- Messages
- 8
Hi there, firstly I wanted to let you all know that- I have now been on Valacyclovir for over 4 months and I have seen major, MAJOR improvements!!! I used Dr Lerner's paper as a template for my treatment. First I was tested at a very reputable clinic for all the viruses outlined by Dr Montoya on the Stanford Fatigue Centre's site. I came back with sky high titres to both EBV (which made sense- I got ill at College) and also the Shingles virus. So process of elimination, we decided to get me the Valacylovir. I started taking 4g per day (8 x 500mg tablets- YUCK!!) which is exactly what Dr Lerner recommends in his paper. Managed by some miracle to get my doctor to agree to monitor my bloods/ liver function etc. at monthly intervals (this is very important by the way, in case anyone else is thinking of doing it- Lerner recommended bloods monthly or 6 weekly and they are very strong drugs so you must, MUST have supervision if you're doing it).
Initially I had the classic 'worsening' which, I am informed by much reading around the subject is not a classic Herxheimer's response but toxicity from viral die-off? Anyway, my own worsening lasted a fortnight- which I felt may have been quite short actually as apparently this can last up to 6 weeks. I was awful but I felt optimistic at the start so could probably handle that better than what came next. Lerner said that 2-6 weeks is the norm so- I guess this is to say if your 'worsening' is short don't imagine that you're not a responder- because I most certainly have been. Looking back, Lerner's words should have given me some confidence but having been ill for 15 years I felt a lot of trepidation and was paranoid about every single stage.
Anyway, then came the hellish bit- not going to lie! I have 2 disclaimers here which I feel I ought to share: I honestly believe now that 8 tablets/ 4 grams daily is way too much for some people- I was one of them. I know Lerner's papers say 4g is very important (and even recommend slightly more for larger people), but eventually I reduced down to 3g and felt way, WAY better- and still like the virus is being kicked into touch. The other disclaimer is this: some of these tablets will make you feel DISGUSTING. I had the generics for the first 3 months and I swear that they masked any improvements I was making. Because then I switched to a branded version and all the hideous side-effects that you will read about (severe migraines, drowsiness, nausea, leg cramps etc.) all of these went right away. Oh, one more thing: if anyone else decides to follow this protocol, for goodness sakes don't just go straight onto these tablets like I did. I was so desperate to do it that I was gung-ho- it would have been far better to start with 1g per day and build it up over a fortnight. These are serious drugs after all and you need to treat yourself with care and see how your body reacts!
Anyway the AMAZING news is that we changed the tablets at 3 months to a brand that suited me better and also reduced the dose... and at 3.5 months- EXACTLY AS THE LERNER PAPER PREDICTS- I HAD A MASSIVE SURGE OF ENERGY which has been sustained ever since! I mean I literally could remember, for the first time in 15 years, what it used to feel like when I was first at College and I had energy in my body every day! I would also note that, despite the drug's side effects, I have not had any viral/ crash type relapses at all during this period of time.
Now- the one thing I wanted to ask, if anyone manages to read to the end of this long message is (which I hope is encouraging to others)- has anyone else tried Acyclovir and would be it effective if I spent the next 6 months on it instead of the Valacylovir? Because the latter is proving difficult to source from legitimate places whereas Acyclovir is very easy to get hold of and sounds to be far less intense in terms of side effects, which is appealing. But obviously, having come so far, I also want to absolutely ensure that the viruses that have quite obviously been messing me up for years are being forced to recede... is that also guaranteed with Acyclovir?
Anyone else have any questions for me or observations of their own on a similar protocol? Thanks!
Initially I had the classic 'worsening' which, I am informed by much reading around the subject is not a classic Herxheimer's response but toxicity from viral die-off? Anyway, my own worsening lasted a fortnight- which I felt may have been quite short actually as apparently this can last up to 6 weeks. I was awful but I felt optimistic at the start so could probably handle that better than what came next. Lerner said that 2-6 weeks is the norm so- I guess this is to say if your 'worsening' is short don't imagine that you're not a responder- because I most certainly have been. Looking back, Lerner's words should have given me some confidence but having been ill for 15 years I felt a lot of trepidation and was paranoid about every single stage.
Anyway, then came the hellish bit- not going to lie! I have 2 disclaimers here which I feel I ought to share: I honestly believe now that 8 tablets/ 4 grams daily is way too much for some people- I was one of them. I know Lerner's papers say 4g is very important (and even recommend slightly more for larger people), but eventually I reduced down to 3g and felt way, WAY better- and still like the virus is being kicked into touch. The other disclaimer is this: some of these tablets will make you feel DISGUSTING. I had the generics for the first 3 months and I swear that they masked any improvements I was making. Because then I switched to a branded version and all the hideous side-effects that you will read about (severe migraines, drowsiness, nausea, leg cramps etc.) all of these went right away. Oh, one more thing: if anyone else decides to follow this protocol, for goodness sakes don't just go straight onto these tablets like I did. I was so desperate to do it that I was gung-ho- it would have been far better to start with 1g per day and build it up over a fortnight. These are serious drugs after all and you need to treat yourself with care and see how your body reacts!
Anyway the AMAZING news is that we changed the tablets at 3 months to a brand that suited me better and also reduced the dose... and at 3.5 months- EXACTLY AS THE LERNER PAPER PREDICTS- I HAD A MASSIVE SURGE OF ENERGY which has been sustained ever since! I mean I literally could remember, for the first time in 15 years, what it used to feel like when I was first at College and I had energy in my body every day! I would also note that, despite the drug's side effects, I have not had any viral/ crash type relapses at all during this period of time.
Now- the one thing I wanted to ask, if anyone manages to read to the end of this long message is (which I hope is encouraging to others)- has anyone else tried Acyclovir and would be it effective if I spent the next 6 months on it instead of the Valacylovir? Because the latter is proving difficult to source from legitimate places whereas Acyclovir is very easy to get hold of and sounds to be far less intense in terms of side effects, which is appealing. But obviously, having come so far, I also want to absolutely ensure that the viruses that have quite obviously been messing me up for years are being forced to recede... is that also guaranteed with Acyclovir?
Anyone else have any questions for me or observations of their own on a similar protocol? Thanks!