Re: Day 28 on Valtrex - wondering if dosage is right

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

Thank you for your advice. Our DAN says that my son's Valtrex dosage is higher than an adult's and that is why she refused to increase it. He is 45 lbs and is getting 500 mg twice a day. Does this seem like a high dosage to you (I have seen several posts where a higher dosage for this weight is recommended)?

Regarding the anti-fungal, our Dan gave us a script for Diflucan, but asked us to start it in a month (which will be in a couple of weeks). I did read on the importance of having a systemic anti-fungal on board and asked for it. I guess she did not want to give it at the same time as the flagyl.

I am not giving any Lysine at the moment (or arginine, for that matter- I had read about the herpes connection). Is Lysine recommended in conjunction with Valtrex?

Thanks again for your input!

Re: Day 28 on Valtrex - wondering if dosage is right

Couple things. Valtrex does not build up in the system. If that were true, it wouldn't be important to never miss a dose if you can avoid it. If you google around, you'll find plenty of studies showing that improper use leads to the antiviral drugs not working (because of viral mutation). If it's not taken properly, the virus mutates. Most of these studies are done on AIDS patients.

Valtrex has a very short half life.

Most DANs are pretty inadequate in their knowledge of antiviral therapy. And yes, even the big names. Our kids are not on these huge doses that adults are on so the half life is very important. Taking it once or twice a day means that at the point of half life reduction, the amount in the body is too small to be effective.

Good news, though, you know he's a responder. 28 days is not very long and not seeing gains yet is not uncommon . I know of people (and at least one is on this list) that didn't see gains until day 60. But you need a systemic antifungal. From what you've said, it looks to me like you are on antifungal supplements. Those won't be effective. Antivirals switch the immune system from TH1 to TH2 (or vice versa, I can never remember which is which!). TH1 (again, remember that I could have it backwards) controls yeast. TH2 controls everything else. So you are switching to a weaker yeast fighting system, hence the need for a systemic antifungal.

She should be pulling titers every few months, too. You need to see what the antiviral is doing, both outside (visual to you in behavior and physical die off) *and* inside (titers).

Sometime this week I'm going to post a detailed "how to" of antiviral therapy as *I* understand it. Some people on the TACA list have asked for help and there are always so many questions regarding this that I think it would be helpful and allow me to not have to answer the same questions over and over!

If he's high in HHV6 and CMV - avoid arginine and increase lysine. Arginine provides a rich environment for herpes replication.

Cheryl

~http://www.gryffins-tail.blogspot.com

~@midian42~

I joined this group about 5 months ago and have been closely following its posts, which I have found very informative and useful. I am very happy to have joined but have been quite shy about introducing myself (maybe because it is painful to recount certain events..) I find myself now in need of some advice and would greatly appreciate any input you may have.

I am the mother of a 5 year 9 month old boy diagnosed with ASD. We have been doing biomedical treatments for about 2 years. My son was practically non-verbal when we started and is now able to talk but in a very limited way (can make simple requests and respond to yes and no questions). He has also improved in his understanding of language and is able to follow more complex instructions than he did when we started. His eye contact is also much better. He is a very happy and loving child. He is still unable to use complex language and is highly distracted (like he is in a fog most of the time). He has some sensory issues that include flapping his arms, humming and running back and forth, especially when he is bored or unengaged.

The supplements we have used until now include: MB-12 shots (initially every three days and now every other day), Cod Liver Oil, Probiotics, anti-fungals, glutathione, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin b-1, P-5-P, phosphatidylcholine, borage oil, piracetam, molybdenum, manganese, selenium, l-carnosine, l-carnitine, anti-parasites, l-methyl folate, taurine, enhansa, among others. My son is also on a gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, low oxalate diet that also includes the elimination of certain foods he was found to be sensitive to. We have also restricted phenols, but need to work further on this area. We have also done 9 rounds of chelation with EDTA and DMSA suppositories (alternating).

We requested our DAN doctor to start our son on an anti-viral protocol because we suspected he was viral (we had seen some strange rashes come and go- we also noticed that his progress seemed to be slow and sputtering at times, which seems to be characteristic of viral kids). Our DAN agreed to start him on Valtrex. Later a blood test confirmed he had the HHV-6 virus and possibly cytomegalovirus.

Our DAN prescribed Valtrex 500mg twice a day. Our Dan also started our son on Flagyl, because he recently tested positive for Clostridia. So he is currently, on these medications, the supplements mentioned above and various anti-fungals and anti-parasites. (We stopped chelation, however, while we are doing the Valtrex trial.) After 28 days, we have noticed his behavior has regressed a bit. He seems to be very cranky and is waking up a lot in the middle of the night. Last week, we noticed a strange rash on his chest (small red pimple-like eruptions) which spread to his back. At times he acts like he is not feeling well. He is getting a headache or a stomachache very frequently. Some of these symptoms seem to indicate that he may be responding to the Valtrex therapy. However, I have not seen any significant gains yet. I am worried that the dosage may not be adequate and we may just be grazing the surface. I asked our DAN and she said that the dosage was fine; that Val trex builds up so you do not need to come in at a higher dosage.

My son is 45 lbs. I have read in various posts in this group that it is important to dose Valtrex three times per day and that a child around my son's weight should take 500 mg of Valtrex three times a day. (I read Stan Kurtz's papers and many posts.) As mentioned, my DAN is not in agreement with following this approach (she is a reputable DAN doctor, by the way.) Should I follow her approach or continue to push for the higher/more frequent dose. I do not want to lose a valuable opportunity during this trial.

I apologize for the length of this post (I thought the details may be of significance to some of you...)

R.