr. Amino acid requirements of herpes simplex virus in human cells. J Bacteriol 1964;87:609–13.

Flodin NW. The metabolic roles, pharmacology, and toxicology of lysine. J Am Coll Nutr 1997;16:7–21 [review].

Griffith RS, Norins AL, Kagan C. A multicentered study of lysine therapy in herpes simplex infection. Dermatologica 1978;156:257–67.

Griffith RS, Walsh DE, Myrmel KH, et al. Success of L-lysine therapy in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Dermatologica 1987;175:183–90.

Milman N, Scheibel J, Jessen O. Lysine prophylaxis in recurrent herpes simplex labialis: a double blind, controlled crossover study. Acta Derm Venereol 1980;60:85–7.

DiGiovanna JJ, Blank H. Failure of lysine in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Treatment and prophylaxis. Arch Dermatol 1984;120:48–51.

Hope this helps,

Shenda

[beachday]

Thanks for the info. i will check out the link.

[JS21]

Shenda, thanks very much for your post and the link. I appreciate having such good information.

[Loving Husband]

Quick intro to me: BSc in Pharmacology tho not working in the field anymore. Quick intro to the sufferer: my wonderful wife who did not know she had herpes and she had had it for years. She thought it was a yeast infection and her MD treated her for that for several years. Outbreaks were frequent a quite vicious - would give her the flu-like symptoms and keep her in bed for a day or two. Finally diagnosed correctly about 5 years ago and given a daily dose of 500mg of Valtrex. We had me checked too and I was clear (very lucky, I know).

At first Valtrex worked well - pretty much eliminated all recurrences. My wife was so relieved. At last!, we both thought! After 4 years of successful treatment the virus resurfaced and now it was nasty. She had a permanent lesion for months; MD's tried increased dose (1g of Valtrex per day) which did nothing at all. My wife got very depressed and the lesion was just not going away.

Thanks to THIS board, I found the discussion of Valtrex becoming less effective over time. Reading the Valtrex paperwork the manufacturer discusses its decrease in efficacy over 2 years so one can only assume, based on my wifes recurrence, that over 5 it continued to decline until it was not effective at all.

Again, thanks to THIS board, I found the discussion of Lysine and Vitamin C as an effective defense against the virus. I bought the Lysine (500mg) and the Vitamin C (500mg) and she began taking one of each in the morning every day. In addition she began to reduce the Valtrex dose, going from 500mg to 250mg to 125mg to 0mg over a one week period.

After one month of this new regimen, her lesion has completed healed - after months of suffering it has completely gone. She continues to take the lysine and Vitamin C every day religiously and so far things look good.

I am sure this is not a cure - and I am pretty sure she will have another OB in the future. At this point acute use of Valtrex will likely be effective again.

My wife is happy and feels relaxed for the first time in months. I for one am a believer in Lysine.

Thanks to everyone on this board who directed us to Lysine. You have helped more than you can imagine.

[beachday]

Thank you for sharing.