Question:
Hello,

Please forgive the length of my post, but I want you to get to know me. I have genital herpes. I contracted it when I was quite young. I lived with severe outbreaks for many years. Nothing I tried worked. It seems I have an aggressive type of HSV2, because I would get severe outbreaks all the time. I am not immune deficient, and am otherwise very healthy, yet it seemed like I was getting outbreaks once a month! Bad ones too. One outbreak would heal and another would come behind it. It was pure hell.

Finally, I tried Valtrex. I was given a prescription for 500mg twice a day. It is the best thing that ever happened to me. I became completely outbreak free with zero side effects. However, I have some questions I am having trouble finding the answers to. I have been on this suppressive therapy for about a year now, and when I slack off on the dosage or try to stop to see what happens, I get an outbreak almost right away. It's like I have some kind of super herpes or something--very aggressive--just my luck :( So it seems like the only way for me to stay outbreak free is to stay on Valtrex. My questions are:

Can I safely stay on Valtrex for life? Is it dangerous to do so? What are the possible risks? If I must stop, can I just stop all at once or do I have to taper off? Would the virus adjust, get stronger against the Valtrex if I stay on it permanently or would the effects against the virus stay strong?

I guess those are all my questions. By the way, the amazing thing is that as aggressive as my condition is, when I'm on Valtrex nothing affects me--I drink alcohol, take L-Arginine, stay up late, etc., and I am just fine. Maybe this is just a coincidence but I also notice I get sick from colds much less and when I do get sick I shrug it off much faster. Weird. Just for the record I am NOT plugging Valtrex. This is just my experience and everyone is different so don't go by my experience. See a doctor and find out for yourself what is right for you.

Thanks for this place where we can talk, be understood, and thanks for your kind attention.
Sincerely,
Marc

Answer:
People have been on long term acyclovir therapy with no problem, so it should be ok... at least based on what people know so far.

Over time you might get less outbreaks, so every so often you could test it and just see if your body fights it better yet.

Answer:
when you stop vatrex you will get a bad outbreak - thats because the body needs to adjust and start producing its own antibodies because your no longer taking the meds for it.

so when you do stop valtrex and get an outbreak - gives it a few months maybe longer befiore you decide you might want to take them for life

Answer:
I have the same concern about staying on valtrex for a long time also because you aren't really allowing your body to fight the virus naturally and that's why when you stop taking it the ob are bad. A doctor told me this last week and it got me to thinking. I think just like any other illness, with the right diet, exercise, & stress management the obs can be controlled. In your post you said you take L-Arginine? Isn't that the amino acid that makes the virus more active? I'm gonna try supplements and adjust my diet first before committing to valtrex daily. They say the first year is always the worst anyway, so what do I have to lose. If it gets too overwhelming, then I'll consider suppressive therapy.