Drug Ratings for VALTREXAverage Rating: 3.4 (468 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Age from youngest to oldest (no age reported listed first) Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR VALTREX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 5 | Herpes 1 | Very itchy rask on back and legs with small pinhead like lumps. Have been taking daily for 12 months | M | 1 years | 2/6/2007 | 5 | herpes | i got stomach aches and headaches | i took almost every other antiviral drug for my herpes and nothing seemed to help it go away for longer than a week and now since i have been taking valtrex i havent had a single outbreak. | F | 2 months | 5/29/2005 | 5 | To prevent outbreaks | headaches initially, which disappeared | I had only infrequent outbreaks but began taking Valtrex daily to be sure of suppressing the virus. Have had no outbreaks while on Valtrex. Would like to know if there are any studies out there regarding whether the virus is contagious during daily suppression therapy. I would love to ditch the condoms! | 3.5 years | 12/15/2008 | 4 | EBV | Dizziness, back aches, dry eyes, depression, and consipation. | I was diagnoised with EBV in July of 08. This medication has really helped out with my fatigue...but has also created some ruff side effects. I had been taking 3g a day for about a month and then went down to 2g a day for another month and now Im just taking 1g a day. I did here from a friend that the Valtrex can depleate the Iron in your body. Maybe thats why everyone is feeling fatigued? All in all this medication has worked really well for my EBV, but the side effects can really be ruff. | M | 4 months | 5/31/2009 | 4 | | 6/30/2009 | 4 | shingles | none | M | | 9/18/2009 | 4 | herpes | it cleared my outbreak when i was first diagnosed w genital herpes. been on it since and when i quit taking it, i would break out. so i take it daily. havnt noticed any side affects. i used to got horrible cold sores and now i dont get them. | F | 10 months | 6/8/2007 | 4 | Herpetic Whitlow | Dizziness, Headache | F | 14 days 500mg 2X D | 1/7/2013 | 3 | hsv 2 | started taking valtrex yesterday. 1000mg 2x a day. experienced headache ... like a sharp pain in my head ... came here and found that lots of people complain of a headache as well | M | 2 days | 4/23/2008 | 3 | HSV 2 | After 2 months of suppressive therapy I have started to notice memory loss, blurred vision, and a very itchy rash that started on my back, arms and chest. | I was diagnosed with HSV 2 12 years ago, I have only had a few outbreaks over the last 12 years, and have taken Valtrex to treat the outbreaks as they occurred. Started suppressive theray for a very mild outbreak 2 months ago, since I have had another outbreak and all the symptoms I mentioned. I will no longer use for suppressive therapy and will talk to my doctor about other medications or only taking when I feel an outbreak coming on. | 2 months | 3/25/2008 | 3 | Herpes | Dizzy Dehydrated Hemorrhoids Large Swelling in A__ | I had used an internal cleanse w/ cascara sagrada so not sure if Valtrex caused diarrhea but everything is swollen large in the back area after 1 day. Still on it now 7 days. Swelling starting to subside. Couldn't sit, walk, drive.. | F | 6 days | 8/22/2008 | 2 | F | | 10/27/2003 | 1 | herpes | dizziness, vomiting sometimes | To have herpes virus to be suppressed.> Try Pau D'Arco - fluid xtract1:1 (anti inflammatory) Aloe vera xtract(anti inflammatory)-but,hard to get this. Magnesium(calm your nerves down) | M | 2 weeks | 12/4/2008 | 5 | Fever Blisters/Oral Herpes | None that I noticed. | Its wondeful! It clears the fever blisters when I get an outbreak. I usually get an outbreak about once a month, and at the first sign, I take two for the first dose, then one for the rest. It usually clears up in 3-5 days on valtrex vs. 2 weeks without. | M | 15 | 8 months | 1/7/2009 | 3 | Genital Herpes | I throw up like crazy. It doesn't seem like it is helpinq the break out. | F | 15 | 4 days | 12/27/2008 | 5 | Fever Blister | I had a fever. | F | 16 | 1.1 times | 1/12/2007 | 3 | oral herpes | lethargic but i havnt been on it for long. last minute resort | i got my first cold sore