Dosages of Acyclovir and how long before it starts protecting your partner from herpes?

[Aikea]

Hi there

 

I can't seem to find the answer to this.

 

I just disclosed for the first time in person - and he was so gorgeous and accepting about it.

 

Although he was fine with just using a condom I told him I wanted to wait until I get onto medication.

 

So i went to the doctor... she seemed abit clueless. She gave me Aciclovir tablets 200mg 5 times daily for 5 days then one tablet daily for 3 months.

 

I have read on here about people having 1000mg a day. or online 800mg a day.

Or in this study it compared 5 x a day, 2 x a day, and placebo. There wasnt a huge difference in the 2x and 5x.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6328298

 

So I'm thinking I should take at least 2 x a day...

 

What does everyone else take?

 

Also how long would I need to be on this medication before the effects of less shedding etc will begin?

 

Thanks in advance :)

[victoriaxxx]

I take 800 mg 2x a day to start off with. My doctor told me to keep track out my OB's so that if I needed it, I could get a higher dosage.

[HerryTheHerp]

I couldn't tell you off hand, but that 1000mg a day sure sounds like an outbreak prescription, not a suppressive dose. I know with Aciclovir they usually recommend 800mg (rarely 1000mg like yours), and with Famicclovir/famvir they recommend 500mg.

 

As far as how long it takes to make a real difference on the less shedding? Well, there's a lot of factors that go into that beyond just the meds. Your overall health, your body's reaction to the medication, how active the virus normally is, etc. being among them. I have looked and looked, and haven't found a specific study to pinpoint a time frame. You might want to call the manufacturer and ask if they've done any studies. Also, if no one here can answer your question, consider contacting Terri Warren at the Westover Heights Clinic. Her office might have some more information on it, and she's pretty much America's resident herpes expert.

 

[WCSDancer2010]

We are not doctors on here so we can't say what you should be taking but I agree with Herry... I've been on 800/day when I'm on it. However, it seems your Dr isnt up to date with herpes... I'd go to either an OBGYN, Planned Parenthood, or an STD clinic (there are tons around). You need to be getting advice from a professional who is up to date with the latest thinking and treatments... family doctors are usually the last to get informed :(

[Aikea]

Theres not a lot of choice in doctors around here. There are std nurses but they are very clueless about herpes as well. So its either them or family doctors. All of which are full and won't let you swap if you already have one.

 

This was a new doctor and she was young so I was hoping she would be more up to date :(

 

 

[Aikea]

Just thinking I wonder if a resource on here about which doctors etc people have found are uptodate with herpes would be a good idea.

 

Itd be really helpful for me as I cannot afford to travel somewhere else to try out doctors but would save up if I *knew* they would be good.

[WCSDancer2010]

All of which are full and won't let you swap if you already have one.

 

So folks in the USA who want a National Health Care System... pay attention to this...because this is one of the things with that system - YOU LOSE CHOICE!

 

That said Aikea... I lived in the UK when I had my children 24 and 26 years ago... my first Dr scared me into a 'secion. I learned after I didn't need it. The Dr wanted to do it again for my second and I didn't... I went to my family practitioner and DEMANDED to change to a Dr who would at least honor my preference for a vaginal birth assuming I didn't have any problems (You have to understand I had 2 battles to fight then - Herpes AND a VBAC...vaginal birth after cesarean) I refused to leave her office until she agreed to help me change (took about 1/2 hr of me flipping out on her but it worked!) I said I wasn't having anyone hack my body up again if I didn't have to (I have had Irritable Bowel ever since, thanks) AND I wanted to experience a natural birth and it was MY BODY MY CHOICE. So if you are not happy with your Dr, STAND UP FOR YOURSELF. :)

 

We do have a budding Doctor on here (Dr_H_Positive) who has helped us with some info. At some point we may well be able to include doctors on here but right now Adrial is already maxed out getting the Home Study course ready to be launched later this month.... and we have a HUGE list of things we are going to look at and figure out what to prioritize.

[Aikea]

I live in a small town where there is a shortage of family doctors so basically all practices are full. It also means that I would have the throw a tantrum at every doctors surgery in the hope that one of them is clued up on herpes. Throwing about $40 every time I did so.

 

In bigger cities you can basically go where ever you would like.

 

I think Ill have better luck reading the medical studies and guidelines for doctors online :)

[HerryTheHerp]

Whatever you do, stay out of Yahoo forums. The people commenting in there have IQ's low enough that I actually question their ability to make toast or go out in public unsupervised.

 

MedHelp has an expert forum that isn't bad. There are a couple of decent doctors in there where I think for $15-20 you can ask questions and get some answers. Might not be a bad idea to do some research, come up with some questions, then see what they suggest. Might also want to check through the forum to see if someone else has already asked the same questions and save yourself the cash if they have.

 

 

[Aikea]

Thanks HerryTheHerp :)

 

Love your posts!