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Shingles, any one?

quarky

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Q
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Oct 15, 2007
Messages
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This is not a roofing thread.

I've got freaking shingles!
What a hassle!

Not seeking medical advice so much as commiseration.
I was late in taking action. I thought the rash was from a mess of tick bites I had in the same area as the rash. My googling told me that the anti-viral meds were fairly pointless after 72 hours, but I went to the doc anyway, mostly because of the absurd pain.

He prescribed the anti-viral meds anyway.
What a weird virus!

Its the same virus as chicken pox, btw, making a late in life resurgence.

Ice seems to help more than anything else I can come up with, but I'd like to hear any one's tales of how they coped with this. I've been under a small barrage of folk remedies from well meaning friends of the woo-ish persuasion.

Pre-thanks for advice or merely sharing the misery.
 
My middle son had shingles when he was in kindergarten. He was so used to pain, though, that he never complained.
 
I had a bout with shingles a few years ago.

Take whatever pain meds you can get your doc to give you. I prefer a dull ache to sharp stabbing pain.

The anti-virals can't hurt so take them if you can afford them, they are not cheap.

Good luck, and try to avoid stress as I think that may have helped bring on my case, even if that is a little woo.
 
I was unlucky enough to get shingles a few years ago myself.

Without a doubt, the most ill I've ever felt. I hope you beat it quickly.
Not quite the worst pain I've had, but it's not far off.

I think I used ibuprofen at first, before the rash broke out in all its glory, but as soon as we recognised it I went on anti-virals as well. Thankfully my family isn't prone to woo, so it was straight to tried and tested medicine.

It is a fascinating virus though. Particularly in the way that since it attacks the nerves it only ever manifests on one side of the body. I had the rash on my face, and it was quite funny how I looked perfectly normal from one side, but on the other I looked like death. You could trace the line perfectly down the nose.
 
Worst pain ever, although being a guy I obviously can't comment on childbirth.

I also left it late but took anti virals when I couldn't stand it any longer, but being in the U.K. these were free, or whatever the price of a prescription was 20 years ago.

Calamine lotion was recommended but only made the pain worse for me:jaw-dropp

It's a tricky virus and even now I still get some pain in the old scars when I might be run down or a bit ill with something else.

You have my sympathies.
 
roger said:
Yet, oddly...

shingles are the cure for a bad roof
roofies are the cure for bad shingles


things that make me go hmmmm....
Click to expand...

That was poetry, roger.
I'd do some roofies about now, and not even take advantage of me if I passed out.

The silver lining in this (garf, I'm Pollyanna) is that i got to read up on this incredible virus. What an odd beastie! Dodges the normal assault of our immunity weapons by hiding out in the neurons.

This is the most pointless pain I've ever had, other than that.Glad I don't have phantom-limb pain. That must be extra bizarre to cope with.

Thanks for the empathetic vibes.

Any species of snake oil I should be applying to my oozing skin?
Any lines I could use to get my sweetie to cuddle?

(I want to snuggle when I'm in pain, but she's on to me.)
 
Funny.

I got them once. It started with a backache, and I noticed that there was a rash on my side. I figured maybe the two were related so I went to the doc.

There's a lot of confusion on the subject; I was told in no uncertain terms that because I'd never had chicken pox as a kid, I had shingles now.

But I've seen the opposite info being given at the hospital where I work.



ETA: not horribly painful for me at least, mostly irritating. I was washing dishes in a restaurant at the time, and continued to work.
 
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The herpes virus that causes chicken pox is contagious, if you have shingles, and are exposed to kids (or regular people with phone numbers) that have not had chicken pox yet.
Otherwise not.

I can't believe my ol' lady doesn't want to snuggle the oozing groaning -ness of my new personality.

The most embarrassing part is that the babe at the pharmacy that filled the script might have thought I needed the drug for genital herpes. Same drug mostly used for both.

I should have insisted on a note from my doctor to the pharmacist to dispel such potential career-destroying rumors.

(Hey, small town guy here; one drug-store; not much to talk about.)
 
You got cooties dude. Sick. Everyone in town knows.