from getting a bad fever for a few hours without knowing it. | F | 16 | 2 days | 12/12/2004 | 3 | Herpes Simplex on eye | The only thing my son is experiencing is very dry skin. He is actually peeling all over his face expecially. | My son 16 has only been taking it for 5 days now, so we are not sure too much about it yet, it does seem to be drying it up, along with the rest of his face. | M | 16 | 5 days | 4/1/2007 | 5 | HSV1 in the mouth | Her OB started Sunday morning and only started treatment wednesday night. First time trying valtrex. My daughter says it stopped the burning sensation of the fever blister within 12 hours. She has braces as well as an expander in her mouth,and with all the blisters in her mouth she was really discouraged and cried alot. Had trouble eating.She took 2000mg of valtrex befor bedtime and 12 hours later took another 2000mg. This helped her so much. Not only physically but also emotionally. Side effect was dizziness a bit. | They are quite expensive, this is the third OB,every month during menstrual cycle, next month she is going to take when she feels it coming on. To see the smile of my daughter i would have paid more. It isn't a cure but at least she feels better. | F | 17 | 1 days | 6/20/2008 | 4 | HSV2 | I feel very sick, And have bad headaches. I have taken Valtrex for almost 2 years with breakouts 8 times a year and have had the same side effects everytime i have taken it (and i take it with a lot of food!). | It really works, When i start in the early stages of an outbreak it always clears it up in 3 days, maybe 4. Valtrex doesn't decrease the number of outbreaks over a longterm period, it just decreases length of the outbreak. | F | 17 | 3 days 1000 MG 1X D | 12/23/2010 | 3 | cold sores..very bad all over mouth | dizziness,very tired ..and i recenlty saw someone that had a very bad nightmare and last night so did i ..it was the most terrifying nightmare i ever slept through..fatigue i noticed ..other then this valtrex is working | F | 17 | 3 weeks | 8/7/2008 | 1 | Canker Sores | I am currently on my period and took a Valtrex in order to eliminate the canker sores in my mouth. I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible stomach and and awful backaches and cramps. I felt nauseous, and tried to go back to sleep. I woke up, still felt terrible, and vomited. I will not be taking the pill again. | F | 17 | 1 days 2000 1X D | 4/13/2012 | 1 | Genital Herpes | headache, mood changes, deppression, appetite changes, joint pain, racing heart beat, loss of concentration, hallucinations. | I have had herpes a year and have been taking vatrex for just as long. i still have had outbreaks and it has only caused me more problems. My headaches are very severe. Valtrex affects my concentration so much its hard for me to work. i hate it. | F | 17 | 1 years | 5/4/2009 | 5 | Shingles | No side effects. | I've been getting shingles since I was 5 or so. Once I got a little older about 12 my doctor started prescribing Valtrex to me. I started talking it only when I got shingles. I have never had a problem with it. It makes my shingles go through the process quicker and less painfully. Very pleased! | F | 18 | 7 days 1 GM 3X D | 11/2/2012 | 4 | Cold sores on lips | BAD jitteryness, slight nausea, slight headache. | I take it as soon as my lips start to tingle and the outbreak never happens. It's works great and is such a relief. | F | 18 | 12 months | 1/29/2008 | 3 | GH | My urine has a strong odor, severe stomach cramps, headaches. | I was just recently diagnosed with herpes and I was prescribed Valtrex. I take it episodically, and it works to clear the blisters but i still have other symtoms and I have a LOT more outbreaks than everyone else seems to have reported. (I was diagnosed a little over a month ago and I have had THREE outbreaks, not severe but still painful.) Does anyone else have this same problem? Please email because I don't know anyone else with GH to talk to about this. Thanks. | F | 18 | 1 months | 1/6/2009 | 3 | Genital Herpes | Fatigue, Diarrhea, Could not concentrate, Brain Fog, Reflux. | I think this medication would be useful in taking at night or during an outbreak. I do not find this