Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. There might be kisses. Fortunately, I think I’ve cured my cold sores. Again.
Back story: Several years ago, I was getting cold sores more and more frequently. I was also suffering from frequent bladder infections. It got to the point where I had one or the other just a few weeks apart, constantly. I was a wreck – uncomfortable, unhappy and self conscious.
I researched. I stumbled upon studies in which women reported a happy side effect of starting probiotics for entirely different reasons – no more bladder infections. Having been raised in a healthfood store, I was already a fan of probiotics but I had never taken them with any degree of regularity.
I started by taking just one multi strain probiotic capsule a day. After a several days, I felt fine, so I upped the dosage. Slowly, over a couple of weeks, I increased my dosage to 3 a day. Guess what? No bladder infections. And? No cold sores.
I dropped slowly – very slowly – down to one probiotic capsule a day. No reoccurrence of either problem, for months. I declared myself cured. And slowly, fell off the probiotic wagon. And then forgot all about probiotic supplements.
Last year, I got a cold sore. “How strange,” I thought. “You never get cold sores anymore,” my husband Quentin said.
And then another. And then they were happening as close together as three or four weeks. I started taking Lysine and slowly upped the dosage to levels above what the bottle recommended. Cold sores persisted. I was taking more zinc than I should. Cold sores kept coming. I was taking vitamin c until I gave myself the scoots. Cold sores laughed at me and kept coming.
I started to worry about getting bladder infections again. What if they came back as well? Then some dim voice in the back of my head started talking to me, ever so quietly. It was trying to tell me something. “Probiotic,” it whispered. And the memory of a cure came flooding back.
So, I got a probiotic supplement with 12 strains. Again, I started with one a day and monitored. I felt fine. Over the course of several days, I slowly increased to 3 a day. It’s been over 4 months and I haven’t had a cold sore.
I have lowered my intake to two capsules a day. I’m committed to sticking with two, for the time being.
If you are curious and you’re looking for a sincere and honest recommendation, I have been using Ultimate Multi Probiotic by Natural Factors. Natural Factors is a Canadian company. They don’t make anything but nutritional supplements. Their products are formulated and packaged in Canada.
#TherapieThursday
-Cherise
