It is especially important for your doctor or nurse to check the health of your kidneys if you are taking Vistide. But there is a slight risk that the surgery may damage the eye. A drawback is that the procedure may injure the eye. New drugs in early human trials include lobucavir, 1263W94 and a better type of oral ganciclovir called valganciclovir. People who develop CMV illness usually have a T-cell count less than 50.
Studies disagree on whether the oral form of ganciclovir can prevent CMV illness.
Even if it does, most doctors believe that only people most at risk for developing CMV should be given treatment with oral ganciclovir because of its cost and side effects. Talk with your doctor about whether or not preventive therapy with oral ganciclovir is right for you. Preveon fights HIV as well as CMV and is available free through participation in a clinical study.