antivirals

[WhatNow1782]

i am a bit confused. i was recently diagnosed...a week from tomorrow actually. anyhow, i've noticed that a few of you seem to be on your antivirals on a daily basis. my doc prescribed me acyclovir 200mg every 4 hours for 10 days. so basically, i am taking about 1000-12000mg a day. but only for 10 days?! i am so worried that once i stop taking them my ob will come back. I am not too educated on these antivirals so I am just wondering what the difference is between something like Valtrex that seems as though you take it once a day every day for ever and what I am taking.

i hate this feeling of not knowing what to expect in the upcoming days, weeks, months, years...

also, some of you talk of feeling an ob coming on....how do you know? now that my first outbreak seems to be coming to an end...or atleast healing i wake up every morning in a state of panic worried that another one is just around the corner. and it very well may be, but it may not be too. and if stress brings these suckers on i'm in for a long, rough ride....i am my own worst enemy when it comes to stressing myself out.

[Caliope]

Valtrex and Acyclovir (Zovirax) are similar but Valtrex has been approved by the FDA as a daily suppressive therapy. Valtrex is considerably more expensive than Acyclovir and in the end they are both acyclovir in the blood stream the major difference is that Valtrex is able maintain a more stable level of medication in the blood stream for a longer period of time than Acyclovir which is why you take it more often.

There is no reason to believe that you will be getting ob's all of the time. It happens to some of us but most people have 3-4 a year. Some people have none. The reason to take the daily suppressive therapy is if you do have more than 3-4 ob's a year. Another reason many people use daily suppressive is because they have a partner who is not infected and it can help reduce the chances of transmitting the virus when used with safer sex practices but this is not a guaranteed outcome.

Acyclovir can be used as a daily suppressive therapy too. I take 400 mgs. 3 times a day for ob's and 2 times a day for suppressive.

Here is a link to other ways to deal with ob's.

http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/immune-system.htm

Wait and see what your body does after you are done with your 10 days of Acyclovir. Ideally it is better to not have to take medications. You may find that you don't need them.

This link may provide you ways to tell if an ob is pending.

http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/herpes_symptoms.htm