Anybody can share their experiences with Acyclovir?

[snorklenut888]

Not sure yet but I may have no choice but to take this med in my future if I get dropped by ADAP and I can certainly not afford Western prices for Truvada,etc.. It is very cheap at $12 for 180 pills at Walgreens. Manufacturer no longer owns the patent so its very cheap! It dates back to 1986 but I understand they have been making a lot of improvements since then. One article I googled calls it "the drug of 2011." I have read about the most common side effects and the less common ones. I understand that perhaps even the most common side effects are not really that common.

What are your experiences? Any side effects? Does it keep your CD4 count low or undedectable. Or at least was there a big improvement from taking nothing at all? When did you last take it. Feel free to private message me if you prefer.

I have had no load since fairly soon after diagnosis. Of course if I end up having to switch meds I would still have blood work done 2 or 3 times a year.

[Matty the Damned]

Not sure yet but I may have no choice but to take this med in my future if I get dropped by ADAP and I can certainly not afford Western prices for Truvada,etc.. It is very cheap at $12 for 180 pills at Walgreens. Manufacturer no longer owns the patent so its very cheap! It dates back to 1986 but I understand they have been making a lot of improvements since then. One article I googled calls it "the drug of 2011." I have read about the most common side effects and the less common ones. I understand that perhaps even the most common side effects are not really that common.

What are your experiences? Any side effects? Does it keep your CD4 count low or undedectable. Or at least was there a big improvement from taking nothing at all? When did you last take it. Feel free to private message me if you prefer.

I have had no load since fairly soon after diagnosis. Of course if I end up having to switch meds I would still have blood work done 2 or 3 times a year.

Acyclovir?

Acyclovir is effective against some viruses in the Herpes family, namely H. Simplex which causes cold sores and genital herpes and H. Zoster which causes chicken pox and shingles.

As far as I know it has no action against HIV which is not related to Herpes viruses. It won't have any effect on your CD4 count or your viral load.

It is remarkably side effect free.

MtD

[forrest]

I am familiar with this drug     The only thing I'd add to what Matt said would be:

Acycolovir = antiviral drug class
Truvada, etc. = antiretroviral drug class (and when taken in combination, which most antiretrovirals are, then that is called HAART - highly active antiretroviral therapy)

Although related in the sense that they treat viruses... they are definitely different types of drugs. 

[joemutt]

What are your experiences? Any side effects? Does it keep your CD4 count low or undedectable. Or at least was there a big improvement from taking nothing at all? When did you last take it. Feel free to private message me if you prefer.

It is your viral load that would  be kept low or undetectable. When on ARV's your CD4 would go up. But not with Acyclovir.

[leatherman]

Acyclovir has been shown to have anti-HIV properties. This was known back in late 2008 (http://www.jbc.org/content/283/46/31289.abstract). Then in two presentations at CROI 2009 in Montreal, Canada, acyclovir was shown to inhibit HIV during the reverse transcription (RT) step in the virus's life cycle. unfortunately taken alone this would constitute mono-theraphy and not HAART.

Daily treatment with standard-dose aciclovir delays HIV disease progression and lowers viral load in patients co-infected with herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), results of a study presented to the Sixth International AIDS Conference (IAS 2011) in Rome show.

Two more studies presented at the conference found that valaciclovir, aciclovir's sister drug, also reduced viral load in patients and slowed disease progression inpregnant and breastfeeding women.

http://www.aidsmap.com/Daily-aciclovir-slows-HIV-disease-progression-and-reduces-viral-load/page/1880398/

I have been taking acyclovir daily for many years for herpes suppression reasons. As I was HIV UD beforehand, I noticed no change in HIV viral load nor cd4 count during that time I have taken acyclovir; nor have I experienced any side effects whatsoever.

If being able to afford your medications is the underlying issue, you should check into the numerous other venues than just ADAP. ASOs often supply meds for those in need, along with the pharma companies (at their websites or the sites of each medication) themselves giving medications to those eligible or giving co-pay cards in other cases. Depending on what state you are in (meaning if your ADAP has a waiting list), you may be eligible for drug coverage through Welvista (http://www.welvista.org/adap_how.php).

[SoSadTooBad]

Listen to the guys that have responded - do not rely on Acyclovir to keep your VL low and your CD4s high - it won't happen.  My experience with Acyclovir was that my CD4s dropped like a rock, despite taking it.  While it may have mild anti-HIV properties, it is not a generally accepted treatment for HIV infection. 

[emeraldize]

I recalled Peter Staley blogging about his experiences with acyclovir a few years back.

You may find this helpful to read.

http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2008/09/acyclovir_one_r.html