VALTREX Reviews (VALACYCLOVIR HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 3.2 (635 Ratings)

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 ANTIVIRALS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

VALTREX  (VALACYCLOVIR HYDROCHLORIDE):  Valacyclovir is used to treat infections caused by certain types of viruses. In children, it is used to treat cold sores around the mouth (caused by herpes simplex) and chickenpox (caused by varicella zoster). In adults, it is used to treat shingles (caused by herpes zoster) and cold sores around the mouth. Valacyclovir is also used to treat outbreaks of genital herpes. In people with frequent outbreaks, this medication is used to reduce the number of future episodes. Valacyclovir is an antiviral drug. It stops the growth of certain viruses. However, it is not a cure for these infections. The viruses that cause these infections continue to live in the body even between outbreaks. Valacyclovir decreases the severity and length of these outbreaks. It helps the sores heal faster, keeps new sores from forming, and decreases pain/itching. This medication may also help reduce how long pain remains after the sores heal.   FDA Approval Date: 1995-06-23 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR VALTREXCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 3  Shingles outbreak Terrible body aches, fatigue, extreme headache, Confusion, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Vivid dreams. I had never had shingles before, and I went in right away when the rash started so the shingles themselves actually never got that bad. The side effects of the medication were absolutely terrible. My body aches all over. The nausea and vomiting bodyaches, and headache seemed to improve if I took the medication with 100 mg of ibuprofen, and lots of food and/or water. However, I am now on day five and very confused at times. It comes in waves. All the sudden things will be normal, and then it will feel like I’m in a dream and that I’m talking to someone but have no idea really what I’m saying. I can’t wait to be done with it. F 41 5 days
1000mg 3x/
7/15/2019
 4  Shingles I had really bad insomnia. When I was able to sleep, it was not a restful sleep. I had vivid dreams and frequently woke. Also have noticed an increase in apathy, energy level and depression. I am generally a positive thinking upbeat person but I found myself constantly thinking dark negative thoughts causing bitterness and irritability. But that could also because I haven’t slept in 7 days.... However, I had a pretty severe case of shingles that was causing some of the worse pains I have ever experienced. I have broken many bones in my life playing hockey and football. However, none of those injuries caused as much pain as this shingles outbreak. On a positive side, that pain was alleviated in less than 12 hours after starting Valtrex. M 39 7 days
7/11/2019
 5  Gh None Never had a problem is this easy to pass to someone if your on valtrex? F 38 0 days
500
6/2/2019
Email
 1  Shingles Was prescribed 1,000 mg tablet 3 times a day. By second day had severe headache and vomiting. It was awful. Quit taking it. Shingles aren't so bad as compaired to the medication side effects. F 60 2 days
1,000mg
5/20/2019
 3  Shingles I feel super stupid and unmotivated since I started taking the drug.... Like my entire day is la la Land. I don’t like it and the horse pill size needs to go. F 38 3 days
1g
5/12/2019
 1  Herpes 2 I started taking valtrex because I have had severe outbreaks for approx 40 yrs. I took it for 2 days. I got crying spells immediately after taking it. When I stopped it the crying spells stopped. I was lucky because I discovered the cause (valtrex) was the cause as crying is not usually a side effect. F 68 2 days
30mg
4/23/2019
 3  Hvs2 Have been on suppression therapy for about 2 years since ive gotten hsv2. Ive haf the usual side effects but was not helping at first, my body was not taking the medication well and was gettimg outbreaks every week had seen a specialist and had a heavy suppression thearapy for 4 months (8 months after being diagnosed). Cuz dont on the heavy suppression slowly and its been good since. However my pharmacy keeps changing the brand they are giving me and i still take it everyday and havnt had an outbreak recently but constantly feel a tight sensation were i would get an outbreak , like they gave me a new medication with diffrent ingredients in it. If anyone has any knowledge of this please help. Thank you. They should olny make one kind. Not 20. F 27 2 times
