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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Loss Of Appetite, Dizziness And Headache While On Valacyclovir?

My 63 year old wife has been ill for 2 months now, she went from the Norovirus to the regular Flu to now Shingles (shingles started last Friday). She has been taking Valacyclovir HCL 1 gram tabs since Monday (she had Shingles last year which took her almost 5 months to get completely over it, did not go to doc, thought there was nothing for shingles). The meds has stop the spread and she was up and ate just fine yesterday but today has loss of appetite, headache, dizzy when she goes to the bathroom, gets a little when standing but she is pale a lot normally, and she has slept all day. Should we be concerned because it appears the med is working on the shingles outbreak?
posted on Sun, 26 Mar 2017
Twitter Mon, 17 Sep 2018 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 20 Sep 2018 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

Even though usually Valacyclovir doesn't usually cause any problems, the side effects you report are known to occur with Valacyclovir, and in this case appears likely that Valacyclovir is causing them.

A common regimen for shingles is Valacyclovir 1 gram three times a day for seven days, in which case, since it seems to be helping with her shingles and Valacyclovir possibly helps prevent nerve pain after shingles (known as post-herpetic neuralgia), it might be better for her to complete the treatment, if she can tolerate these side effects for a few more days. While these side effects are unpleasant, they are not dangerous and should resolve soon after she finishes taking the Valacyclovir. I would just recommend she drinks enough fluids to stay well hydrated and hopefully, that will help with the dizziness.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Aaron Branch,
General & Family Physician
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What Causes Loss Of Appetite, Dizziness And Headache While On Valacyclovir?

Hi, Even though usually Valacyclovir doesn t usually cause any problems, the side effects you report are known to occur with Valacyclovir, and in this case appears likely that Valacyclovir is causing them. A common regimen for shingles is Valacyclovir 1 gram three times a day for seven days, in which case, since it seems to be helping with her shingles and Valacyclovir possibly helps prevent nerve pain after shingles (known as post-herpetic neuralgia), it might be better for her to complete the treatment, if she can tolerate these side effects for a few more days. While these side effects are unpleasant, they are not dangerous and should resolve soon after she finishes taking the Valacyclovir. I would just recommend she drinks enough fluids to stay well hydrated and hopefully, that will help with the dizziness. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Aaron Branch, General & Family Physician