New for this site -

[paladrk]

Hi There:
I am new for this site and i need your help. What is the difference between Valtrex, valcyte and zovirax? Which antiviral is good for you? If anyone has any recommendations, please respond.

robbie

[cfs_since_1998]

Valtrex (valacyclovir) is significantly less toxic than Valcyte.

Zovirax (acyclovir) is an older drug that Valtrex is based on. It s not as absorbable as Valtrex.

Dr. Lerner uses Valtrex in cases of Epstein-Barr Virus and Valcyte in cases of Cytomegalovirus and HHV6. So which is good for you depends on which virus you have.

[Chronicfatiguetreatments]

[quote="paladrk"]Hi There:
I am new for this site and i need your help. What is the difference between Valtrex, valcyte and zovirax? Which antiviral is good for you? If anyone has any recommendations, please respond.
[/quote]

I took zovirax for about 1 year. It seemed to help clear my head a little at first, but then i didnt really give me any more improvemnet after that.

A dr. named dr. montoya was using valctye for CFS and had good results in a small test group, then did a bigger study and didnt have as good results.

[paladrk]

Thanks for your response. Is Valcyte and Zovirax are the same? I have Epstein Barr virus and may choose to go with Valtrex. Any recommendations on the dosage for Valtrex?

Thanks again.
Robbie

[cfs_since_1998]

Valcyte is not Zovirax.

Dr. Lerner's protocol that he uses for his patients with EBV is 1 gram Valtrex every 6 hours. He says it takes a minimum of about five months before improvement is seen, and some patients take it for years. He has his patients drink a lot of water as Valtrex in high doses can cause kidney stones. However some of his patients have a combination of two or more viruses (eg., EBV +CMV, EBV + HHV6, CMV + HHV6, etc) and in those cases Valtrex by itself is not effective. His website is http://www.cfsviraltreatment.com/ . I am not a patient of his but I am considering becoming one.

[paladrk]

Thanks again for your response. My results are showing as
Epstein Barr Virus VCA
IGM AB less than or = 0.90
IGG AB - 3.09
(EBNA) AB (IGG) - greater that 5.00

I have EBV for sure. What does these numbers mean? Any comments from anyone?
Robbie

[cfs_since_1998]

There is debate how useful these tests are for diagnosing a chronic infection of EBV anyway. So the answer depends on who you ask. I've just learned about this in the past couple of days:

- IgM antibodies are made during the initial few weeks of infection.

- IgG antibodies are permanent. Some say if they are elevaed compared to normal people, then it can indicate a chronic infection, but others say they aren't meaningful.

- Some doctors look at the EBV EA (Early Antigen) antibodies (Dr. Lerner uses EA IgM for EBV). I think most labs do not test for that.

- Some people get their RNase-L tested; high levels usually mean a chronic viral infection.

[paladrk]

thanks again for your response. This CFS really making me feel so sick and I am really having hard time dealing with this. I am not sure how i even got this into my system. I always took good care of myself and never had any health complaints. This is very depressing and i am really worried about this.
R