Side Effects of Acyclovir

[Beowy]

Me again. :) Has anyone here experienced side effects of Acyclovir? I've read what is listed on the drug sites as possible side effects, as they are required to do, but I know what's possible. It's possible that I could get struck by lightning if I go outside. I'm hoping there are some "you will most likely experience this" or "this is what Acyclovir does to me" type of information. I'm having some joint pain - mostly in my hip/pelvic bones, and some bouts with diarrhea. Also, my axillary nodes on the same side where they removed a couple of nodes is tender. I can't tell if these symptoms are from the drug or from the actual outbreak itself.

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback on the effects of Acyclovir. They have me on 800mg 3X daily for 14 days. If this is normal then I hesitate to go on any sort of daily suppression drug until I know what the frequency and severity of my outbreaks are going to be.

[WCSDancer2010]

The "Normal" (most common) side effects are nausea, stomach pain;

headache, dizziness, tired feeling, etc.

 

Some people have none at all (I never had any issue with it). What I tell people is that if they have the above, try cutting the dose back to half or even less, and build up to the full dose over a few weeks. There are a lot of drugs that the body needs time to adjust to (anti-depressants for example) so introducing it gradually may help for some ;)

[Beowy]

Thank you, WSCDancer. I remember once upon a time (1997 to be exact) I had all of my neck and shoulder lymph nodes pop out for several weeks, and I had a run down feeling then. That immediately followed two big events in my life - the birth of my grandson in one hospital, and my mom having breast cancer surgery in another hospital (like mother/like daughter, huh?) and me running back and forth between the two. It took 2 rounds of Augmentin at the time to clear it up. Nobody ever gave me a clear diagnosis for it, but when they ran a blood test (to check my white count et al) I tested positive for Epstein Barr. I wonder if this is all tied in somehow, and my joint achyness, armpit node tenderness, and slight malaise is the Epstein Barr joining in concert with this breakout.

 

My Doc told me as he was writing the script, "I don't care if your butt is PRISTINE in a few days, take ALL of this to the end." lol.

[WCSDancer2010]

Epstein Barr is in the Herpes family so it's possible that the stress is aggravating it... supposedly 90% of adults have had EB at some point in their life. ... who knew? Also with having had Breast Cancer and having nodes removes will sometimes compromise the remaining nodes so that may be part of the explanation for the tenderness there.

 

While I hear what your Dr is saying, that's a goodly dose of Acyclovir so if you have any major side effects, I'd contact him and ask about easing it back for a few days at least... IMO nausea and such isn't going to help because that's another stressor so I'd be inclined to reduce and see how your body reacts... unless your Dr has a better idea of how to ride it out.

 

 

[ihaveittoo]

I experianced one occasion of having an upset stomach, but it may have been a coincidence. I was in the military at the time so no tellin what they were feeding us at the chow hall. Other than that I never had a problem with Acyclovir. It was a very effective treatment for me. The doctor told me its one of the safest drugs on the market.

[Beowy]

Thank you both for the feedback. I'm not suffering too badly so I will ride it out - I have a week left. There's always Tylenol and Immodium. :D