Originally Posted by Zen Pharmacy:
Now, also be forewarned, those things are monster large pills. Nothing is worse than counseling a patient about the medication and that horrified expression they get because their doctor didn't warn them. ;>

Good chance the physician has never seen an actual Valtrex pill. Or the majority of any pills they prescribe.

Originally Posted by Utterly Absurd:
Has anyone gone to see a doctor for prescription medications for cold sores? If so, what did they prescribe and did it work? Also, what kind of doctor did you see? A general physician or what?

Originally Posted by Zen Pharmacy:
Most general practitioners shouldn't have an issue with prescribing it if you ask about it. It's one of those things that they can't really judge how much the cold sores affect your life unless you let them know.

Righto - I think generally you could get the Valtrex from a GP. However, mine has a pretty firm stance against prescriptions for what she considers frivolous reasons. Generally I agree, but not about cold sores - those make me feel disfigured!

Since I have pretty good insurance, I just go to a sympathetic specialist in cases like these. My dermatologist was great about prescribing it for me after he saw my teenage angst over them - which I had no qualms about hiding. Quite the drama queen when it comes to my appearance and blisters on my mouth. :lol:

I'm a nurse around newborns and I can't work if I have a cold sore. Many people don't realize if a newborn in the first few weeks is exposed to the virus that causes cold sores they have very poor immunity to it and can develop a systemic infection that causes brain damage or death. Some of my coworkers have taken Valtrex or use topical acyclovir to dry them up. We have to stay home until the sore is healed. I always try to tell new parents this and remind their visitors that they should not handle the new baby if they have a cold sore present.

Another Valtrex user here = for years. I get break outs 2-3 times a year maybe. Mine are caused by colds or stress, it seems. My prescription comes from my
ob-gyn. At my yearly appt, he writes me scripts for my BC pills and Valtrex. I only wish I had mentioned my break outs sooner. For the longest time I only thought there was over-the-counter relief, which for me, wasn't much relief!

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I don't even remember how the conversation of cold sores came up with my ob-gyn. He probably just asked me how I was doing and I mentioned cold sores and bingo - he wrote me a prescription. I didn't even know there was a drug I could take for cold sores. I mean, both my parents got 'em and suffered through it.

I don't get sick very often so I don't see my primary doctor regularly. So it works out great for me that the initial prescription came from my ob-gyn. I know I'm gonna see him every year.

I don't know anything about the cream. I just take a Valtrex the minute I suspect I have a cold sore coming on - definitely shortens the severity and the degree of my outbreaks.

Can you believe my DH has never had a cold sore? I never kiss him on the lips when I feel an outbreak coming on.

Everytime I go on vacation somewhere hot, I tend to develop a cold sore (or two) after a few days in the sun. When I was in Punta Cana this april, I felt a cold sore coming on and I forgot to bring my medication with me. My friend recommended that I try polysporin to help it heal faster. It actually worked! I was shocked because when I get a cold sore, I will have a mark on my lips 3 weeks after it is gone even if I treat it (which is why I hate cold sores so much, they will take an entire month for me to heal completely). I used the polysporin on it for a few days and it was completely gone. I don't know exactly how or why it worked but it did and it's probably what I will be using the next time that I go somewhere tropical. Also, my friend apparently used to bite her lip when she was asleep so she'd have majorly cracked lips which was why she started using polysporin in the first place. I would have never known until she told me.

Most prescription anti-herpes medications down here (Australia) is only available subsidised if it is used for the treatment of genital herpes. Like murphmitch, I'm a NICU nurse. And prone to cold sores. Not a good combination.

I went to the infectious diseases specialist here at work last year because I had to take over 3 weeks off on "cold sore leave" over the preceding 12 months. He registered me as a genital herpes sufferer and put me on a course of some anti-viral whose name escapes me right now. I haven't had a cold sore for over 12 months!

So no time off work, no sore lips, and I won't accidentally kill any babies (not that I did before, but ... ) It was totally worth it.

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