I'm glad it hasn't recurred for me; I'm wary of the least twinge in my back.
 
I've got that virus. (It stays resident and tends to resurface if you are stressed physically).
I had it on the lumbar back. Not much fun, but nowhere near as bad as toothache.
Of course, they can't extract your spine.

I found icing it helped quite a lot. It hasn't recurred and I hope it won't.
May you soon get over it.
 
Stress as a factor in developing shingles is not woohoo medicine. The neurological component is well known, as your sawbones will tell you, and stress can trigger at attack. I have no doubt that it did so in my case -- and when I explained my emotional situation at the time to a dermatologist, he wasn't at all surprised.

The only good part about shingles is that it probably won't recur.

Go easy on yourself. You deserve it when you've got effing shingles!
 
bobdroege7 said:
...
The anti-virals can't hurt so take them if you can afford them, they are not cheap.

....
Click to expand...
Actually, acyclovir is generic and very cheap. Either you bought it before it went off patent, or you got a bad deal. Or you were prescribed one of the newer, but not necessarily better versions which are not yet off patent.

And expensive or not, antivirals do shorten the course and prevent post-herpetic neuralgia, so they are well worth the expense.
 
I had shingles for a couple of months that sent an electric feeling shock from my right shoulder blade to my right nipple whenever I lifted my right arm.
It was fantastic...
:D
 
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Yep, had 'em. I was minutes away from being diagnosed with gallbladder issues, when I mentioned "this patch of bumps" right here on my back...

It was the weirdest, most painful pain I've had in a long time.

And, like you quarky, I'm intrigued by the one-side only aspect of it (mine went around my right side, slightly above my waist, from my spine to my front), and other stuff. I've had one recurrence, which the anti-virals I started immediately nipped in the bud. Since then, so far, not again.
 
sackett said:
Stress as a factor in developing shingles is not woohoo medicine. The neurological component is well known, as your sawbones will tell you, and stress can trigger at attack. I have no doubt that it did so in my case -- and when I explained my emotional situation at the time to a dermatologist, he wasn't at all surprised.

The only good part about shingles is that it probably won't recur.

Go easy on yourself. You deserve it when you've got effing shingles!
Click to expand...
Stress does seem to be a trigger in many cases though not all cases.

Shingles only rarely recurs (except in the immunocompromised). CDC cites studies suggesting recurrences might be more common, but there are other studies suggesting a wrong diagnosis accounts for some cases of "recurrent shingles". Herpes simplex type 1 or 2 is often misdiagnosed as shingles, (the herpes zoster virus), when the recurrence is located away from the genitals or lips. Many providers are unaware that HSV 1 & 2 both can occur in unexpected locations, especially on one's bottom.

With the varicella vaccine it is possible we could see a change in the pattern of shingles as less community exposure and natural boosting of one's antibodies from exposure to natural cases declines. (But that is not a reason to stop vaccinating except in 3rd world countries, not a subject in this thread and not easily discussed in 25 words or less.) The problem will be solved with varicella vaccine boosters for older folks.

Even though the shingles vaccine is recommended for people over 60, there are still pros and cons for the individual deciding to get the vaccine. It is still very expensive and the inexpensive antivirals are another option.

Here's the ACIP Recommendation for those who want more of the science than the summary in the above link.
 
HawaiiBigSis said:
Yep, had 'em. I was minutes away from being diagnosed with gallbladder issues, when I mentioned "this patch of bumps" right here on my back...

It was the weirdest, most painful pain I've had in a long time.

And, like you quarky, I'm intrigued by the one-side only aspect of it (mine went around my right side, slightly above my waist, from my spine to my front), and other stuff. I've had one recurrence, which the anti-virals I started immediately nipped in the bud. Since then, so far, not again.
Click to expand...
Shingles results from the varicella virus becoming incorporated into a single spinal column nerve root so when it occurs it occurs along the area that nerve root leads to.

And if you had a classic single dermatome location and the recurrence was in the same spot, that would likely be a true recurrence and not a misdiagnosed one. HSV 1&2, while they do recur in the same one spot, don't tend to be in the same pattern as around one's side.
 
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