7.5.12
I have been having cold-sores for as long as I remember. Even as a young child I experienced the odd cold- sore from time to time and considering that my Dad gets them occasionally and so do a few of my close relatives I guess it was almost inevitable. The cold-sores were generally quite rare then, and only came about when there was a change in season or if I had a fever due to colds or flu. As I got older, I probably didn’t notice them as much, meaning that they weren’t really part of my regular life. As I have had pimples and acne since I was around 12 I am very aware of my face and they were not ‘torturing’ my image at that time. I would get an ‘unlucky’ cold-sore maybe when the Spring hit or after a really hots Summers day or maybe in the middle of Winter when everyone is sharing colds. The thing is I might have only got them once a year or every other year and it was generally just a small one in the corner of my lips, fairly undetectable and not something that I was worried about.
Essentially the cold-sores became more of an issue when I hit my early twenties. When you’re driving around and going to a thousand 21st birthday parties, have 20 casual jobs and trying to attend uni, sleep and diet are not the priority. I started to get maybe 3 outbreaks a year so I started to learn about my triggers (low immune systems, lack of sleep, change from winter to spring) and I was managing them with the usual lysine supple- ments. They seemed to be really working so if I thought I was at risk of getting a cold-sore I would hit the ly- sine supplements and found the outbreak to minimize. I started taking lysine as a general rule of thumb along with my multivitamins. As I had been working in ski resorts for years, the cold weather, then the heated room and everyone getting sick around me saw that while I was supplementing my diet with these herbs I wasn’t getting sick or getting cold-sores even when I should probably have been.
The real problem started in late April 2010, when I was working on the Japanese island of Okinawa. I was sitting on the beach one day I my lip started to tingle quite intensively so I got my tube of Zirvirax (I always had a tube in my pocket just in case) and glumped it all over my lip. That night at dinner with some friends
I felt my lip swelling again so I went to the bathroom and saw that it was huge and like a giant blister, I put more lotion on it, went back to the dinner table and apologized to my friends and boyfriend for the sight of my lip though stayed at dinner and hoped for the best. This cold-sore didn’t react to any of the regular treat- ments I gave it: no lotion was working, lysine supplements, I was eating all the foods that were super high in lysine, avoiding all the famous cold-sore trigger foods and habits and was trying to rest and not think about it. It lasted for weeks and was the most horrible coldsore, half of my upper lip looked like an open wound. I thought that as it came with my menstrual cycle that perhaps I was just too tired to fight it properly and left it at that.
For the next 2 months the same thing would happen, within an hour of my cycle commencing the blister would start to form covering half of my upper lip and almost up to my nose. Initially it looks as though I
have been stung by a bee and then turns really nasty and would weep. Also my left ear had started to blister and weep also. I was getting really horrible and extremely difficult to manage, by face was scarred from the severity, as was my ego as I was in customer service, and by the time it would begin to heal, which was taking around 3 weeks, my cycle would start and it would begin again. I was not responding to any of the over the counter cold-sore treatments out there and believe me I had them all. After 3 months from the initial outbreak I went to the GP who after swabbing it and doing tests (which all came back negative for staph and herpes) diagnosed me with golden staff and not herpes as it had started when traveling through Japan and China he thought I had contracted something. He gave me a script of Keflex (antibacterial) and also a script for Famvir (Herpes). I took the Keflex which did not help. So the next month when it all started, I took the Famvir as subscribed, though I had no positive reaction to that either. For the next 6 months (every-month) I continued to go to the doctors, seeing various people. After 5 scripts of antibacterial antibiotics (Keflex and similar) and many doses of Famvir (more than 6 months worth) Staph was ruled out. They said that perhaps I had a mutated strain of herpes. Many dermatologists didn’t know how to deal with it and as I was just constantly getting referred to different doctor after different specialist I stopped the wild goose chase. The last doctor I saw wanted me to go on Famvir consistently for 2 - 4 months. I declined as I had seen no relief from the other times and I was getting worried about putting all this junk into my body which was starting to get weaker. I’d seen something like 14 doctors and none were helping me, no one really seemed to care either. I started seeing a herbalist and nutritionist as my tummy was not behaving as usual after all the antibiotics, I was so exhausted and my acne was rampant. They gave me a herbal astringent to start rubbing up my nose everyday and this was when my cold-sores started to minimise slightly. The cold-sores changed spots on my lip and were hovering around the lower half. The blister forms within hours of my cycle commencing though it no longer looked like an open wound it looked more like a regular large cold-sore. It still doesn’t respond to any creams, though I was still taking pure lysine powder every day in vain.