useful at any other time. I can't deal with such loss of concentration and fatigue when I have stuff to do during the day. I am a busy mom and can't afford lounging around not being able to focus. I am going to stop these and take Lysine. | F | 18 | 1 days 500 mg. 1X D | 8/5/2012 | 3 | hsv2 | tiredness, nausea, stomach aches, and loss of appitite | ive had 5 outbreaks in the entire six months ive been on this drug and I take it daily i dont understand why this is happening. My physician bumped my 500mg to twice a day while having an outbreak and i see improvement but still get outbreak frequently. | F | 18 | 6 months 500mg 2X D | 6/6/2010 | 5 | hsv - 2 | i wouldn't know...maybe its just other reasons | i was found with hsv at age 17 took vatrex everytime i had an outbreak but that was twice a month or even up to 4 times a month....so i decided to go suppresive...ive been totally suppressive since march 2007 and just broke out sometime this week august with minor blisters no itchiness on main region but itchiness on the anal region. i went from many breakouts to just one break out in 5 months let see how long this takes to clear up its a great medication but im thinking of taking it 2 times a day and make my reccurences be longer for a year or so afraid of the symptoms of future usage.... but willing to risk it as long as i dont suffer anymore. man ppl i sure hope a vaccine comes out quick! | F | 19 | 2 days | 8/15/2007 | 5 | Cold Sores | Slight headache and nausea | I could feel two cold sores starting to develop on my upper and bottom lips. i took 100mg of valtrex right away. the nausea & headache came 25 minutes later. i took the second pill 12 hours later and the same thing, nausea and headache, but no cold sores. it's amazing!!! the nausea was enough though to make me leave work and go home, but i think its worth it. a few hours of nausea as opposed to multiple cold sores that take weeks to heal. anyone who has serious cold sore outbreaks quite often should see their doctor about this prescription. | F | 19 | 2 days | 7/21/2006 | 4 | Genital Herpes | Really really weird dreams, heavy brain fog, i don't really feel like myself, bad stomach pains and mild constipation | I was recently diagnosed with herpes and started on my 5 day regime of this medication and it cleared up the outbreak. today is day 6 and i woke up from the most messed up dream I have ever had. | M | 19 | 5 days 500 mg 2X D | 10/4/2011 | 4 | HSV-1 | none | i try to take it daily but, its hard to remember too living such an active life like i do. since i was diagnosed last april i havent had any more breakouts..im satisfied so far but, i havent been takin it for long. | F | 19 | 1 years | 2/25/2008 | 3 | Herpes 1 | Only have been taking for 3 days. Just experience smelly pee/gas. | Haven't taken the drug for that long. Cold sores seem to have disappeared a little since I started the drug 3 days ago. | M | 19 | 3 days 500 MG 1X D | 3/22/2010 | 2 | Herpes | Trouble sleeping, loose stool, sharp pains in my legs... I Just recently contracted to Herpes Virus and this medicine doesnt do anything good for me... | F | 19 | 2 weeks | 5/11/2009 | 2 | gas, frequent urination, diarrhea | it's now day three of 1000 mg of valtrex and it's my first time taking it. This stuff has not helped. I'm the itchiest I've ever been and NOTHING seems to stop the itching no matter what I apply locally. I have terrible ob. Chills and fevers, non-stop itching and this is my second ob in a month. I just found out I have herpes and was hoping valtrex would do the trick but I still have all the same herpes problems as I did before taking valtrex. Except now I'm really gassy. yay. any help with the itching? I'M DYING | F | 19 | 3 days | 2/1/2009 | 5 | genital herpes | sometimes headache | Zovirax did not help me much...Valtrex has worked amazingly for me so far! Thank God for it. | F | 20 | 4 months | 11/7/2007 | 5 | Genital Herpes | NO SIDE EFFECTS!!! Thank God!! I'm usually very sensitive to all kinds of medicine so I was hesitant to try Valtrex. Especially after reading all of these crazy posts! | This is my first outbreak and I have only been using the drug for 2 days. It has already helped a great