Acyclovir anti-viral treatment : For you newbie's

Larry is right...i had a generic acyclovir script filled at CVS pharmacy and i could tell the pills were inferior quality. Really chalky and crumbly and didnt seem as effective for some reason. My favorite generic acyclovir brand is Watson Pharma brand. Thats what i get from Costco. Very high quality pills and easy to snap in two with no chalky residue.

 

So, I should take Acyclovir before starting on the l-lyecene (however its spelled)? I'll see if I can get this over the counter here.

 

Johnny in you're case I partially agree with the Doctor, give it the year and I'm sure you will be back in action. However for the rest of you're life? I got a problem with that one my friend...

 

If money is an issue and it almost always is, Do indeed start with the Lysine and see what happens... available as far as I know over the counter everywhere. (Acyclovir script)

 

Does anyone out there take more than 3000 mg of lysine? That is what I have been doing for the past 4 1/2 months and though I have seen significant improvement, I am wondering if upping the dose would help eliminate symptoms even more. I am currently on the full JOH regimen as well as a diuretic and a lo-so diet, biweekly NUCCA, no booze, no caffeine, etc.

 

Maybe John will answer this question for you, he's the lysine expert...

 

MN Man:

I'm not familiar with anyone taking more than 3000 mgs of lysine.

But people who treat their cold sores with lysine often hike the daily dose to 4000 mgs during a cold sore outbreak. They claim that this stops the virus.

There is very little information showing that lysine in large doses causes any problems.

--John of Ohio

 

John-Right now I am starting a 500 mg valtrex per day (I got my doc to fill it). How much Lysine should I take along with it? I'm trying to get myself healthy until I have my VNS.

 

My concern is that 500mg a day of Valtrex is not enough. The Acyclovir study recommends 400mg 5 times daily...

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~ms-7/english1.htm

Valacyclovir (Valtrex) is rapidly converted to acyclovir. Acyclovir, famciclovir, and valacyclovir are antiviral medicines. All are effective, but because valacyclovir and famciclovir are absorbed better by the stomach, they can be taken less often than acyclovir.

Be well / Larry

 

Coach,

There is know reason I know keeping you from taking 3000 mgs of lysine, in three divided doses each day. This can give you a double-edged sword against the herpes virus.

But if you really want to blast Meniere's with everything possible, I'd recommend that you undertake the entire John of Ohio Meniere's Treatment Regimen. Attacking the underlying, causative herpes virus with both an antiherpetic (in your case valtrex) and also with lysine can be very helpful. But you also want to suppress the Meniere's symptoms and their causes.

All of that is described in my regimen write-up. Give it a read and make a decision. Read it at:

http://www.menieresresources.org/Resources/HomePage?action=download&upname=ANewApproachtoMenieresDisease-TheJohnofOhioRegimen.pdf

My best wishes.

--John of Ohio

 

Thanks John-I got the Lysine (1000 mg tablets) and planning on going with the 500 mg valtrex twice daily. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Coach please keep us posted, I cant recall hearing of many people who get results with anti-virals on such a low start up dosage ...

Good luck / Larry

 

Larry, do the mg dosage on acyclovir and valtrex equate? They do not seem to between famvir and acyclovir. My startup on famvir was 250 x 3 daily whereas on acyclovir I did your recommended 5 x 400.

 

Good question June, If you were using Valtrex instead of Acyclovir according to the study, I would suggest you take the 500mg two tabs twice a day instead of Acyclovir 5 times a day 400mg... Most Doctors will prescribe starting Valtrex for herpes @ 500mg twice daily.

The first pill for genital herpes was acyclovir which is now generic, but its brand name was called Zovirax. It was approved to treat the initial episodes of recurrent episodes of genital herpes. It must be taken 3-5 times a day to be most effective. Because it is generic, it is the cheapest of the herpes medications. Val acyclovir (Valtrex) is a product of acyclovir. That means that the body converts it to acyclovir which is the active drug in the body. That helps more of the active drug get absorbed into the body. So you can take the drug less often than acyclovir. It is approved for treatment of genital herpes and for suppressing recurrent genital herpes.

So in other words you would take the same 2000mg of Valtrex daily except 500mg times 2 tabs= 1000mg twice daily...

 

Ah. I remember regarding the famvir, my dr said she prescribed the dosage recommended for ... and of course I forget what that was. It may have been central nervous system problems but I forget. I wish I could remember because I think it was a rule of thumb that might be applicable to any of these and all one would need would be to check the pdr for that type application. I do think all of the antivirals or at least this group are based on acyclovir. I think the eye dr told me that.

 

I'm not very familiar with famvir, however as I recall the starting dosage is 250mg three times daily for Herpes.
To my knowledge, Acyclovir is still the only drug approved for long term
prophylaxis of recurrent HSV, as opposed to Famvir which is only approved
in the US for episodic use in this condition.

Basically from what I understand of the three. famvir acyclovir and valtrex, The best one depends on the patient...

 

When I first considered taking acyclovir I almost didn't do it because I read it didn't work for cmv which is the herpes virus I had had such a bad case of the year before. But I decided why not, and it certainly helped me. Then I reread the articles and saw that it was talking about as a preventative for people with compromised immune systems such as with chemo or aids and my case was different from that. What I am getting to is I sure I glad I gave it a chance even though I could have made a good case for not bothering and almost did. Same with famvir imo. It was while I was in this quandry about whether to try it, I asked my eye dr about which one to use (he uses a lot of antivirals for eye patients). He said they all were based on acyclovir and he used valtrex only because he feared patients would not actually take acyclovir 5 times a day which was necessary.

 

According to John of Ohio you can take the two together and give the "BEAST" the double whammy!

 

Question...can you only be prescribed an anti-viral like acyclovir if you have a definitive MM or Hydrops diagnosis? Meaning, will a Dr. prescribe you an anti-viral if you haven't yet had conclusive MM test results?

I've been taking the Lysine, which helps greatly, but am curious as to how I could possibly try Acyclovir or a similar anti-viral. I've been to 3 specialists, had balance/hearing testing done twice, and haven't been given a confirmed diagnosis, or any diagnosis actually. Is this something I can get from my general practitioner? She seems to be more understanding and empathetic than all of the ENT's/Neurologists I've seen combined.

 

Hello Sky, some Doctors not many will give you a script for an anti-viral... Seems like you have an understanding GP. Seeing how you have done well with Lysine you could be a definite candidate. Many here have printed out the study and taken it with them...

Acyclovir Study: http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~ms-7/english1.htm

Best of luck / Larry