Dose of acyclovir in pregnancy

Common Questions and Answers about Dose of acyclovir in pregnancy

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Avatar m tn My daughter has been HSV2 positive for appx three years but has not had any outbreaks since the first year. She is in her last five weeks of pregnancy and her doctor has prescribed acyclovir 400mg once a day. My understanding has been that acyclovir is a twice a day medication. Is the medication going to benefit her at this dosage or does it need to be changed? Thank you!
Avatar n tn I was originally prescribed 400 mg of acyclovir twice daily for suppression of my herpes type 2. Recently, I asked my doctor to increase my dosage to 800 mg of acyclovir twice daily. Is there any negatives associated with taking a higher dose than what is normally prescribed for suppression. Also, are there any benefits to taking a higher dose regularly for suppression like less shedding?
Avatar n tn He was on 3 grams of valtrex a day (He upped his dose from 500mg to 3g when he met me because it lessens transmission - He was not broken out) I really really like this guy but I do not want to get infected myself... Im only 21 years old and am on the road to success. He just told me his Infectious disease doctor switched him to some new thing like f-cyclovair or something.. It doesnt start with an A like acyclovair but its suppose to be better. What are my risks? What can I and cannot do?
Avatar m tn The amount you were prescribed is for a first herpes ob ( the full 10 days ). It's not a recurrence dose. The easiest way to use acyclovir for oral herpes is 800mg 3x/day for 2 days. It's not FDA approved as a dose but the literature backs it and it's become generally accepted as a dose ( acyclovir has been a generic for a long time so it's doubtful anyone is going to pay for the studies to go for fda approval of this dose ).
Avatar m tn In your first sentence are you referring to a supressive regiment of 2x/day every day? and at 200 or 400mg per dose? I don't have many obs as it is so I've never really done supressive theropy. I've had good results with Valtrex but as I said it's unaffordable now so I'm adjusting to Acyclovir. Thanks for your help and input.
Avatar m tn Grace, what are the odds if you do suppression therapy with Valtrex 500mg/day in place of the acyclovir?
Avatar f tn Although rare... it IS indeed happening because 1) well I'm the one experiencing it & 2) I have frequent visits nowto my Dr.because I am in the last 4wks of pregnancy & it IS reconfirmed as it is herpes. I have had tests done ALREADY far as other stds & infections,only think was a yeast infection which I highly doubt is causing things to go crazy because this is not my first one... So let me better re-word my question..
Avatar f tn I just found out that a family member has Acyclovir. My question is, can I take Acyclovir for the second dose, 12 hours after taking the first dose of Valtrex?
Avatar n tn "Some data suggest that the absorption of acyclovir is a saturable process. In a multiple-dose cross-over study where 23 volunteers received acyclovir as one 200mg capsule, one 400mg tablet and one 800mg tablet 6 times daily, absorption decreased with increasing dose and the estimated bioavailabilities of acyclovir were 20%, 15% and 10% respectively. The decrease in bioavailability is believed to be a function of the dose and not the dosage form.
Avatar m tn Hi Doc, I have been diagnosed with HSV type 1 in November 2011. Since then I had 2 times of sequential outbreaks, which were very light and went away in less than a week. I didn't have anymore outbreak that I noticed of in the last 9 months. My boyfriend and I are planning to go further into the relationship, and however I would like to do the most that I can to prevent him of getting the virus from me. I have stand-by pills of acyclovir with me for around 5 outbreaks that I can remember.
Avatar m tn acyclovir isn't associated with any birth defects so no worries there! we don't really have info on suppressive therapy and oral herpes. It helps most people have less recurrences though so it's worth trying if you are getting cold sores more than 2x/year. when you feel the tingle of a cold sore potentially starting, up your dose to 800mg 3x/day for 2 days to help speed healing. You can even head off a cold sore if you start it early enough.
Avatar f tn their safety is well established and not an issue. the dose for acyclovir for the last month of pregnancy is 400mg 3x/day as you already know. acyclovir is not the cheaper generic form of valtrex. Valtrex is an acyclovir prodrug which greatly simplified means that you swallow valtrex but your body converts it into acyclovir inside your body.
