Outbreaks despite meds
Posted , 7 users are following.
I've had HSV2. I contracted it in 1983. Not a year goes by without an outbreak. It used to be if I forgot my Acyclovir. Since January 2017 I've had 3 outbreaks. It's mid February now. I'm on the medication. I'm not forgetting to take my daily meds. I'm eating healthily, exercising and getting plenty of sleep. I'm not stressed. I am however, very p*ssed off. These three outbreaks since January have been awful especially the one last week which ended Wednesday was one of the worst I've had in years. Yesterday, another bad one started. After 34 years, why the hell am I still getting outbreaks??
I'm seeing the doctor this week. Maybe my body is so used to the Acyclovir it's built up a resistance.
0 likes, 22 replies
FelizCastus aka583
Posted
aka583 FelizCastus
Posted
Female. 400 mg daily. Thirty three years is a long time. Well I'm 58 so I'm menopausal.
FelizCastus aka583
Posted
Menopause can cause herpes to flare up in some women due to the change in hormones (same reason why some women get recurrences around their periods). Also, daily suppressive therapy with acyclovir should be 400 mg *twice* daily. You can look it up on the CDC website under "Genital Herpes Treatment Guidelines" (or similar). So, perhaps you need to double your dosage, 400 mg in the morning and 400 mg at night, and see if that helps.
aka583 FelizCastus
Posted
Thanks. I'll be seeing my Gynecologist this week. I'll have a talk with her. It's good to get feedback like this. Thanks again.
FelizCastus aka583
Posted
Happy to help.
Here's the link to the CDC guidelines for your easy reference, by the way. See the recommended dosing regimens in the section "Established HSV-2 Infection".
https://www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/herpes.htm
Livelife aka583
Posted
aka583 Livelife
Posted
I'm going through it, yes.
Livelife aka583
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That would be the reason then Hun
I'm sure they can give you something for your hormones at the doctors to get your body back to normal (that's what my mom did) that should help speak to the doctors and mention both your hsv and your menopause
aka583 Livelife
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Jos66984 aka583
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Hi
I've had HSV2 since 1989 and am 63yrs old. I took suppressive therapy (400mg) daily for a lot of years but usually having 1-2 outbreaks a year. One day my doctor suggested that I take a 5 day therapy ( 800mg twice a day ) when I had an outbreak and not take daily acyclovir otherwise. Well, it worked really well until 4 months ago. Then despite doing 5 Day therapies I was getting one outbreak after another, literally barely 2 weeks then another outbreak. The prodromal phase of profound fatigue and headaches before an outbreak is really not nice, usually lasting 2-3 days. So last week I decided to go on the daily maintenance again and will see what happens. Like you I am a post menopausal woman and have been told that HSV2 can either get better or get worse with age. In my desperation I read this article about 2 women who had the shingles vaccine ( a closely related virus ) and that both women had had an incredible improvement with their herpes outbreaks. Yes, I am desperate but have thought about getting the shingles vaccine anyway. It costs about $200 (Cdn). I am going to try it.
Jose
aka583 Jos66984
Posted
I'll talk to my doctor about the vaccine.
FelizCastus aka583
Posted
First things first, you need to be on the correct suppressive therapy dosage of acyclovir. The link I sent in my last post is being vetted by site admin, but once approved, it goes directly to the CDC page where you can read up on gHSV2 and the recommended dosing regimens. The 5-day therapy is not what you need, just the correct daily suppressive therapy dosage, and hopefully that will do the trick without any other treatments like hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT can introduce other issues and risks generally, so make sure you find out if it's right for you first.
Fyi, the chickenpox (not shingles, though the same virus) vaccine study was very small, poorly conducted and never followed up by larger studies, and it hasn't worked for some people who tried it after reading about the study, so it is no guarantee. However, if you are healthy, there is no harm in getting the shot, and if you're over 50, you should probably get the shingles vaccine anyway (although the study used the weaker chickenpox vaccine, which some people claim makes a difference, although being weaker, I don't see how).
So, to see what works and what doesn't, try one thing at a time. With luck, maybe all you need is double your current dosage of acyclovir like you should be taking in the first place, then the shingles vaccine as generally advised for those over 50 (some places it's 60+). Hope my link gets approved soon, so you can check out the CDC page!
aka583 FelizCastus
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Jos66984 FelizCastus
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Thank you so much for the info. So is the suppressive therapy 800mg daily? 6 yrs ago I had tonsillar cancer and have been ok. The thought of being on a daily viral suppressant doesn't sit well with me as I think about my whole immune system.
You are right though, one thing at a time.
Jose
FelizCastus Jos66984
Posted
Yes, daily suppressive therapy with acyclovir is 400 mg twice daily, so morning and night. If valacyclovir, it's 500 mg once daily, or 1000 mg daily (taken once or 500 mg morning and night), depending on outbreak frequency (higher dosage for those with many recurrences like 10+ per year).
lisa53847 aka583
Posted
Have you tried the vaccine. My doctors said she has not heard of it helping hsv1 or 2, but its possible. I'm 47 and cant get it until 50.