Today marks day 11 on valacyclovir from Northstar. I've seen zero progress and in fact I'm now having daily attacks. It frightens me to imagine how much of my hearing I've began to lose now. Currently low frequencies are shot. I am praying that the antivirals will kick in any day now and start doing something positive for me and that maybe some hearing will return if they do, but who knows. In the past when I tried the JOH regiment or high dose vitamin C, I saw results by now. It's unfortunate those things eventually stopped working for me. If anyone has any input on any of this and how long it took for them and what relief was gained, it'd be appreciated.
What brand and dose are you taking? Are the attacks more frequent than they were before you started? This is common with antivirals as the virus is putting up a fight. I would personally stick with it for at least 3 months at the max dose before giving up. But you have to decide for yourself what you can take.
That actually might be a good thing then. Many people argue that ramping up of symptoms shows that the antivirals are working. I personally would stick with it.
When I first started taking valacyclovir in August 2011, I didn't see good results in anything like 11 days. In September, I had a terrible attack. But that was the only one and the last one. After about three months things settled down. And then I didn't have any attacks, even minor ones, for four years, although the hydrops fluctuated a lot. Dr. Gacek told me that it would take weeks for the drug to build up in my system.
Grade your progress on the trend. It doesnt all happen in a day. Are things starting to get better overall? Fewer episodes? Farther apart? Etc. There will be setbacks, look at the trend. Try to keep other sources of stress down too. Get enough sleep, watch the caffeine etc. Think of it this way. Did you ever have mono (another herpes virus). Did you get better in a day? Were you tired for a while? Think like that. Good luck!
Today I am finally seeing some relief. The crazy ringing has stopped and my sound sensitivity has decreased tenfold. Hopefully I don't jinx it. Added note, I picked up a vitamin d3 liquid supplement, 5000iu after reading of its anti viral properties and I have taken that yesterday and today, that may have added benefit. Thanks for everyone's input above!