Just out of curiousity, how long can a person stay on somemthing like Valtrex to limit asymptomatic viral shredding?

There is no known time limit. As far as I know, there has never been any indication of resistance being developed to the antiviral drugs, nor any side effects as a result of prolonged use. I was on Valtrex and then Acyclovir for 2 years or more, I think. I'm back on Valtrex now.

1in4

if you take the meds. for a long period of time, do you think that your body will end up being immune to it?

OneinFour, why have you been switching your medications?

Originally posted by another20percenter:
OneinFour, why have you been switching your medications?

Hi 20%er,

It was because of financial and insurance reasons. I started off taking free samples of Valtrex through my doctor but couldn't continue that indefinitely. Then I got approval on a drug plan I was on to take Acyclovir on a daily preventive basis. I'm back on daily Valtrex again now because my financial situation has changed since then. I'm paying out of pocket at the moment (ouch) but I felt better on the Valtrex years ago so I wanted to try it again. I was okay on Acyclovir but felt twinges and tiny sore spots occasionally and always wondered if they might be tiny OBs. I was getting them recently when I first started back on the Valtrex too, so maybe it's just my system being stubborn and slow to settle down, not anything about the drug. *shrug*

TheOneInFour