Supplementing with Lysine NOT recommended for Herpes Kitties

I only used L lysine after a vet prescribed it with a temp foster cat we had years ago.  I have way to much on my plate right now to really digest this but I am not going to supplement with lysine as planned. One of my fears was having Kittens gastric feeding tube put in would trigger an episode. Unless the vet writes an Rx it's not going in her body right now.

I really hope this doesn't generate another study that completely contradicts this one. We see it all the time , first it will kill you and then it will save your life or your spouse , kid or pet.

This is weird. I just bought a bottle of Lysine tonight. Zane is out of his treats. The Lysine has made a big difference. He has the big brownish red eye boogers tonight. So insteda of waiting til tomorrow. I just happen to give him some in a little food. Then i read this. I actually havent read the article but the replies are scaring me. What do we do for flareups if with cant give Lysine?

momof3b1g said:

 
This is weird. I just bought a bottle of Lysine tonight. Zane is out of his treats. The Lysine has made a big difference. He has the big brownish red eye boogers tonight. So insteda of waiting til tomorrow. I just happen to give him some in a little food. Then i read this. I actually havent read the article but the replies are scaring me. What do we do for flareups if with cant give Lysine?

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It's very frustrating not to be able to do anything but the body has its own mechanisms for dealing with the virus once it's "out in the open", as is the case with flare-ups. If it's just a herpes flare-up, an otherwise healthy cat should be able to fight it off on itself. The real risk here is with the cat developing a bacterial URI or eye infection and owners mistaking that for another herpes flare-up. That's why you have to monitor the situation and if it gets worse, get the cat to the vet for a proper diagnosis. 

momof3b1g said:

 
This is weird. I just bought a bottle of Lysine tonight. Zane is out of his treats. The Lysine has made a big difference. He has the big brownish red eye boogers tonight. So insteda of waiting til tomorrow. I just happen to give him some in a little food. Then i read this. I actually havent read the article but the replies are scaring me. What do we do for flareups if with cant give Lysine?

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You should consult your vet before stopping treatment and bring the article to your vet.

Anne said:

 
It's very frustrating not to be able to do anything but the body has its own mechanisms for dealing with the virus once it's "out in the open", as is the case with flare-ups. If it's just a herpes flare-up, an otherwise healthy cat should be able to fight it off on itself. The real risk here is with the cat developing a bacterial URI or eye infection and owners mistaking that for another herpes flare-up. That's why you have to monitor the situation and if it gets worse, get the cat to the vet for a proper diagnosis. 

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So your saying (or the article) is the body should be able to fight off the virus? if not then its bacterial. hense seeing the vet ?

Thank you so much for sharing this article, Anne! I told my vet about this yesterday, he was legitimately shocked to hear it! As he stated, he's had lots of good results with it (as others have). I forget what made me bring it up, it had nothing to do with Sara (plus, I've never used it). I know I've CONSIDERED it for Oliver, who had a herpes infection in his eye (caught it from his mom) when he was just a wee one. It cleared up very quickly, but I know the virus just lies dormant.

Just like everything I read (and there is SO much information out there!!), I'll discuss it with my vet first, and together we'll make a decision based on risks vs benefits. Just like everything else. Although, I'm not using it right now so it's a bit of a non-issue for me at the moment.

Medicine is such an interesting combination of science and art (hence the "art of medicine"). It's also in a constant state of flux it seems, which is both irritating and fascinating at the same time. We kinda have to take everything we know at a given time, and together with our vets make the best informed decision that we can, at that moment. 

My vet read the entire article. Her opinion was that results were all over the place and not enough evidence to backup the claim. Need a larger test group of cats. Said tissue, not just serum, needed to be tested as well.

Let me add that this particular vet tries to stay on the up and up of cat medicine. Goes to cat-specific CEs every year. Because of this, our rescue was the first in our area to try Polyprenyl Immunostimulant for both FIP and Herpes. We also were the first to use Veraflox. I HIGHLY recommend the use of PI and Veraflox for herpetic kitties that have chronic problems! The 2 cats we used it on have been symptom-free since the use of these medications.

I hope this particular paper encourages further research into the use of Lysine and other treatment options for feline herpes!

CatPack said:

My vet read the entire article. Her opinion was that results were all over the place and not enough evidence to backup the claim. Need a larger test group of cats. Said tissue, not just serum, needed to be tested as well.

Let me add that this particular vet tries to stay on the up and up of cat medicine. Goes to cat-specific CEs every year. Because of this, our rescue was the first in our area to try Polyprenyl Immunostimulant for both FIP and Herpes. We also were the first to use Veraflox. I HIGHLY recommend the use of PI and Veraflox for herpetic kitties that have chronic problems! The 2 cats we used it on have been symptom-free since the use of these medications.

I hope this particular paper encourages further research into the use of Lysine and other treatment options for feline herpes!

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Are you sure the vet read the entire article? I'm asking because the article is not about a single experiment or study, so the criticism sounds very odd. I'm not trying to discredit your vet, I just wonder if she's actually read the entire paper because her response doesn't add up. It's possible she noticed one or two studies there but the article covers dozens of them. It's entirely possible to say that the current body of evidence is not enough. That's a legitimate concern, only it goes both ways, of course. It's not enough to determine that treating with lysine is beneficial, at the very best. 

It's awesome that your vet stays up to date. In my experience with doctors, it takes a while between the time of publication of a paper and the point where it reaches practitioners in the field. Personally, and I'm not a vet obviously, I don't think this is important enough news to travel much faster than that.

I'd like to stress one thing, and will edit the first post to reflect that - I would never encourage anyone to stop any kind of treatment without consulting their vet first. As far as I can understand from the new review, nothing warrants immediate stopping of use of lysine and there's no emergency here, so by all means, if your vet instructed you to treat your cat with lysine, do not stop without consulting with them first. If you can, email them the article and give them some time to read and digest it before suggesting any changes.