1gram
4/6/2019
 3  Shingles Vivid nightmares and dreams Crying I had had the shingles for at least a week before realising what it was (thought it was a bad boil breakout) so by the time I got diagnosed the doctor said the medicine probably wouldn't help too much. I have anxiety and on Prozac but the valtrex did cause some increased depression. I did have some very vivid nightmares and dreams. It was the dreams that caused me to look online and see if others had had weird dreams also. F 39 7 days
4/2/2019
 4  HSV-2 (daily suppressive therapy) Works very well at outbreak suppression. I have tried to go off of it in the past and tried things like Lysine and diet changes. However, the outbreaks returned with a vengeance, so I got back on it. My outbreaks were monthly at least when I didn't take it. I am worried about the long-term side effects, which is why I didn't rate it as 5 stars. My lab work is normally good, including liver and kidney function, although I have had two anomalies in my labwork with high ALT/AST one time and slightly lower kidney function. I don't really think it was the Valtrex, though, as I had drunk alcohol too heavily in the past. I drastically reduced my drinking, and my ALT/AST were better than they had ever been since I started getting my labs done in 2014. I will continue getting by labwork done and looking at everything closely. My doctor hasn't recommended that I stop it or anything. At this point, I plan to continue taking it daily and continue limiting or avoiding alcohol, as well as drink plenty of water. I don't want to go back to those miserable outbreaks that made life practically unbearable, and this pill is truly an amazing drug. I'm basically outbreak free, although I'll occasionally get something really minor. I do remember that for the first few years I was on Valtrex, I would still get a few more severe outbreaks but nothing like that now. I can get stressed out, drink coffee, eat nuts, etc., etc., and I hardly get an outbreak. Oops, guess I wrote most of that in the wrong place. I hope my comments help someone out there. I have always had a hard time finding comments from people like me who have actually been taking it longer than 10 years. F 36 12 years
500mg. Dai
3/26/2019
Email
 4  Viral corneal ulcer Loss of appetite, nausea, brain fog, balance issues when standing up, mood changes Lost appetite on day 1, other side effects have presented the longer I’ve been on the medication. Generally not feeling well. F 41 20 days
3g daily
3/15/2019
 4  Shingles Crazy vivid scary dreams M 58 7 days
1 GM
12/30/2018
 2  Shingles Neuro symptoms..shaking hands not feeling right...then on 3rd day depression set in ..I have lyme disease already this flared all my symptoms ...it messes with your nerves and I was at work and couldn't think of my coworkers name.. 47 4 days
3 times a
10/29/2018
 2  Shingles Extreme brain fog, exhaustion, dry mouth by day 6 of heavy dosing I had a mild outbreak although pain was severe. I had shingles shot two years ago. By day six pain was gone and pimples have crusted. There are no more spasms although there is mild aching. I can't tolerate these side effects and I am going to bed. Will take half dose later tonight against medical advice. I notice that I was given double the amount others receive. I think this drug is dangerous and doctors need to be up front about the side effects of it. F 62 6 days
1 gram 3x
9/25/2018
 1  Herpes, HSV -2 or HSV - 1 It immediately caused severe confusion; so confused that I couldn't decide which way to turn the car on roads I take every day on my way to work. Then I started having uncontrollable movements; my arms would flail out to the side, and I couldn't stop it from happening. It was absolutely terrifying. Since the drug had made it impossible to think about anything, it took all of the energy I had to make the decision to pull off of the road. And it was only by the grace of God that I could make the decision. I had to sit in my car for 14 hours (what a waste of time) before my thought processes came back enough to be able to drive home. It caused the most horrible back pain I could imagine. It caused extreme thirst, on the level of cotton-mouth. It started to shut my kidneys down immediately. I know it would have caused complete kidney failure if I had taken the second pill. In summary, Valtrex caused severe neurological impairment within 1 hour of taking it. It immediately started to shut my kidneys down. It is a hideous pill with fatal side effects as follows: (1) Kidney failure and (2) Neurological impairment. It should never have been put on the market. You really have to wonder how it got approved?!!!!!!..... Also, Glaxo's generic pill - acyclovir - produced the very same fatal effects. It should have never been put on the market. F 48 1 days
