Hi all, I am currently on the brand name Valtrex which seems to be helping a bit. It is so expensive but when I had tried the Mylan brand previously, I had a bad reaction to some inactive ingredient. Where do you all buy your Northstar generic brand of Valtrex? I live in Colorado and have tried two local grocery stores and Walgreens and they cannot special order from Northstar. Thanks for your help
I get Northstar from Costco. My local whse agreed to order it in for me as needed to fill with Northstar vs Milan which did not work for me. By me Target was filling with the same.
No worries hope it helps. I think if you explain to Costco why you need that specific manufacturer they should be helpful. (I would like to believe - since they helped me!)
I have read on this forum about the 90% success rate on the antivirus meds, but I have also read long term use can cause kidney failure. I am not sure if that is true as you can believe everything you read. And if I can feel normal again, I would try it.
imback can you post where you have read about long term use causes kidney failure? I have posted studies and there are several more that studied antivirals for 5- 20 years and the results were that they are safe long term. None of the studies I have read mentioned anything about kidney failure. I would be interested in reading the document you have or read that stated otherwise since I intend on being on acyclovir the rest of my life unless they find a cure for MM.
Believe what I read is that if someone has a predisposed kidney issue than long term high dose of a/v could pose a problem. Believe that is why it is encouraged to get blood work at the beginning and then monitor every 6 months to a year to be safe. I have been on for about 19 months now - no issues or changes to blood work. Believe that this is something to keep in mind for all medications not just a/v.
Thanks for checking up on me, Nicmger I did call around and my local Target can get it. I just called my ENT to call in a prescription for the Northstar generic. I am still pretty nervous about trying it after such a bad experience on the Mylan brand, but will give it a go. The brand name Valtrex is so expensive and I just can't afford it. I have only been on Valtrex for a couple of months. I tried to wean down in January but it seems that my symptoms got worse. I am back at 3,000 mg this week and will go with that for the next month and try to go down again to 2,000 mg per day in March. This is quite challenging to really determine if it will work for me. But as other members have said on the forum, I need to give it a good 6 months and will do so.
And thanks again, Nicmger for the Costco and Target suggestions. I really appreciate you helping me out!!! The members of this group are amazing!
I am hopeful that the Northstar will work out for you! I didn't have a bad reaction to Mylan - it just didn't work for me at all. Immediately within 2 days of having my prescription filled with that manufacturer my symptoms returned. Back on Northstar no issues. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you. Keep in mind that if your Costco can get it, and if you have to pay cash, your price thru Costco will most likely be much less. If your insurance covers it, doesn't really matter! I will be keeping good thoughts for you! When I am stressed, too tired, sinus acting up or major weather changes - during those times I sometimes need to increase my dosage. But comparatively speaking, those days are few vs the rest. GOOD LUCK!!