Interesting stuff. My vet prescribed Lysine for Rocky but he wouldn't take it and then my daughter, who is a vet tech, said she'd checked the literature and come to the same conclusion as the review posted. I've sent this to my vet for her opinion. Thanks for posting.

Very interesting!

I've only just skimmed the article, going to read it more carefully later. I have a cat who is FIV+ and has herpes. I've tried her on L-lysine treats and tried mixing it into her food and she refuses to touch it. I felt really bad about her flare-ups, kept wondering if I should try a different brand or flavour of treats. I feel much better knowing it probably wouldn't have helped her anyway. At the moment I'm using eye drops and eye cream from our vet and they keep her eyes clear. She always has slightly runny eyes, but she hasn't had the awful gunky, stuck together eyes for months now.

OK, going to read more carefully now.

Thanks @Anne

 

Am i the only one who is confused by this? if the Lysine is helping with the symptoms. Doesnt that mean its working? Or is it like giving a child a cold medicine. But its not curing them? Zanes gunky eyes come back when he stops the Lysine.  I tried to read the article, But my Hashi brain cant take it all in. 

I stopped giving the lysine with both cats eyes looking clear now and am waiting to hear from vet on her opinion. I can absolutely say the lysine clears the eyes better than any eye ointment though. With everything it seems we hear good good good and then bad bad bad for even human treatments so I take it all with a grain of salt ;-)

ddestes said:

I stopped giving the lysine with both cats eyes looking clear now and am waiting to hear from vet on her opinion. I can absolutely say the lysine clears the eyes better than any eye ointment though. With everything it seems we hear good good good and then bad bad bad for even human treatments so I take it all with a grain of salt ;-)

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Please talk with your vet before making any changes (unless you mean you previously stopped before seeing this, not sure). As you stated, there is constant flux in these things. It's best to take what you have and then make an educated decision between yourself and your vet. 

And I take most studies with a grain of salt also. We just have to do the best we can with the information at hand at any given time. 

All medications and treatments have the possibility of unwanted side effects. We see it when a pharmaceutical company is peddling it's wares on TV so patients go in and ask for the drug by name. The listing of side effects is endless. And so are the commercials with lawyers going after the BAD DRUGS.

I am not discounting this study nor an I going to argue with the people who have used Lysine with the appearance of obvious success.  I'm content at this point to let what I'm sure is going to be a back and forth go on and dust settle. I have a new tube of L lysine gel in our cupboard and while I'm in no hurry to use it I'm not going to ship it back or toss it.

The problem I'm having with this is that person after person is taking their cat off lysine, and the runny eyes are coming back.

I chatted with Sebastiaan, and he says it simply isn't possible it has any role. But my question is - perhaps its benefit has nothing to do with any direct antiviral activity.

There IS a role for anecdotal evidence in science, and it is to point the way for future research. So the theory of why it works didn't prove out. Does that mean it doesn't work?

Two larger shelter studies said it didn't reduce viral shedding. But neither one was particularly controlled, with fighting male cats in one of them.

I'm sure the review of existing research is conclusive. I'm also not sure the research done accurately "measures" the how or why or role of lysine in herpes.

Anne , but there is a lot of research on bovine lactoferrin, especially as regards HIV, and it has proven antiviral activity - against HIV, and I believe FIV and calici.

Here's a 2014 review: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25182867

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11675140

http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/16/8/6992/pdf


I use Jarrow Lactoferrin. I confirmed with Jarrow it is bovine.

LDG said:

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There IS a role for anecdotal evidence in science, and it is to point the way for future research. So the theory of why it works didn't prove out. Does that mean it doesn't work?

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I agree here, it is an important pointer to there being a need for further research.  It suggests it isn't yet known if / how it works.  What the literature review does say is that there are risks in giving Lysine to cats due to the effect on protein metabolism, and potential reduction in absorption of Arginine which cats need and can not make it them self so need to obtain it from their diet.  

It is something for further discussion with vets on an individual cat basis in relation to what their overall health is like, and what the risk factors are for them, either using Lysine as an occasional supplement through FHV flare ups or, as many do as a long term addition which seems to prevent or reduce flare ups.   If I felt Mouse was regularly unwell as soon as I stopped giving him the Lysine I think I would be talking with my vet about this article now, and trying to figure out with them the best thing to do - it is about calculated risks rather than exact science.  Much like the rest of human and veterinarian medicine I suspect.     

Good points, Laurie. The thing is, it doesn't really matter how something works. If it's shown to work. You'd expect much clearer results in double blind studies if it did work.
Placebo is a huge thing, with pets too. There are other psycological biases at play as well (your assertion that "person after person are taking their cat off lysine and runny eyes are coming back is an example). Hence why for myself, I prefer to rely on actual solid science. It's a personal choice, in a way. After all, some people are happy using homeopathy which is clearly not evidence-based.

My main concern with all supplements is safety BTW. I would like to see more long-term safety studies both on lysine ando bovine lactoferrin.

Thanks for posting this. I had been considering lysine supplements for my guy who gets occasional conjunctivitis. I had checked out scholarly sources on the available evidence and was unclear whether it was actually supported or not. I'm glad to see a systematic review. I'll not bother now.

I am one of the ones who has always sworn by Lysine to help Wellington. But what I have noticed is that the Lysine seems far more effective in some forms than others. I used to give it to him as paste, then he went off that and I got it as crumbly treats, which he will sometimes eat, sometimes not. I have always felt that if I can get him to take the paste 3-4 days consecutively then his eyes are much much better, to the extent of not running at all. So far my vet has been in agreement but I will talk to her again. She does not read English easily so it will be hard to explain.