Valacyclovir doesn't seem to be preventing OBs

[JenPhoenix40]

For those of you who didn't have great luck with valacyclovir as suppresive therapy, has there been anything else that helped? I'm taking 500 mg 1x per day. Is it common to need a higher dosage? What about Famvir? I guess I'm also going to clean up my diet, cut out alcohol and maybe caffeine, and hope for the best. I started olive leaf extract liquid 2x per day, and I take fish oil, turmeric, vit D, and a multi vitamin.

[JenPhoenix40]

I also take about a teaspoon of lysine every day

[optimist]

@JenPhoenix40 I've read on Terri Warren's site that about 0.3% of people are resistant to antivirals. I've also read she generally suggests starting with a dose of (in the case of Valtrex) 500mg daily and then increasing to 1000mg if outbreaks continue to occur. And she says there are more powerful drugs in cases in which the traditional antivirals fail, but it's best to first try the regular antivirals because the more powerful drugs have a higher incidence of side effects.

 

I've also seen dosage charts that indicate 500mg daily is generally recommend to reduce transmission to partners and 1000mg daily is suggested to suppress outbreaks in people who have several outbreaks per year.

 

 

[JenPhoenix40]

That's good to know. I feel like I'm having an OB or tingling once a month at least! I messaged my doc about upping to 1000 mg until I see her again. I have backpacking and vacation coming up in less than 2 weeks. Both always trigger an OB, and I'll be backpacking for 4 days, then go to a resort for the next 4 days. I reallyyyy hope I can avoid the dreaded visitor this time. Luckily, an OB usually is only one lesion. It could be much worse.

[ihaveittoo]

If a higher dosage doesn't work Famvir could be worth a shot. Someone posted in here once with similar circumstances and switching to Famvir was the answer for them. I'd post a link if I could remember the persons name who posted it.

[JenPhoenix40]

My doc said she'd up me to 1000 mg for 90 days and then come to see her and do bloodwork. I dread seeing what that'll cost, but if it works it's worth it.