I honestly don’t recall how they came to this decision. If you have side effects from this medicine, what about the possibility of using condoms instead of antiviral medicine? Condoms reduce transmission by 96% from men to women and likely a similar number from men to men with anal sex. I don’t know what gender your partners are but either way, condoms are a very useful tool in reducing the transmission of HSV. And in your case, since you report negative side effects with this medicine, it sounds like a good alternative. Also, I don’t know how long you tried taking Valtrex but in my experience, for people who have side effects, they often resolve after 2 to 3 weeks on the medicine. Also, sometimes starting with a lower dose and building to the normal dose is useful.
Terri