deal with the pain. Great, fast results, no side effects...what more could you ask for?? Valtrex is the way to go! | F | 20 | 2 days | 7/20/2007 | 4 | genital herpes | no side effects at all | I was just recentlty diagnosed, and had a horrible initial breakout. I did not take Valtrex until the second breakout which took place 3 months later. It was drastically less painfull and severe, and lasted less then a week. Because I have not had herpes for long, I have not needed to take it as a surpressive treatment, yet I would consider doing so. | F | 20 | 7 days | 8/23/2005 | 4 | genital herpes | no side effect so far. | i take valtrex when ever i needed or when ever i feel something is coming down there.i drink two pills per day for 5 days and it have work very good. In the year i have had 4 outbreaks but must of the time is because i take too long to drink the pill.Im thinking about taking the medication everyday to protect my parnet better but iam not sure. i really dont want my body to get so use to valtex that later it stop working. | F | 20 | 1 years 500mg 2X AN | 4/24/2011 | 4 | HSV-1 Genital | Nausea, headaches, tiredness, fatigue, muscle aches, depression. | Valtrex did cure my genital HSV-1 outbreaks but has not come without a price. Thought I had a mild case of the flu, or a cold for the last few weeks, but then read the side effects for Valtrex and realized that was the problem. I decided to look into it today when I was feeling fine all morning and realized I forgot to take my Valtrex at 1:00 PM and within 30 minutes felt so nauseous I had to lay down. Valtrex also has not made me feel like myself. Over the last few weeks I have felt very depressed and wake up feeling overall sad. This is rare for me as I generally do not have depressed feelings. The medication has also made me lose interest in daily activities such as social get togethers with friends. | M | 20 | 30 days 500 2X D | 2/6/2012 | 4 | genital herpes | Head ache, sore throat, bad joint pain (it feels like someone took a baseball bat to my knees), itchy legs, and sore neck | It made the blisters disappear quickly. Well worth it | F | 20 | 7 days | 7/1/2009 | 5 | Genital Herpes | None. | Aside from the initial outbreak, I had just one other one three months later. Both times I took Valtrex episodically and both outbreaks were fairly mild. I then developed a relationship with someone and decided to use it daily to reduce the risk of transmission. That was 8 months ago and we're still together and I haven't had an outbreak since. | F | 21 | 8 months | 7/8/2009 | 5 | genital herpes | none. it's been great. | i've taken it daily to protect my partner. (i've had 2 outbreaks previously, once when i contracted herpes a year ago, another 3 months later. i took valtrex episodically.) for about 8 months now i've had it daily. it's been great. no side effects and no outbreaks. and i stopped taking it for about a month this summer when i was home from college and not having sex. contrary to what i heard, i didn't get an outbreak when i stopped using it. | F | 21 | 8 months | 8/17/2009 | 5 | genital herpes | A little dizziness and nausea when I first started taking it. | I've had genital herpes for 3 months and have been on the drug ever since. I normally take 500mg once a day but since I have no insurance I have had short times where I didn't take it. During those times I had one outbreak and i get the tingling sensations. While I'm on the drug I don't feel anything and have no outbreaks. I am scared of what the long term side effects are but I care more about not spreading it to my partner and it has been proven that valtrex can help that. | F | 21 | 3 months | 11/23/2007 | 5 | herpes | None | M | 21 | 7 days 100 2X D | 7/1/2011 | 5 | genital herpes | a few, but only noticeable if i take it during the day or don't get enough sleep. | i had two breakouts right after the other when i was first diagnosed. horrible. used valtrex to treat those and had immediate relief until i stopped taking it. i worried about having more ob's; it felt like it would NEVER go away. my doc recommended i take 500 mg per day for suppression. i usually take it before i go to sleep. i am very tired in