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Valacyclovir or Famvir?

Messages
171
Location
London
If money were no obstacle, would you choose to go for valacyclovir or famvir?
From what I understand it seems that many do better on Famvir compared to valacyclovir. Do you think this is true or not? I would I appreciate any feedback about people's experience.

Thanks,

Jake
 

heapsreal

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Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
if its just ebv i would pick valtrex because its more cost effective, but if u have ebv as well as or by itself cmv, hhv6 i would go famvir. Myself as well as others with multiple herpes infections have had good resultd with famvir. Im in the ebv/cmv group and my lymphocyte markers have come down with famvir as well as symptom improvement, i did change to valtrex for awhile and got worse. Others with hhv6 have seen it help reduce their viral load as well.
 
Messages
171
Location
London
I'm going to be tested for them. If I am positive for EBV and CMV I know valacyclovir is meant to be effective but I have heard some people saying their titers of these two viruses went lower on famvir than on valacyclovir??
 
Messages
171
Location
London
thanks heaps, that's encouraging to know it has improved your symptoms somewhat! out of interested are you still taking cycloferon (if i remeber correctly?)
 

Navid

Senior Member
Messages
564
if its just ebv i would pick valtrex because its more cost effective, but if u have ebv as well as or by itself cmv, hhv6 i would go famvir. Myself as well as others with multiple herpes infections have had good resultd with famvir. Im in the ebv/cmv group and my lymphocyte markers have come down with famvir as well as symptom improvement, i did change to valtrex for awhile and got worse. Others with hhv6 have seen it help reduce their viral load as well.

hi heaps
:

i had been taking valtrex for almost 10 months w/no improvement. finally switched to famvir on fri. i have ski high titers to ebv, cmv, varicella and hhv6. how long before i see any movement, if the famvir does in fact work for me? i am starting at a very very low dose and titrating up due to my sensitivity to all meds....but so far low dose has not given me any probs...knock on wood.

thanks for any and all advice : )
 

m1she11e

Senior Member
Messages
333
Location
Florida
I have had really good luck with Famvir as well. I have mentioned on here before that it took my HHV6 from 65X higher than a positive to a 3X higher in 3 months. I could get any of the anti virals for the same price with my insurance and I choose Famvir hands down. Again, I know Famvir is not supposed to treat HHV6 but apparently it does and it is far far less toxic than Valcyte. If nothing else, I think it would be a good place to start. If the viral load doesnt improve, then maybe you need the big guns. ???
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
shebacat, give it atleast 3 months, i used dosages of 250mg twice a day, which is alot lower then recommended by dr lerner but that dose has worked for me.
Energyoverload, yes im still on cycloferon, i get some blood test results next week, so i will post on how it all go's, these are lymphocyte sub set test and hormone test which i have been using pregnenolone so will see how it is all effected, but i am feeling better although have some pain of late
 

m1she11e

Senior Member
Messages
333
Location
Florida
Not sure who you are asking dose on but I thought Id answer in case it was me. Some times I forget I post and then dont get on here for days.
I take 500mg of Famvir 3 times a day. That is a very high dose but I never had a day of negative effects. I tried Valcyte before and couldnt even tolerate one single pill.
 
Messages
171
Location
London
thanks for sharing all your experiences. i'm seeing the doc this friday so hopefully he will test my ebv, cmv, hhv6 titers etc and then commence famvir.
mishelle: did you ever try a lower dose of famvir than 3 x 500mg daily, or did this not seem to do much? i'm currently thinking 2x 500mg daily would help, but maybe more frequent dosing is more efficacious? i don't know if anyone has any papers/literature discussing famvir use in PWCs, Dr. Martin Lerner doesn't seem to really use it from what I've read...all his papers are on valacyclovir :(
 

m1she11e

Senior Member
Messages
333
Location
Florida
I hope I dont post this twice. I lost the first one :-(

It is Dr. Dantini in Palm Coast Florida that originally put me on Famvir at 500mg, 3X a day. Supposedly he had CFS a long time ago and knew the guys trying to get Famvir approved for HSV1 (regular Herpes). They said it was effective on ALL Herpes Virus' but that is not what their target market was at that time. He said it would cost too much to get it approved for HHV6, CMV, and EBV now. I only went to Dr. Dantini once. My regular doctor is big into Valcyte and I convinced him to let me try Famvir instead. He was shocked at how well it worked. (I am not trying to drum up business for Dr. Dantini. I didnt even have a good experience with his office.)

I want to make it clear that even with my HHV6 going down so much, that has not changed how I feel physically. My move out of a new condo is what helped me feel better. I am glad my viral load has dropped but it hasnt improved how I am feeling so far....
 

Navid

Senior Member
Messages
564
famvir

thanks heaps, mischelle and others.

i am on 150mg/day for one month. if i tolerate that we will titrate up. like i said i am EXTREMELY sensitive to all meds and in the past have failed many treatments because my body could not handle the high dosages.

i see a highly esteemed ID and ME/CFS expert, so i i feel comfortable with his plan.
 

Timaca

Senior Member
Messages
792
m1shelle~ I wonder if your first HHV-6 antibody titer was accurate. Antibody titers don't usually fall in 3 months time....so to have so great a drop in 3 months is suspicious that one of the test results was wrong. And if you aren't feeling any better that might also indicate that your HHV-6 viral load hadn't changed....(of course you may also have other pathogens making you ill....)

Best, Timaca
 
Messages
171
Location
London
thanks all for the feedback, i think famvir it'll be then. it's actually not as dear as i originally thought if i were to import from an overseas pharmacy.
 

m1she11e

Senior Member
Messages
333
Location
Florida
Timaca, when my viral load was high it was high in more than one test. I think I had 3 that were all high in about a years time frame. I have had one follow up test when it dropped so much, BUT, my doctor said that he has seen HHV6 be real high and low and then go high again for awhile during treatment. My CMV did go up though oddly. We are testing again in 3 months but the HHV6 was not a lab mishap. We are testing me again in a few months. Of course I have co-infections too. Dont we all?? :-( I am treating for Mycoplasma now as well. There is also the theory that it takes up to a year after taking Valcyte to feel the positive effects. I assume it could be true of any anti viral.

The crazy thing about this whole bug hunting is that viral load doesnt always correlate with how people feel. I have a healthy friend who was tested for HHV6 (long story why) and she had a load high enough to be treated by Montoya's standards. She has no health problems at all. I think there is way more to this than we can begin to figure out and killing the pathogens just isnt the whole story for most of us.

If my HHV6 is still low with the next test, I have a theory. (clearing throat here...) Maybe the Famvir doesnt knock out the immune system while killing the virus so you stop viral replication and leave an intact immune system to do its job. Maybe then the virus can be dealt with quicker. The body also isnt dealing with the toxic effects of the drug (Valcyte) so it can again concentrate on the virus. Just a theory but theories seem to be welcome here. ;-)

I will post again when I get my next set of tests.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I think when u get the viral load down that is when u need to add immunovir or cycloferon to strengthen our nk function and lower viruses even further, fingers crossed eradicate them
 

Grape Funk

Senior Member
Messages
113
Location
USA
Energyoverload, are you feeling any better from the famvir? Any bad side effects or Herx like reactions yet? keep us updated.