Valacyclovir 300mg two times a day, is it the correct dosage?
Posted , 3 users are following.
When i had first outbreak my doctor pescribed me Valacyclovir 300mg, two time a day for 7 days. Its been a month i again had a outbreak, It was far less mild than the first one. As soon as it got better , just yesterday i again had a small ulcer again, ... So i went to Pharmacy and they didn;t had any 500mg valcyclovir so i bought 300mg again as the doctor pescribed first time. Is it low dosage? I am confused why doctor game me 300mg as its written in initial outbreak dosage is 1000mg .... I checked so many pharmacy in jut got 300mg... do i have any choices or i continue 300mg...
0 likes, 9 replies
FelizCastus chinaman25690
Posted
That is not the correct dosage. I didn't even know valacyclovir came as 300 mg tablets, only 500 mg.
According to the CDC treatment guidelines for herpes, which you can also Google, these are the recommended dosages:
FIRST OUTBREAK
Acyclovir 400 mg x 3 daily (or 200 mg x 5 daily) for 7–10 days
Valacyclovir 1000 mg x 2 daily for 7–10 days
Famciclovir 250 mg x 3 daily for 7–10 days
EPISODIC THERAPY
Fyi, episodic therapy is for the treatment of recurrences. It is most effective if started immediately upon the onset of prodromal signs up until the first day of observed lesions. Episodic therapy has no impact on general shedding, so cannot be relied upon to reduce transmission.
Acyclovir 400 mg x 3 daily (or 800 mg x 2 daily) for 5 days, OR 800 mg x 3 daily for 2 days
Valacyclovir 500 mg x 2 daily for 3 days, OR 1000 mg x 1 daily for 5 days
Famciclovir 125 mg x 2 daily for 5 days, OR 1000 mg x 2 daily for 1 day, OR 500 mg x 1 daily followed by 250 mg x 2 daily for 2 days
SUPPRESSIVE THERAPY
Fyi, suppressive therapy is a daily drug regimen that is recommended for those who experience very severe or frequent recurrences (e.g., over 10 outbreaks per year). It is also recommended for those who are sexually active with a partner of negative (or unknown) status, as suppressive therapy can help minimise transmission.
HSV experts do not usually recommend suppressive therapy for those with genital HSV-1, only genital HSV-2.
If you or your doctor feel that your situation warrants daily suppressive therapy, the CDC recommends the following:
Acyclovir 400 mg x 2 daily
Valacyclovir 500 mg x 1 daily for those with less frequent recurrences, OR 1000 mg x 1 daily for those with very frequent recurrences (e.g., 10 or more outbreaks per year) or who still have recurrences on the lower dosage*
Famiciclovir 250 mg x 2 daily
FelizCastus
Posted
P.S. The "fyi" notes are mine.
chinaman25690 FelizCastus
Posted
I know what you mean to say, when i googled the guidline , I also found the same dosage as you did. but i am really confused why the doctor pescribed me 300mg.. and the weird part is i went to almost 3 pharmacy and all said they just have only 300mg.. suprising isn't it.. PS. I live in China...
FelizCastus chinaman25690
Posted
I figured you live in China, going by your username, lol. Guess they manufacture it differently there. Try to approximate the CDC recommended dosages using your 300 mg tablets. So, instead of 500 mg per day for suppressive therapy, for example, take 600 mg. It doesn't really matter what was prescribed for your first outbreak, as it's possible to get over it without any meds. Just takes a little longer in some cases.
chinaman25690 FelizCastus
Posted
Yeah, i totally get you. I konw it will go itself even without the medication.. but I have a big presentation for 2 days so don't wanna be itchy while work haha.... in future i'm thinking of tackeling it without meds, Its just like having a flu, goes by itelf, and secondly valacyclovir is really expesive hha.. hope i won;t get any more outbreaks.....
actually the 3rd one i got was because i had sex with my girlfriends as soon as the second outbreak was out, i guess it exabrated it again..
thanks alot for the response....
MIA111 FelizCastus
Posted
Just wondering....any idea why my dr would prescribe me 800mg of acyclovir 5 times a day for 10 days for my first outbreak? Seems like way more than what other people get prescribed for there first ob. Any input would be greatly appreciated😊
FelizCastus MIA111
Posted
That is very high, and I don't know why. Could it be that the dosage was mixed up? Everything else is correct except the mg. Do you still have the original prescription label?
MIA111 chinaman25690
Posted
Hi Chinaman, so I was recently diagnosed with hsv2 my outbreak was terrifying and the pain was excruciating. My dr prescribed 800mg of acyclovir 5 times a day for 10 days. Not sure why so high of a dose maybe because how bad and painful the outbreak is. I noticed a lot of people have way lower mg prescribed and not as many times a day as I was prescribed. Still trying to figure things out like you. I figured the higher the dose the faster it will work. It took the medicine about 3-4 days before. It started being less painful (still couldn't do sh!t including sit, walk, change positions, use the restroom, I was pretty much stuck to my bed) it took 10 days to clear up fully and I'm still sore and I'm pain from the whole experience. Maybe ask ur dr if you can get a higher dosage also he prescribed me zofirax cream which helped clear it up as well. Hope this helped a little. Best of luck
chinaman25690 MIA111
Posted
I went to visit another doctor today, he said in china they only have 300mg avilable as highest dosage, so he said me to eat it 3 times a day for 5 days. I just wish i won't get any outbreaks again.