danawhite

He prescribed 500mg once daily for suppression. I believe this is correct. But he wrote on the bottle to take 2x500mg twice daily for outbreaks (2000mg daily) for 5 days. This is the part that I'm questioning. Shouldn't it be 500mg twice daily (total 1000mg) and for only 3 days, not 5?

Yes, 500mg/daily for suppression. I think you may have misread my post regarding the outbreak dosing. The instructions say to take 2x500mg pills, twice daily. This is a total of 4 pills (2000mg). Everything I read online says it should be 500mg twice daily (total of 1000mg/day). I may need to see my doctor again, but I think this is wrong.

Hello, I recently started taking 500mg/daily as a suppressive treatment. I've had HSV-2 for 11 years, but have never taken Valtrex suppressively. My doctor put on the instructions to take 2x500mg pills twice daily for outbreaks. Everything I've read online suggests this should only be the dose for the initial outbreak. I've read recurrent outbreaks should only be dosed at 500mg twice daily. What have you been recommended? Did my doctor make a mistake? I thought maybe I felt an outbreak coming on so I started taking the 1000mg twice daily as he wrote on the label, as well as 1000mg Lysine 3x daily. My stomach has not been feeling great since. I haven't taken Valtrex in quite some time, but this dose seems like it is too high? I can't even talk to my doctor over the phone. I'd have to make an appointment to go in to see him again...

Thank you, I'll try taking a break from the sauna and seeing how it goes. I also started taking a Lysine supplement. I'm going to make some changes to my diet and try and lower my arginine intake as well. I'll update this with my findings.

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has noticed if a sauna can be a trigger for HSV-2 genital herpes outbreaks? I've always read that sun exposure can cause herpes outbreaks, but I don't know if I have ever noticed a correlation myself. However, I recently read that exposure to extreme temperatures via steam rooms, saunas, and extremely hot baths/showers can trigger outbreaks. I've had HSV-2 for 11 years. I used to only have outbreaks once or twice a year. I've noticed in the last couple years that I have been having outbreaks much more frequently (around every two months). I've been wondering what is going on. My stress levels haven't really changed much. I had been a little bit less physically active due to some injuries which I've been rehabbing. I quit drinking coffee a couple of years ago and I quit drinking alcohol and doing drugs about 7 years ago. Stopping drinking/drugs had no effect on my outbreaks, I was still only getting a couple each year. I did install a sauna in my house a couple of years ago. Now I'm wondering if this has been responsible for the increase in outbreaks? I started taking Valtrex daily suppressively about 1 week ago as I just got into a new relationship and I'm tired of these frequent outbreaks. I'm wondering if the sauna is the cause for this 3-6 times increase in outbreaks? It's very confusing because one article I read suggested this: "The research on sauna use for both the herpes virus and Lyme disease is also promising. Increased circulation can lead to increased white blood cell production. Many painful autoimmune symptoms stem from an overload of toxins, sweating them out of your system can help relieve that form of inflammation." However, most other websites suggest it can increase outbreaks. A lot of these articles were talking about HSV-1 oral herpes, but one mentioned it applies to HSV-2 as well. Has anyone noticed a correlation between extreme heat exposure and genital herpes outbreaks? I'm wondering if I should stop using my sauna. They have other health benefits which I'd rather not lose out on, but I do want to reduce my outbreaks. It's hard to know if this is related. I feel like the sauna is also a good stress reducer and helps me relax, which should be beneficial. Unrelated, has as anyone noticed a difference is HSV-2 outbreaks by taking L-Lysine? Some articles say it is only effective for HSV-1. I may try adding it to my treatment of suppresive Valtrex.