20 MG 2X day
3/13/2018
 3  Shingles I immediately got very tired and can’t stop dozing off. At night, I’m not completely sleeping. It’s more like dozing off. I keep waking up because of weird dreams that are causing me to talk in my sleep. Due to the tiredness, I notice blurry vision w/mild hallucinations (wavy lines, objects looking like other things, etc.). Also noticed alight itchiness which went away within 30 mins of taking the dose. I am on day 2. Unfortunately, I wasn’t seen for a week after my outbreak because I thought it was just a very deep pimple in my forehead. Once blisters and the severe pain started, I knew it was shingles and was prescribed the medication. I can’t speak to how well it works because it’s only been two days and may not work given the time lapse from onset. I could live with the side effects to clear up shingles, for sure. F 48 7 days
1g 3X day
12/22/2017
 4  Shingles Insomnia Pain in the area of my shingles the first night (which is probably just the pain associated with shingles) I had an outbreak of shingles at 22 years old and after taking valtrex for 1 day I had severe excruciating pain and insomnia but after the first night (And taking some heavy ibuprofen) the pain was virtually non existent by the insomnia stayed. It's now been 4 days and i still cant sleep right M 22 5 days
1g 3 times
12/21/2017
Email
 2  Cold Sores Depression, headaches, extreme fatigue, irritability, brain fog, feeling spaced out, lack of concentration and memory, anxiety Yes this medication does seem to help get rid of the cold sores but the side effects aren't worth it. Still not feeling myself after being off of it for 3 days. Wondering when side effects will subside. F 27 7 days
7/3/2017
 5  Genital HSV2 Loss of appetite for the first few months, minor but perpetual shaky hands, possibly increased depression and anxiety but already have both, once or more daily lower right back pain or nerve seizing up Got it from a now ex who says they didn't know you had to specifically ask to be tested for herpes. Experienced increased anxiety and depression after about 2 month taking one pill daily, but was already taking meds for those so may be unrelated. I also experience an immense sharp pain in my lower back on the right side at least once daily, usually a couple times. May be just due to the herpes as it's a possible side effect of the virus. But it has possibly made all the difference. Still in my first year and not a single outbreak since my initial one. I believe that Valtrex is a big part of that. Supplementing with lysine and turmeric help greatly as well. F 25 10 months
500mg/day
4/12/2017
Email
 1  Genital Herpes I did not know that Valtrex was causing my deep depression, irritability, anxiety attacks; aggressive behavior and overall darkness in my life because starting the drug coincided with a huge and stressful event in my life. In addition, I had dysthymia and had been on a low-dose of antidepressants for years. Consequently, my doctor thought my worsening depression was a situational problem and not the side effects from the drug. I got so bad at one point that I was on an anti-psychotic drug. I went through almost seven years of torment until I stopped the drug last December Within a week I was feeling better: the darkness had lifted; the anxiety stopped; I was happy for the first time in years. I began to wean off the huge dosage of Wellbutrin and now I am completely stable on 75mg Wellbutrin and 10 mg Prozac. the situational stressor is still a part of my life, but I am at last normal again. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG IF YOU HAVE HAD A PREVIOUS DEPRESSION. This drug is useful for certain conditions; however, if a person is prone to depression or has a history of depression this drug is NOT for them as the medication makes all those symptoms exponentially worse. F 68 7 years
1 gm 1X day
4/12/2017
Email
 2  High HSV1 tigers, no outbreaks Dizziness, metallic burning taste in mouth, insomnia, feeling like my skin is crawling, tingling and burning in arms and legs, heart palpitations, increased anxiety and moodiness, uncontrollable crying F 42 1 months
500mg 2x
4/7/2017

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