Friday, December 3, 2010

L-Lysine for Canker Sores

Ever since I started with fibro symptoms over a year ago I've suffered too from frequent boughts with canker sores in my mouth as well as what I recently discovered is called "burning mouth syndrome."

I have discovered along the way foods and what not that seem to be triggers, (foods that are acidic like pineapple and cranberry, and spicy foods like jalepenos, cajun, anything with horseradish, even tangy things made with tomatoes like ketchup, cocktail sauce, salsa; this unfortunately has been a VERY difficult adjustment as I LOVE all these foods, most were staples of my diet :/)

I also quickly discovered that any toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulfate was a huge instigator of my canker sore boughts. (So I now use Burts Bees toothpaste - is SLS free :)

I have also noticed that when I go to the dentist every 6 months for my regular cleanings I seem to suffer a month of burning mouth afterwords. Probably chemicals (maybe even SLS) in the products they use.

Anyhoo so I started on a path of research, and I discovered via amazon a booked called The Fibromyalgia Dental Handbook, by Flora Parsa Stay.

I was reading through the book and in the canker sores chapter came across an alternative treatment for canker sores which involved taking vitamin C, vitamin B and L-Lysine (boosting immune system and recovery.) For me canker sores are pure misery, 3 weeks from start to finish for each one, often multiples overlapping. And it seems that once I get a canker sore it initiates burning mouth syndrome and the burning pain in my gums. So yes I was willing to try something that would help them heal faster and quite possibly prevent them for occurring so often!

I was 4 days into a new canker sore with a another new one starting and began taking  500mg L-Lysine twice a day, as well as 500mg vitamin C at night and 1000mg vitamin B12 in the mornings. Now I have tried taking vitamin C and B before to no avail, but I was curious about this L-Lysine (is an essential amino acid that out bodies don't produce but we get from eating certain foods.)

5 days later and BOTH canker sores are COMPLETELY GONE!!! I am highly impressed, and excited! So I have cut back the L-Lysine to 500mg once a day, trying to prevent future breakouts. Crossing my fingers. I am hoping that by taking the vitamin C, B and L-Lysine daily it may also help with the burning mouth and hopefully help with the episodes after teeth cleanings with the dentist.

I will post updates if I have any more sores or not!

Anyone else have experiences like this with L-Lysine? I found it at the grocery store, fairly inexpensive, a bottle for about $8.

4 comments:

  1. I've found some more interesting info:

    http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/canker-sores.htm

    - You may also get relief by rinsing your mouth with milk of magnesia to coat the canker sores

    - Studies have found that food sensitivities, especially to foods which contain gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, oats) are associated with recurring canker sores.

    Also, though this article is doubtful on Lysine helping canker sores and suspects it is more helpful in cold sores, the info about how Lysine interacts and eating the nuts, chocolate etc. is QUITE interesting!

    http://www.acankersorecure.com/canker-sore-remedies-lysine.html

    The reason lysine has an effect against cold sores has to do with the way the herpes virus utilizes the amino acid arginine for replication. Remember, cold sores (also known as fever blisters) are caused by the herpes virus, canker sores are not.

    Eating arginine-rich foods (e.g., chocolate, nuts and seeds) gives the herpes virus an ingredient it needs to become active.

    For some reason, when you consume sufficient quantities of lysine, it somehow balances out or interferes with herpes' ability to utilize the arginine you eat.

    So if you get cold sores and like to eat nuts and seeds, pop a lysine capsule or two at the same time and you'll lessen the chance that you'll get a cold sore.

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  2. Thanks for this post on Purity have been thinking whether or not to try some of their products.alternative medicine

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  3. My highly regarded naturopathic person just said that you need 1500 mgs of lysine 3 times a day to get good results. Sometimes the larger dose is necessary. This also helps with cold sores, I have both.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback on the dosage, I have found it hard to find a good naturopath near me, you are lucky to have found such a valuable person!

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