A Few Words

I'd like to write a few words about herpes. Its not something that I generally talk about, for some reason its remained a shameful secret even though millions upon millions of Americans (and millions more world-wide) have this incurable virus. That's all it is, a virus. Something like 1 in 5 Americans have either type I or type II. That means that someone reading this has it. Not that I expect anyone to 'fess up or anything, but its still confounding to me that its something you just don't mention -- to anyone. Ever.

I know when I have an outbreak, which are, thankfully, fairly infrequent, I feel bad. Physically it zaps your energy because your body is fighting it, like if you had the flu. Emotionally, I feel bad because it means I can't be intimate with my husband, and it angers me when it flares up at the least opportune time, like now, for instance, when I'm getting ready to ovulate. It also reminds me of my ex, which always makes me angry. So its a big party all around.

For me, outbreaks are usually caused by stress. I think its safe to say that I've had a stressful week. Funny thing is, outbreaks can be caused by any number of things, including having your period, having sex, or even (worst of all), eating chocolate. Chocolate has a lot of arginine in it, which is the amino acid that the virus uses to replicate itself. So, I don't eat chocolate. I also can't take Fertility Blend, which has arginine in it. When I get an outbreak I take lysine, which is the opposite amino acid, and helps to starve the virus. Interesting stuff, eh?

I was also thinking this morning about the word infertility. I started to think, shouldn't it be UNfertility? But then, no, if you think about all the other words where if you put IN in front of it, it becomes something bad, it makes sense.

IN competent
IN complete
IN adequate
IN conceivable

That about sums it up, don't you think?