the mornings, especially if i don't get at least 8 hours of sleep. i feel very depressed and light headed if i take it during the day. but no side effects other than that. i am a generally healthy and active person though. so expensive but i found a program that helps pay for it. i highly recommend it. no outbreaks since. | F | 21 | 2 months | 5/16/2006 | 4 | HSV-1 in the genitals | Dizziness, lack of interest, depression symptoms and terrible brain fog to the point where I can't think clearly or straight. | I hate this drug, I don't feel like myself anymore from taking it! I'm even more out of it than normal and I feel like I had a lobotomy, seriously. I was on acyclovir for almost 2 weeks before getting on this drug after having the initial outbreak, and had several days in between the medicines. The Zovirax (acyclovir) made the nasty little bumps go away..and I haven't had any problems since. | F | 21 | 25 days 1G 1X D | 6/5/2010 | 3 | Genital Herpes | Tiredness. I have to take a nap during the day and when i wake up from nap i am dizzy. | Can't give full comments of it because i have only been taking for 2 weeks. so i have no idea if it stops ob or not. | M | 21 | 2 days | 8/1/2007 | 3 | HSV-2 | I havn't even taken a full month of Valtrex yet. But I've already experienced Nausea and almost constant bloating and abdominal pain. | M | 21 | 21 days | 1/22/2008 | 3 | Shingles | Dizziness during the first couple of days. After that, I generally felt somewhat out of it. Headachy, could not sleep soundly, had trouble getting out of bed. | It cleared up the shingles after the first couple days; however, I'm not entirely sure it was worth it. Note: I took 1g 3/day for 7 days. | M | 21 | 7 days | 1/15/2010 | 2 | I had oral and genital ulcerations | brief acne, but it eventually subsided. | I have suffered with oral ulcerations since I was an infant. Within the past three years I have experienced genital ulcerations. I have never had sex, so I knew it wasnt Herpes II, so my doctor assumed it was Herpes I and prescribed me Valtrex. It did not work, so we biopsied an oral ulcer and a genital ulcer that I had and they both were completely negative for any herpes whatsover. It turns out that I have Behcet's Disease which is an autoimmune defficiency where you have too much inflammation in your body which can be expressed through ulcers in the mouth and on the genitals. If you suffer from genital ulcers, be sure to have them TEST for herpes, because there are other disease with ulcerations as a symptom. | F | 21 | 2 months | 4/9/2008 | 1 | HSV-2 | None | I don't see the point in taking Valtrex but maybe I'm a special case. I was diagnosed with genital herpes right before my 21st bithday and I had 3 terrible outbreaks... all while taking Valtrex. They lasted about 3 weeks each. After the last one I stopped taking Valtrex and since then I've had extremely minor outbreaks lasting a day or 2. So what's the point of taking it? It doesn't keep me from passing the virus to someone else, and it doesn't treat outbreaks so really to me its useless. I might just be a conspiracy theorist but I feel like with all the technology and research, there has to be a no BS CURE that can treat the virus. It really upsets me that drug manufacturers and doctors push this drug on ppl affected by this virus, and it only makes ppl sick and makes the ppl who make it rich. I bet if everyone stopped taking valtrex, and made these ppl lose all their money, they would find a cure real fast. | M | 21 | 3 months | 3/14/2009 | 5 | yes | constipation.. im trying to find out if it has caused me to have high cholesterol | as a young single girl it has a real shock when i got genital herpes.. at first i just treated the symptoms but then i go out breaks so i went on daily doasges.. it was a life saver in terms of getting rod of the out breaks but afer a year and a half realised it was causing me to be severely constipated so much that i couldnt have sex for the pain. it got so bad that my supportive boyfriend told me to go off the meds.. i havent had an out break since but i will take it twice a day if i do get symptoms... | F | 22 | 2 years | 5/3/2008 | 5 | Herpes | None | I was on Valtrex