AntiVirals

I've taken both and they're about the same. Famvir is a better choice because none of the generics are known to be duds. Also, you can take a lower dose.

 

for those of you that had success with AV, do you ever had relapse? at first i took valtrex and going well for around 6 months after that i changed to acyclovir and going well for about 6 months again. thinking of changing to famvir.

thanks

 

I have only ever tried Famvir and it gave me full relief from vertigo, dizziness, balance issues after a few months. I have remained on a maintenance dose for approx 7 years, only symptoms that have remained are tinnitus and hearing loss. I then came off all medication for almost a full year without any symptoms. Then vertigo started creeping back in again a few weeks ago so I will be back to my full dose of famvir next week! I hope they work for you too!

 

I used Valtrex and had complete relief for about 6 months. All symptoms came back and no matter what I did, I couldn't get back to where I was. I switched to Famvir - per Dr. Gacek's suggestion, and have never gotten the same relief again

I'm still on the Famvir, but don't think I'm a success story unfortunately.

 

Just a suggestion. Try looking for other stresses you can take off the immune system. Sleep? Allergies? Etc etc the immune system can be stressed by a virus but other things too.

 

Thanks June - I actually am getting allergy shots (per one of your posts from awhile back), I'm on JOH and I feel like all I do is sleep. I went to a functional medicine doctor who tested me for everything under the sun and put me on additional supplements. I'm going to try antifungals next just to see. I go to an upper cervical chiropractor and just started with a new appliance for TMJ. I'm nearly in the poor house because NOTHING seems to be covered by my insurance. I'm getting over the flu (For the past two weeks) so I'm definitely not in the best shape right now, but need to start exercising again soon. I haven't had vertigo (knock on wood) since October, so maybe I'm doing better than I think?!!?

 

Oh gee, you are having a rough time of it. But maybe it does mean something that you havent had vertigo since October. Do you think it might be useful to keep a long of dates you start and stop a given treatment along with a log of your symptoms so you can look back after a period of time and see if any correlations pop up? My husband does this with another issue and it is very helpful. Also, sometimes it makes it possible to answer questions from doctors. In my case, the allergy shots took months and years to help but in the long run they really did help me. I quit them after 8 years last year and am still nervous a out that. Hang in there and let us know how it goes.

 

(my first time writing on this blog). My doctor pretty much blew off the idea of taking antivirals for MD, until I took him the study results that I found on this website (thank you to whomever posted it!) He followed the study and first prescribed Acyclovir. After 6 weeks I was still having vertigo, so he went to the next step in the study and prescribed Valtrex. It seems about the same for me - no significant changes to hearing, tinnitus, or vertigo. I'm due to see my ENT next week to discuss progress. My question is this - it sounds like I may not be giving each medication enough of a trial period - what do you think? Or should I give up on the Valtrex too, and try Famvir? By way of background, I don't drink caffeine (not even decaf!) or alcohol, and I eat a low salt diet. My ENT was starting to discuss surgery, and I told him I wanted to try the antivirals first. Any advice is appreciated.

 

What your doses? You should take 3000 mg of Valtrex per day (spread out over 3 times per day) for at least 3 months before calling it a failure.

 

Thanks for your response. Apparently the study recommended 3000 mg of Valtrex for 3 weeks, then 2000 mg for 3 weeks, then a maintenance dose of 1000mg. I'm currently in the 2nd stage - 2000 mg per day. So it sounds like I need to ask my doctor to put me back on 3000 mg for 3 months, which I will do. After 3 months, if I feel improvements, then I should drop down to a maintenance dose, correct?

 

Yes, the study recommends that, but our experience has shown that it often takes much longer for the hard cases. Dr. Gacek is happy to respond via email if you want to contact him before proceeding.

 

Scott, how do you know if av is working? is it complete remission or still have attack but with way less frequency?
thanks

 

Keep a daily log of your symptoms and severity. If things get better, then you know it's working. Some get complete relief, and some get partial relief. Any relief is good, right? .

I would stay at the max dose until the vertigo went away at least. Then taper down.

 

MM tends to be multi-factoral, and you may have more than just a virus. It may be a combination of viral, fungal, and bacterial infections that combine to overwhelm the immune system.

There is plenty of info here on antivirals, but also check out the anti-fungal angle. Nystatin is a safe anti-fungal to start out with. This link has info on anti-fungal meds: http://menieres.org/talk/index.php?topic=264.msg41424#msg41424

Recently, I've begun to think that stealth dental infections might play a role.

Please check out this thread and see if any of it sounds like it applies to you: http://menieres.org/talk/index.php?topic=2830.0

Good Luck!

 

Crap, sorry Tom, wrong thread.

 

you're right Scott. thanks.

PapaJoe, what is the dosage of nystatin? can we also get it from olive leaf extract?

 

I thought I had PM'd you, but apparently didn't. Most folks take the tablet form of Nystatin which is 500,000 units.

The google search I did has numerous references that say that Olive Leaf Extract is effective against fungal infections, so that might be something to try. If OLE is helpful, that might be a reason to try a stronger (ie prescription) anti-fungal.

And keep on the antivirals too.

 

I just got a prescription for Nystatin. I’ll let you all know if it helps with anything!

 

Way cool, yes, please let us know!