Acyclovir and me (and Alzheimer's and other stuff)

Last year, I'd read a little blurb in Reader's Digest about a possible connection between the virus that causes cold sores (which I have) and Alzheimer's (which runs in my family and for which I am genetically predisposed, verified by 23andMe). Here's a BBC article about it.

Since I both hate cold sores with a passion and very much want to reduce my chances of developing repeated cold sores, which I tend to get monthly, concurrent with my cycle, and which take 3 weeks to heal, leaving me with one pinkish-tinged skin area for about a week before another cold sore takes over... I asked my physician about trying Acyclovir.

At first, I think she misunderstood. She prescribed me a treatment dose, which worked the month I used it. But then the next month... another one. So I emailed her, and once it was in writing, she understood what I meant. I've been on a preventative dose for about 1.5 months. I guess I'll take it forever, if I can manage it.

What I've noticed, though, is that my body is doing this thing where it REALLY WANTS TO BREAK A COLD SORE OUT. In any given day, I might feel one to three "hot spots" or tingly places on my lips, under them, or around my nostrils (yeah, I got two recent cold sores on the rim of my nasal passage... yet another reason to stop those bastards entirely). I'll put on some Abreva and within a couple of hours, I can tell it's not going to happen. But then that feeling comes back in the same place two or three days later.

I HATE COLD SORES. They freaking hurt. And that is only a couple of days, but the healing takes me the better part of three weeks. Three weeks of scabs I don't know how to cover with make-up; of midday cracks and bleeding; and of walking around the house after having washed my face, letting the wound breathe, but feeling like a disgusting monster avoiding my husband's gaze.

My body, however, LOVES cold sores. They're how it deals with stress, PMS, and sunburns.

Once, when I lived in Las Vegas, I got a severe sunburn at the lake one weekend. In the aftermath of that, I ended up with FIVE cold sores all around my mouth, and I guess I was okay at covering them up because a maintenance guy came up to me at the end of the week and said he was worried about me because I wasn't smiling as much as I usually did.

Also, Alzheimer's sucks and maybe they'll develop a treatment before my brain starts... well, I was going to say "going," but how can you tell where that starts when you've had a kid in your 40s and kind of feel addled and confused a lot?