I went to see the doctor lady and she said "you have a case of Shingles. I can give you medication that will clear it right up." Yeah, about that.
The rash is pretty much healed up but the pain is still there and impressive. Seems like I had "prodromal pain" which means I had the pain before the rash. And I'm 50+, and I'm a white boy, so apparently I have a 15% chance of having this "neuralgia" for the rest of my life. That don't sound good. It hurts real good, though.
Guess back when I was a tadpole I had the chicken pox, I sorta seem to remember something about that. Not sure what woke it up but I'm sure hoping this is a one-time deal.
Can't sleep unless I eat hydrocodone and can't work if I do. Helluva mess. My neighbor says it basically killed his 67yo dad. The man went from playing golf every day to being dead in less than 3 years. Sounds like the pain and the meds were more than his body could take and he just gave up and went to meet Jesus.
That is a trip I'd rather put off for a while. The Lord and I ain't exactly on a first name basis, not since I went over to the dark side and married this Buddhist chick ;)
I saw some ads on TV about shingles. I remember thinking that I had chicken pox when I was a kid.
Maybe 4-5 months ago, I was reading a brochure in the Dr.s waiting room about shingles. It got my attention. When I saw the Dr. I asked for the shot. My insurance paid for it.
Had it at least three times. The last time it was by my left shoulder blade. I felt like someone had plunged a knife into my back. It lasted six months. Hope you feel better soon. :(
Shingles will seem easy if you meet your maker without knowing Him. I would advise you to find someone who knows Him and be introduced. It is the most important thing you will ever do. Plus the rewards are out of this world.
I had them on my forehead and in my left eye some years ago. Since then, I’ve had them flare up in the nerves of my left forefinger (had to wear a splint for 6 months) and in my throat. On a pain scale of 10, these little suckers read about a 14.5
What medication did the doctor give you?
When I got it I thought I was having a Heart Attack.
Shingles only affects one side of the body, I had the rash from the center of my Chest to the center of my Back.
Having Leukemia, I’ve been through Chemo Regimens twice in the past eight years, and pain from Shingles was a whole lot worse.
If you can get the Vaccine, get it right now.
I had shingles and only washed the infected area with virgin coconut oil and ingested a tablespoon a day for the duration of the breakout. I was lucky because I didn't have any after pain. I got on Valtrex right away and did mega doses of Vitamin C.
A friend had the pain you are suffering from and used acupuncture. It helped him.
Hope that does the trick, as the OP writes, what I hear is not much fun.
I have had cold sores and used this and thought it helped, but don’t know about shingles. Cheap, worth a try, no side affects. Lemon balm is easy to grow. Makes a nice winter time tea. Relaxing. Good luck!
http://voices.yahoo.com/fight-herpes-cold-sores-shingles-lemon-balm-2346476.html
“... I have seen client after client complain of constant misery caused by herpes-family viruses, including herpes simplex 1 (cold sores), herpes simplex 2 (genital herpes), and herpes zoster (shingles).
In all of these cases, my clients said that they felt dramatic improvement in all of these herpes-related symptoms within a matter of minutes or hours after using lemon balm internally or topically...”
Worth a try.
Yes, Shingles really suck. It made me realize that I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but it sucked the life out of me.
I honestly believe that one reason it took about 4 months for me to get over the neuralga might be because I didn’t actually take any time off of work to recover. It was incredibly painful and I needed hydrocodone to get to sleep.
Since I had it, I heard that they’re now using anti-depressants to treat the nerve pain. I’ve also heard that capcacin cream can help too.
It’s not something that I’d wish on an enemy. Best wishes, I hope you recover quickly.
Mark
I had it on my right side on the abdomen from the belly button to my back bone in 2007. It sucked. HC and jack got me through it. Had to shave after the blisters went away because any little hair movement caused pain or bad itching. I wore tight clean cotton t shirts to stop movement of the skin. Bad ju-ju. I would lay in bed and not move.
Took about a year before things were back to normal. Don’t scratch the blisters...feel for ya...but you’re a Texan!...they are tough.
Hey there buddy. Yes it can be very painful. I got my dose of it during the 2000 election, they say bad stress can bring it on. I had mine on the side of my face and in my scalp. Also, some people get it worse than other. A mild outbreak compared to a full blown one. Mine was full blown. I don’t do hydrocodone but made up for it with my favorite 80 proof, basicly stayed passed out for about ten days before I could endure the pain.
Does this mean that everyone who came down with Chicken Pox as a child will end up getting Shingles? I came down with it when I was 10, now I’m heading toward the 50’s. Should I try to get vaccinated.
I got the same thing you did. Started with pain in my chest (thought I was having mini heart-attacks), then a rash on my back - thought it was from a backpack sprayer I'd used to kill weeds, and that I'd got some of the stuff on my back.
Nope. Shingles. Got the meds. It still sucked.
when I had shingles, the doc gave e a shot of B-12. Cleared up within days. Whenever pains return, I take a b-12pill, and it dissappears.
My dad got shingles after his heart operation...he said they were worse than the heart operation or any other pain he'd ever had.
My buddy just went to the Dr. for this last weekend. He has shingles. 53 and white.
My dad got shingles after his heart operation...he said they were worse than the heart operation or any other pain he'd ever had.
So what is the general consensus on the age to get a shot? My dad just got over them from the holidays, he’s 85. Horrible pain with the outbreak on his neck and shoulder area.
I just turned 50 and had a very bad case of the pox at about 5 years of age. Down my throat all over. I’m getting nervous about it especially if I have to miss a lot of work.