Valtrex and the liver
Common Questions and Answers about Valtrex and the liver
valtrex
t get any outbreaks, but the downside is that Valtrex elevates my ALT readings for my liver. All of my other liver test readings are within range. My liver test that was done one year ago was perfect. My doctor told me to stop taking Valtrex for a while to let my liver regenerate. While I think Valtrex is an excellent drug for treating HSV 2, I think users should take into consideration that long term use can cause some mild to moderate damage to the liver as my tests have proven.
Side effects with valacyclovir, including liver problems, are extremely rare. Even if Valtrex was the cause of his elevated liver enzymes, most people with mild enzyme elevations do not go on to more serious problems. Most important, stories of rare adverse effects shouldn't change anyone's treatment plan. People don't have greater risk of lightning strikes just because someone else gets struck!
He also told be to have my liver tested at the same time, since he said the valtrex filters through the liver and he wanted to make sure everything was working good and told me to drink plenty of water while on valtrex. He wanted me to do this after I had been on valtrex for a bit, so that they could make sure my liver was handling the valtrex good. I have no liver probs at all. This last doc I went to asked if I had any lesions and I said yes but told him they had broke already.
He said most doctors never go over 3 grams per day as this is equivalent to IV acyclovir in terms of plasma concentrations of the drug, and other IV drug options would be tried instead of increasing Valtrex dosage beyond that level. He says the risk is liver damage, but that has only been seen at a significant rate in studies where patients were taking 8 grams per day (a study that was halted because some people had liver issues due to the high 8 gram per day dosage levels).
causing liver damage. It simply is not true. There are great differences between drugs and the various antivirlas have widely different toxicity and side effect profiles.
I wonder whether your doctor is over-interpreting guidelines for using the anti-HSV drugs. The official prescribing information advises stopping the drug periodically, like once a year. But that's not because of toxicity.
t be putting you on valtrex without blood labs as it can be tough on your liver and he should have ordered liver tests prior to putting you on the medication to see your liver function results as a baseline in case the valtrex raised certain levels of enzymes in your liver. Find a specialist in infectious disease, fast. You could spread it elsewhere if they weep or break or they could spread on their own. It may be herpes but it could he athletes foot too....theres many different things.
If you are looking to reduce transmission to partners, the only known ways to reduce that are to use antivirals (Valtrex, acyclovir, famvir) and condoms, along with avoiding sexual activity when you have any symptoms.
If you are looking to reduce outbreaks, studies are mixed for this.
Here's a very small study that showed promise - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3115841
Here's one that showed a reduction in recurrences, but not in healing time - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
so I cried all the way to the biomedical lab for my blood test and am still waiting to hear back from the test... in the meantime I have opted NOT to take the Valtrex until I am 100% sure I do in fact have herpes. I have read that it causes liver problems and weight gain. but I am so depressed and having major issues now with my BF who swears he has been faithful to me... I am strssing bigtime and have sceduled an appointment with my regular physician for later this week.
I hope your Vit D gets to where it needs to be, too. Perhaps just take that and the Lysine for now, and not the glutamine, which can increase testosterone by some reports.
I have a vit D absorption issue, so I take it weekly at a high dose, in pill form. If I don't, it hovers around 15-19. I feel you on that.
Good luck!
Also as a fyi - valtrex will be going generic in december of this year. It should be going down in price then so if you find that taking medication 2x/day is too hard to remember - check back with your pharmacist next january to see if the price has come down a lot more for you or not with valtrex.
If you've never read the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com - it's free and has all the medications and their doses listed there - bookmark it for easy reference!
She took one in the am and one in the pm for five days, and as adverse effects appeared, she cut back to one in the pm for four more days. She progressively became psychotic, experiencing altered states of consciousness, panic attacks, uncontrollable crying, tremors, and extreme fear. Blurred vision and the inability to focus were also taking place. She had colitis-like stomach and bowel problems. No other meds of any kind were involved. Blood tests from the ER proves that.
I met my wife 5 years ago and she dropped the Herpes 2 bomb on me and basically told me "it's been nice knowing you" and expecting me to flee. I admired her being up front and honest and was also scared out of my mind because she performed oral sex on me. After some research, most fears were quenched about oral transmission of HVS2. I went and had a test and to my surprise I have HVS1 but not 2.
Now more and more hair is coming out and my hair is thinning, noticeably in the front. I talked to my gyno, who said valtrex is not the problem, she has patients on valtrex that do not have that symptom. She advised to see a dermatologist. She told me its the stress I have from everyday life. I have also stopped working out since Septembere as well, not enough time to do. Please help because I have seen blogs where some people have also had the same complaint.
However, it is well documented that valtrex and acyclovir perform very similarly. Valtrex is actually converted into acyclovir by the liver, so essentially, the two drugs act the same way in the body to suppress the virus. If acyclovir improves your quality of life, I would stick with it and explain the similarities to your partner - they are well documented and I expect you can find information in scholarly journals that supports the suppressive activity of acyclovir.
the best thing to do is for her to go on daily suppressive therapy with valtrex or acyclovir to keep the hsv2 under control. that will help counteract the effects of the prednisone that she needs for treating the behcet's flare ups.
After I posted this I talked to the hospital doc about my negativ test result. She didnt think Valtrex had interferred with the results. I have had "herpes symptoms" four months, taking Valtrex last four weeks.
Maybe I could have a new test taken in a couple of weeks when my system is clear of Valtrex? Just to be on the safe side?
Just no it is all too confusing. One doc says: HERPES! The other says: no this is not herpes.
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