for almost a year. Taking 500mg everyday. I Went from having Cold sores once a month to never getting them while I was on the medicine. I was getting horrible cold sores too. I have now been off the once daily 500mg and have not experienced anything. It's awesome. I heard that with some people taking the medicine for a while causes less reacurrences. I highly recommend it...and I had no side effects. | F | 22 | 1 days | 8/6/2007 | 5 | Herpes 2 | No side effects. I have not had any Ob's since using this medicine. Only thing i have noticed is when i drink alcohol it makes me way more drunk then what i really am. | F | 22 | 3 months 500 MG | 1/16/2012 | 4 | HSV 2 | Some dizziness, and luckily the rare side effect of diarrhea (which in my case involved even incontinence, yuck). But the latter side effect only occurs for the first day I start taking the medicine because of an outbreak, not during any of the other subsequent days I take the medicine. | It does seem to dispel some of the itchiness that comes with herpes, which is really the only bothersome thing I have with it, other than the very small bumps that are fortunately not on my genitals but around my anus.. (I guess that's fortunately) | M | 22 | 7 months | 5/8/2008 | 4 | genital herpes | Initially, no deleterious effects were noted. Over the course of a fews days I experienced headaches and nausea at the 1000 mg dosing which was greatly relieved with reduction to 500 mg. | Valtrex is a drug which works for me but not without problems. I understand many people have had more difficulty than me with it, but it has been a good ride. The idea of lifelong suppressive therapy is something I still have to wrap my mind around...I wish I had the foresight to avoid this situation in the first place. Having a limited relationship with a seemingly trustworty African American lead me to a lifetime of dealing with herpes. | F | 22 | 45 days | 11/9/2009 | 3 | Genital Herpes | Serious weight gain, Stomach constantly bloated, burining in intestines, bad acne, some dry spots on my face that constantly peel and the rest of my face is soo oily and nasty. extreme loss of energy.Metalic taste in mouth also. REally tary bowel movements,and diahrea. | I have had G.H. For 9 months since Valtrex have had no outbreaks, but i can sence one coming on right before my period every month. Vaginal smell ive never experienced before. I dont know if valtrex is doing all the side effects to me or im just deteriorating. But All the problems i am having started shortly after I starting taking this med. I wish there was something safe to take to get ride of O.B. and not have a life long effect on your body. There is no research for what it will do to your insides after years of taking the medicine. Thats scary. "So I have no Out breaks but I have liver failure, Kidney Malfunction" Hypothetically speaking. is it worth it??? Please email me with your input, or advise. Thank you. | F | 22 | 9 months | 10/29/2007 | 3 | Occasional Cold Sores | Since the first day I've been very cranky and have no patience. Loud noises make me angry. I feel very bloated and have gained 7 pounds. The fourth day, within 20 minutes of taking a dosage, I was on the bathroom floor with extreme abdominal pains and nausea. It was so bad I could barely breathe. I've had headaches for a few days and feel blah. It sucks, I'm going to stop taking it. | F | 22 | 1 days 500 MG | 2/16/2012 | 3 | Genital Herpes | not too sure if its the cause..... | I started taking it 2 days ago over paranoia of a cold sore. I do have genital herpes so the feeling alarmed me being on my face even more considering its not something i can hide having to work and go to school and such. Now, 2 days in i feel tinges of pain throught my body which i didnt have before and have developed a rash on my left shoulder. Burning pain, and deep tinges of pain. I looked over and saw some redness and within half an hour noticed small little bumps, maybe 5 and did some research right away and its most likely shingles. I have never had this before and if im already on Valtrex why would i accumulate something new that is usually cured with valtrex? | F | 22 | 2 days 500MG 2X D | 8/17/2010 |