by nite and day » Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:38 am
I've used Dynamiclear twice and am unsure of the results. ( I think that option should be added to the poll....I can't say it didn't do anything, but I also don't know if it really worked yet!)
Here's some info on my case and symtpoms:
I was diagnosed with GH about 7 weeks ago and am still suffering from bad symptoms, it's been a total of 57 days of terrible pain. It is a primary outbreak--I didn't have antibodies for either hsv1/2--and the physician that did the culture didn't have it tested for type specific, but it came back positive for hsv. I have a gyno appt on Tuesday and I hope to get my IgG tested and know if it's 1 or 2. I have rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disorder, and I'm guessing that is why my primary outbreak has been so bad and lasted so long. I consider myself to have a high tolerance to pain, and am used to dealing with pain on a daily basis--I have for more than half of my life- but this outbreak pain is severe and that kind of pain where you can't think of anything else.
As far as treatment, I started preemptive treatment of acyclovir even before I got my culture test back because the physician was sure it was herpes. Since, I have been on another run of acyclovir, and two of Valtrex. My primary symptoms were really bad for an entire month and started to ease up but I still had pain. For the next couple weeks, during these long, dreadful 57 days, I actually didn't have sores, but I still had this really painful burning/itching feeling, and also the "pinched" feeling I've read some other posters describe. In addition, I had shooting pains in my upper thighs and lower back. I spoke to my gyno over the phone and she thought it might be Posthereptic Neuralgia, which is usually associated with Herpes Zoster(shingles), but has been known to affect people with GH as well. The pain from this was so bad, it still hurt to sit for a long period of time, and the pain and burning would keep me up at night. This past week, I got another outbreak, similar to the first, where my labia and vulva are "raw." I used Dynamiclear on the most affected areas, and after four days the rawness seems to have diminished (this was in combination with Valtrex 1g twice a day), but I still continue to have pain/burning/itching. This is the second time I've used Dynamiclear, I used it during the first outbreak as well. The sores/areas never scabbed over, but that's because they're on my inner labia and the area is naturally moist. I've read ferociously about treatments, so in addition to antivirals and Dynamiclear I've been doing all the other home treatments: ice packs, epsom salt baths, Lidocaine gel, showering & keeping the area as dry as possible, loose clothing, rest. I started vitamin supplements soon after diagnosis: Daily Women's vitamin and Vitamin C, Bioflavonoids, Zinc, Oil of Oregano, acidophilous, and lots of L-Lysine. I read all about the high lysine/low arginine diet and the alkaline/acid diet recommendations. I've completely cut out all high arginine foods: chocolate, all whole grains, nuts, seeds, rice, legumes, white flour (so currently I'm not even eating any bread, pasta, crackers, tortillas, etc.), crustacean seafood (shrimp/crab), gelatin, coconut, coffee, diet coke, aspartame drinks, orange juice, etc etc. I've only been eating foods that will give me a higher lysine uptake as well as maintain high alkaline levels in my body. I know this sounds fanatical, and really it's been frustrating--I've had to recreate my entire diet, but for the meantime I was hoping to just get through this outbreak. So Anything that could possibly exacerbating the symptoms, I gave up, and anything that would help, I've tried. I just need to find some relief, it's been so long and it's greatly affected my life. I need some pain relief, so I can even just focus my energy elsewhere and start to wade through all these emotional/psychological repercussions this disease has had on me.
Sooo....because I'm simultaneously using other various methods of treatment in addition to Dynamiclear, I have been unsure of the results it yielded. Though many people say after the initial burning sensation upon treatment they feel immediate relief from the pain they were having from the outbreak, this did not happen for me. It did burn upon application, which subsided in about an hour, and then the outbreak pain felt the same as it did prior to application. Dynamiclear is only supposed to be used once per outbreak, at the "peak" of the outbreak--when the sores are most active and open, and since my outbreak seems to vary in typical symptoms and continue for so long, I don't think I've had a chance to test it accurately.
I am curious to hear about others experience though, especially if people have experienced future outbreaks appearing in different locations than before after use of Dynamiclear. That seems worrisome, though the unpredictable nature hsv could result in outbreaks recurring in new spots anyway.
Has anyone found a good treatment for pain/burning/itching feeling (in addition to antivirals like Valtrex) when there aren't actually sores/lesions? Like a topical treatment? (Besides Lidocaine.) I've read about H-Balm and Medavir--which both are suggested for use between outbreaks, at the prodrome stage, and in prevention (whereas, Dynamiclear says it is not as effective on prodromal symptoms). Anyone used H-Balm, Medavir, or any thing else that worked great for them?
Thanks ;)