Natural immunity from HSV?

[HSVpositive70]

Hello!

Situation:

IgG: type 1: 5, type 2: 10

I’ve known for 16 years thah I have GHSV. However, I’ve never gotten the specific strain tested. Recently I did this and it turns out I have both 1&2. I’m not sure if this presents orally or not as I’ve never gotten a cold sore. I do suspect the HSV1 is from a recent partner.

Anyway, I get genital OBs relatively often and they take awhile to heal. For my recent OB I’ve decided to see how my body reacts without antivirals. Since I’m not sexually active I thought it could be a good time to experiment.

I’m curious if there is any type of research or expert opinion about taking a break from the medication for the body to build its own immunity? I would like to not rely on the medication so frequently as it doesn’t seem to prevent them from occurring.

I’m currently taking lysine, using lemon balm cream, immune boosting vitamins and monolaurin.

I also have a question about transmission and if the amount of antibodies makes transmission higher or lower, but I think I may need to ask that in a different entry. Thanks!

[Terri Warren]

Your body has already reacted without antivirals – you have substantial antibody responses to both viruses. That’s the way your body handles the virus without meds.
I would ask how much antiviral medication are you taking, which kind and how often?

The index value on your antibody test says nothing about transmissibility or infectiousness.

Once you have HSV 2, you will not get HSV 1 subsequently – I suspect strongly that you got your HSV 1 infection first.

Terri

[HSVpositive70]

Thank you.

When I was taking daily suppressive therapy it was 500mg Valacyclovir. When I was taking it per outbreak it was 1g.

I found that when taking them daily I still got OBs and then when I take them when I start feeling an OB coming it goes away slowly and then comes back fairly quickly.

I’ve been on these meds for 16 years so I’m very curious what could happen when I stop. Some happen spoken of an improvement when they get off the meds but that is anecdotal. Do you know anything about this? I’ve been starting lysine to see if there’s any benefit as well.

As far as having HSV1 first that is very interesting. I suppose I would not have been tested for HSV until I had my first OB and they didn’t tell me if it was 1 or 2 when they did test me.

I wish there were a way to find out the timeline of these things or if I have type 1 orally. I only get symptoms genitally. If I do have type GHSV1&2 could that explain why I have such difficulty controlling the recurring OBs? I’ve seen people with antiviral loads close to 100 – what would be the difference between them and myself? Is there a reason why HSV1 is at 5 and 2 is at 10? I’ve been considering a WB but I’m unsure how much more information this will give me. Some have said they’ve experienced false positives. Unlikely to be me, but with the news of HSV1&2 I am curious.

Sorry for the rambling. Doctors have often had less clear cut answers for me so it’s nice to have this forum.

[Terri Warren]

I think you are not going to know how you do until you come off meds. You may do fine if you are breaking through on suppression. It is very likely that your HSV 1 infection is very likely oral.
There is no measure of antiviral loads for HSV – I have no idea what you are talking about. Your index values are very typical indeed. I don’t see a reason for you to do a western blot. Are you sure there isn’t a ‘>” sign in front of the 5?

Terri

[HSVpositive70]

I was told my results over the phone so I am unsure of whether there was a greater than sign.

I’ve been told there can be false negatives up to an 8 in viral load. Is this not accurate?

[Terri Warren]

Again, there is no viral load. I think you are referring to index values on the IgG test.
EVen if your result was exactly 5, which I seriously doubt that it is, it is almost certain that your HSV 1 would confirm by western blot and it is likely that your HSV 2 would as well but not as certain

Terri

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