Avatar m tn hi i've tested positive for 1&2, i've only had oral outbreaks so far, i asked the doctor for acyclovir and he gave me a prescription for 800mg tablets and to take them 2x daily for a total dose of 1600mg everyday as supressive therapy. i'm concerned this is too high a dose? i thought it should be 400mg and take 2x daily for a total dose of 800mg? it was an ER doctor that gave it to me because i don't have health insurance and went to the county hospital.
Avatar m tn what dose acyclovir were you on? how long were you taking it?
Avatar n tn There are no long term issues with using acyclovir. They have info on folks using it non-stop suppressively for over 20 years without any issues. 200mg 2x/day isn't going to do squat. You need to have it increased to the proper doses for it to do any good at all.
Avatar f tn I am meant to be taking a daily 200mg dose of acyclovir prophylactically to prevent the (regular) outbreaks of herepes on my thigh, buttock , ear canal and forehead. whenever i get the forehead and ear i am prescribed the 800mg dose for 5 days. Rather than take the prophylactic dose i usually end up taking them for a few days, then forget! looking back, despite being happy with my life now, i still get occasional sudden mood changes (quite aggressive and quite out of the blue).
Avatar m tn cold sores are hsv1 orally the vast majority of the time. Treating it 7 days after it appeared with acyclovir was actually a waste of money - it was already almost all healed. If your provider didn't give you refills on your acyclovir for future cold sores, give the clinic a call and ask for a prescription to have on hand. in the future, anytime you feel a cold sore about to start, that's the time to start the cold sore doses of acyclovir.
Avatar n tn from 8 week to 12 week I was under high dose of acyclovir. I had a herpes break out and also 2 weeks after I got chicken pox. Therefore I went through longer acyclovir course. Then I had my test at 14 week. It was a P24 antigen and antibody test (Hiv duo test) It came back negative but I'm still worried as high dose of acyclovir might alter the result. Will it effect the virus replication and antibody production?
Avatar f tn Ask your doctor about going on suppression (taking acyclovir daily) for the rest of your pregnancy if you want to help prevent outbreaks. You could also get a prescription for acyclovir to have it on hand to take when you start noticing symptoms of an outbreak. The sooner you take it, the better.
Avatar n tn you need the higher doses during pregnancy because of the natural immunosuppression of the body. you should take it up until you deliver the baby in order for it to have any value. stopping it even a day before delivery would make it useless to use it since shedding can kick in that quickly. do you have to take suppressive valtrex during pregnancy? no you do not. it's entirely your choice.
Avatar m tn Acyclovir works by binding with the building blocks of virus replication. Hence it doesn't really do you much harm starting or stopping dosage. In many ways, I consider it too late once an outbreak commences to start with antivirals; bit a drop in the ocean next to your immune system kicking into gear! It is a bias, but I am of the view that antivirals if taken should be taken daily for the reduction in outbreaks and shedding. That is only for genital HSV2 as well, is this what you have?
Avatar f tn JMHO. That being said chicken pox is dangerous in pregnancy and can cause complications in the mother (pneumonia for starters) as well as in the fetus. I absolutely would take what the dr prescribe me since it is treatment for chicken pox in pregnancy.
Avatar f tn what dose of acyclovir are you taking? are you taking daily suppressive therapy or just treating ob's as they occur? what testing had you had done originally to diagnose you? does your partner have hsv2? if you don't tolerate acyclovir, you won't tolerate valtrex most likely.
Avatar f tn I have genital herpes - confirmed by culture and blood test. After initial outbreak, I was prescribed Valtrex to use for a recurrence. Very bad headaches resulted. Was discontinued. With next occurrence, I asked for another anti-viral and was prescribed Acyclovir. This one caused headaches, backache, confusion and fatigue. Was stopped. I am now having a recurrence and didn't take anything. After about 7 days, I felt it was almost over, then wham....
Avatar f tn the natural immunosuppression of pregnancy results in the need for the higher doses during pregnancy.