Days 1-3 of Valtrex* treatment
My apologies for not having written sooner. I would have, but I've been sick. On Saturday night it started with a terrible sore throat. The stabbing pain plus normal insomnia kept me awake from 1:00 a.m. until after 6:00 a.m. The first thing I did after getting up Sunday morning was make myself a bowl of ramen and drink almost all the broth as hot as I could stand it. (Yeah... great nutrition, I know, but the hot saltiness felt sooooo good!) I had some reservations about starting the Valtrex that day as planned. A fellow CFS/ME sufferer from Phoenix Rising who has taken Valtrex for over a year noticed that Valtrex seemed to make his colds hang around longer so he advised that I wait until after the cold had passed. Against his advice (because I'm desperate to feel better all around! I've got work to do! :P)
I started the treatment on Sunday as planned with one gram in the afternoon. That night I didn't sleep well again and I was worried because I'd heard some people react to Valtrex with worse sleeping disorders than they had before. I took another gram yesterday afternoon and had a bit of trouble getting to sleep, but slept all night just fine. Hopefully it will stay that way with my sleep not being negatively affected.
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I spied something white in the back of my throat... two white somethings. White patches. That's a terrifying sight if you've ever had mono or strep. Since I had no other cold symptoms my first thought was, "I have strep throat.... Crap!" So we made a doctor's appointment for this afternoon. However, I am feeling much better now, both in the sickness (sore throat/cold) and illness (CFS). My hope is that the Valtrex is beginning to liberate my immune system from fighting the EBV and that is why I am feeling better in both respects. Today I've already taken one gram and I will take the other gram with dinner, and tomorrow I will probably increase to the full dosage of three grams daily. I cancelled the doctor's appointment since the white patches are shrinking and other symptoms are disappearing with basic home care. I'll keep you all posted!
*I'm actually taking the generic, Valacyclovir. Valtrex is just easier to type. :)
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Disclaimer: If you have a health resource you can't resist sharing, I would love to hear about it if you feel it will be truly helpful. I am already doing my best to fight this illness from a nutritional, structural, as well as medical stand-point. Please avoid comments with "miracle cure" stories about your Aunt Milly's granddaughter who drank coltsfoot tea for a week and has been fine ever since. I'm very thankful it worked for her in her case, but there are so many environmental, emotional, and other factors that make CFS/ME complicated and different from just an average illness. That being said, please leave thoughtful and uplifting comments below.