Butydoc
Senior Member
- Messages
- 790
I rated my function at 40-50 % prior to starting the first course of Valcyte. My major symptoms were cognitive and ans. My job required a high cognitive functional level. When I was on Valcyte, my level of function was more like 20%. Even though my functional level was deteriorating these past 2 years, my cognitive function remained intact until very recently. The reason I didn't take any antivirals after the 7 months of Valcyte was that I felt I wouldn't be able to work. I stopped the Valcye after 7 months because of the continued severe symptoms.How sick are/were u if you don't mind my asking?
So did you mean except for seven months in 2007, you had not taken any val. in the years since, until now?
When I saw Dr Montoya at the end of September he convinced me that the likelihood of me improving on another course of Valcyte was 100% . He has a population of patients who have been treated with valcyte initially then relapsed. All of the patients in this group who were retreated with valcyte improved. He also told me he has learned a lot over the past several years and no longer believes starting valcyte with a loading dose is important. He also believes that much longer courses of antivirals are probable necessary. Since I was so sensitive to this drug, he decided to start me on a very low dose. He told me to increase this dose gradually to avoid worsening of my symptoms every 3-4 weeks until a therapeutic level ( 900 mg) was achieved.
Gary