Last month, towards the end of my cycle Charlie and I had somehow got in touch. I think I saw something randomly on Facebook about getting rid of cold-sores and as I had been desperate for relief for quite some time and I thought to myself there is nothing to lose. I am a reasonably open minded individual so Charlie and I spoke. He asked my cold-sore history and said he thought he might be able to help me. I wasn’t really sure yet whether I believed him or not, whether he really could help me. All he asked me to do was close my eyes and let him ‘have a look’. I was on the phone to him in my kitchen making soup, nothing crazy, I was obvi- ously comfortable so I closed my eyes and felt a heaviness in my chest, more in-depth breathing and some tin- gling around my calves. It only lasted like 20 seconds. We decided to try again just before my cycle started in a few weeks. The cold-sore that he was dealing with that day healed much quicker than they normally would. I generally see remains for another week after menstruating though this time it was only a few days.
Last week, Charlie and I started speaking again. We had 2 sessions before my period, again, eyes closed and about 30 seconds or so. Whatever, I still didn’t think much of it. That was until my period began a few days later. Within an hour of my cycle commencing my lips felt as though they were on fire, the tingling was back, though I watched it intently and no blister was coming up. Weird. The first time in 2 years and no blister. The scar where the cold-sore normally comes up was a little red, though it never raised. I called Charlie, we did another session, and while I was waitressing that night my tingling stopped! Normally I am very aware of my blisters as the tingling continues with me for days. This was one day. No blisters and tingling had ceased. Re- markable. I then felt so great about not having the cold-sore come up that I partook in many of the big no-nos of cold-sores which I would normally refrain from. I went to my Hot Yoga class, had a morning coffee, drank a bit of wine with dinner that night, sat next to a roaring fire for hours and nothing happened. Not even tin- gling. I just could not believe that after all these years of trying to find some type of relief, Charlie had man- aged to do it with his energy. I don’t know what he does, but I know that it is quite incredible. I didn’t have to do anything except hold a phone to my ear and close my eyes for 20 seconds! He asks for no payment except jotting down my experiences. This type of kindness does not exist much in todays society. After going from doctor to doctor who are all happy to take my money and ‘play’ with my body and then refer me to someone else because they can not help me, has left me a little bit cynical. I don’t know Charlie, nor have I ever met him. I know that he lives in Melbourne and that he wants to help people. We have spoken a few times on the phone and all he wants to do is help me. He has given me much of his time and care and I am totally grateful for everything he has done for me. Whatever his gift is, it is real and something that I now believe in.
Obviously it is still early days for me and my recovery. I am eager to find out what the next month will be like, though as opposed to hoping, I am starting to believe more and more that perhaps my cold-sores won’t see another day. Only time will tell.
Kind Regards,
Josephine Pulitano 27 year old female
**UPADTE
February 28, 2013
I am writing to update my response to the treatment that I have received from Charlie Goldsmith.
Just over a year ago I had emailed Charlie after I saw that they were looking for people to help who suffered from cold-sores. I had been struggling with major cold-sores every single month for over 2 years (coincided with my menstrual cycle). I had visited approximately 15 doctors in this time from general GP’s to specialists to seek a cure. Also, I had been doing my own research, and as I am holistic by nature I was visiting chinese doctors and ‘alternative’ practitioners too. I took all the drugs prescribed to me (against my will though I really thought I did not have a choice) as well as all the herbs, and supplements and unfortunately nothing seemed to shift. I felt defeated. My cold-sores were so bad that I looked as though I had half of my top lip ripped off, it essentially looked like an open wound that took over 2 weeks to heal and left deep red scars on my upper lip as well as underneath my bottom lip. I wasn’t able to go in the sun, or ski as harsh conditions made it worse. My confidence was shot and it made me feel dirty, unattractive and unhealthy. I had spent so much wasted money with no real results, except a battered immune system from all the crap recommended to me.
I was unsure of what to expect when I spoke with Charlie the first time. We chatted, I shut my eyes and I felt an odd sensation in my feet, and easy comfortable 2 minutes. I wasn’t really sure what had happened. Though instantly the tingling went away. The next month, the tingling was there and a slight redness was visible, though I couldn’t believe it, for the first time in 2 years a cold-sore had not formed. I was ecstatic and in slight disbelief. This treatment that I really did not know anything about, nor necessarily believe in, had worked. We spoke a few more times over the next few months and I have not had a cold sore since. There were times that I had a light redness and the area was heated and tingling though as no cold-sore had ever shown it’s face again, I considered myself cured.
A few months ago I was chatting to Charlie about the situation, he said he would like to see it completely gone with no tingling or redness, so we decided to do one last ‘strong’ treatment on the day that I would normally get my cold-sore (the 1st day of my period). We did the session, it only took a few minutes, I think I was in a car-park at the local supermarket, and bam it was over. I have not had a cold-sore at all the last 2 months. It’s like they have never existed! The scaring is starting to go too, so the memories of that strange period of my life might be over once and for all.
I think that the concept behind what Charlie does is difficult for some people to understand. Even for me, who is a true believer in this treatment, as I have had some very real results do not really understand what it is or how it happens, though I do know that it definitely works.
Amazingly, he charges nothing, nor makes you do anything in return except close your eyes for a few minutes over the phone. You don’t even have to believe in it! Truly amazing. I feel so fortunate to have been exposed to such a positive experience and can not thank him enough for the help I have received. It seems a bit like a miracle.
Jo.
