Suppressive therapy with valtrex for years? Safe?

[panosM.]

Good evening everyone, I wanted the opinions on the daily suppressive therapy with valtrex for years? Is it believed to be safe? 

[DeMar]

I believe it is safe. I take it like that, so I bloody he so!
From what I understand, it only activates when Herpes is active.

[Nowaynotme]

I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. Considering this treatment plan but when I research the drug itself, worried about long term kidney and liver damage. Does anyone have any info on this?  

[mr_hopp]

Hi all, sorry for the late reply! Yes, daily suppressive antiviral therapy with valacyclovir (a.k.a. Valtrex) or acyclovir is generally considered safe for long-term use. Both drugs are FDA-approved for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes, and clinical studies have demonstrated their safety and efficacy for daily suppressive therapy. While both drugs can have some side effects (most common: headache, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea; less common: dizziness, fatigue, or a rash), these are usually mild and well-tolerated. In rare cases, long-term use of antiviral medication may lead to kidney damage or failure, but this is extremely uncommon and typically only occurs in people with pre-existing kidney problems.

Here are some references you might find helpful:

• "Evaluation of safety and efficacy of prolonged suppressive therapy of genital herpes with valacyclovir" 
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19644189/#:~:text=In control groups the same,HSV infections to sexual partners. 
  The study determined that continuous suppressive therapy of HSV infections with valacyclovir is a safe and effective treatment.
• "Dosage and safety of long-term suppressive acyclovir therapy for recurrent genital herpes"
  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(88)91725-4/fulltext#:~:text=No important side-effects were,patients with recurrent genital herpes. 
  131 patients with frequently recurring genital herpes were treated for 1 year with reducing doses of oral acyclovir. No important side-effects were seen. It is concluded that long-term suppression with acyclovir is safe and effective for patients with recurrent genital herpes.