Both myself and the wife just received our first Shingles shot. At least here in So Cal the vaccine is in very short supply. We we’re on a two month waiting list. The second dose is probably three months out.
After a relative died from complications and my father had a severe outbreak, I got a shingles vaccination. If I recall, the shot is only recommended after a certain age, fifty, I think, which I hadn’t met. I insisted and paid cash for it as insurance wouldn’t cover it. Several years later, I had a minor outbreak, at about the same age as my father when he had it. I only got a few painful lesions that cleared up after a few weeks. They looked exactly like the ones my father had and were in the same area, but much smaller and with less spread. I recommend that anyone should look into getting this immunization shot. Here are various costs for the shot.
https://spendonhealth.com/shingles-vaccine-cost/
And the vaccine can leave you with a perpetual burning rash that appears at random all over your body, that bubbles up if you scratch it and then leaves bruises.
Shingles wasn’t as bad as what I’ve been going through since I made the mistake of getting vaccinated. You might want to wait until they gt the vaccine right. YMMV.
My husband and I got our shingles vacs last spring/summer. We got the latest version. Didn’t want to take any chances coming down with shingles.
Ok, had to post before I read the article, but the title alone compelled me to say something. Any of you suffering from this affliction have my prayers.
His first words were "This is a medical emergency". That wasn't very comforting, but country doctors aren't always known for their "bedside manners", just their medical experience. He went into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of cortisone pills, and told me to immediately down seven of them, and follow the instructions for the rest. He then said, "come back if they don't help".
They worked on the rash. The pain stayed for months.
Does Medicare Part D pay for the Shingrix shot (almost 100% effective) if Medicare Part D has already paid for your Zostavax shot (just 50% effective)?
I got Zostavax about five years ago, before Shingrix was approved.
Since these shots are really expensive, I am hoping someone at Free Republic has personal knowledge about this issue.
Thank you!
Olive Leaf Extract is very effective for shingles.
Remember that in case you or someone you know ever gets shingles.
It’s shocking that the ER crew couldn’t diagnose shingles. Not a single competent practitioner in the place? It’s not like this is some exotic third world disease.
a combination of prednisone, flexeril, and ibuprofin eliminated zoster pain in my patients in 1-2 days every time I tried it. It always worked. No side effects.
I had shingles on the right side of my face in 2015. Started with what I thought was a toothache. My dentist diagnosed it as shingles and put me on Valtrex. When the pain got really bad my neurologist put me on Gabbapentin (sp?).
But 2 weeks of shingles was NOTHING compared to the post-herpetic neuralgia that followed. Shingles x10. I’d get pain attacks on the right side of my face that had me going into a closet to scream for 2 minutes at a time, about every couple of hours. After 5 days of this my neurologist finally put me on Amitryptalene (sp?), which put an immediate stop to the pain attacks. There were some unfortunate side effects with that medicine, but I didn’t care.
Still suffer with PHN to this day, though the pain is manageable.
Side effects or not, I took the Shingrix shots last year. I’m not going through that again.
Had it in my left eye as part of its progress... YOU DO NOT WANT THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Cornea scarred for life.
I had it. My rash was down the right side of my back. Hurt like a son of a gun. Lasted about 2 weeks with anti virals and pain meds. My Mom still has one finger with no feeling in it from her shingles.
I had ophthalmic shingles three years ago. The day I started to get a couple of itchy welts around my right eye, I rushed to urgent care, thought I had pink eye. Fortunately the doctor immediately diagnosed shingles and got me started on anti-viral medication within an hour.
Starting antiviral medication within the first 72 hours of blisters appearing is key. In my case the blister rash was nowhere near how bad it could have been. Nonetheless I did have blisters on the upper right side of my face, and when the blisters popped, ugly “shingle”-like scabs took their place.
I was off work for almost 4 weeks. During that time I was in a lot of pain and was overwhelmed with fatigue. Thank God, because I caught the shingles early, I have no permanent scarring on my face.
My wife is presently dealing with a bout of Shingles. It’s been over two weeks and the rash is just starting to fade. My father caught Shingles while he was in the nursing home. That’s what killed him.
I sent to my congresscritter a recommendation for a bill that says anyone entering a nursing home as a resident should be required to receive a shingles vaccination prior to entry. Got back a form letter telling me how Republicans are good and Democrats suck.
A note I keep for times like this:
Some years ago, my Mother was having another outbreak of shingles. I didn’t know a thing about shingles, so researched it. From places like WebMD, naturopath groups, and Free Republic (!), this is what I found (keep in mind this was some years ago on the Zostavax reference):
- Shingles is caused by the Herpes Zoster virus which is the same virus as Chicken Pox.
- Shingles around your eyes can blind you.
- There is a vaccine for shingles, called Zostavax. Ask your doctor about a shot. Vaccinated people can still get shingles, but they suffer far less pain and the bout is far shorter.
- A non-immune person can get Chicken Pox from you when you have a shingles outbreak.
To help, L-Lysine clobbers the herpes zoster virus and props up the immune system. Vitamin D3 boosts your immune system, wards off viruses.
When you have an outbreak, take 6000-8000 milligrams of L-Lysine a day. Also up your dose of Vitamin D to 4000 milligrams.
Once your outbreak is all cleared up, take 2000 milligrams of L-Lysine and Vitamin D as a maintenance dose each day.
I bought my Mother the two vitamins, and her shingles were completely gone in about two weeks. She did not have another outbreak before she passed, about 2 years later, where she had been having an outbreak every 6-9 months.
When, last year, my Daughter sent me a picture of a horrible outbreak and told me it was shingles, I sent her the same info as I’d provided my Mom. Daughter’s outbreak was healing in about 3 days after she started the L-Lysine and went from not being able to wear clothing to healing well.
I know you could label this info as anecdotal, but you never know!
Anyone over 50 can get Shingrex, the new shingles shot. Over 97% protection. I just finished my 2 shot protocol this Friday.
There’s a nationwide shortage, so you are going to have to do a lot of legwork getting a hold of the shot.
It’s a virus Kill it with silver
I contracted it 3 years ago (and yes had the shot). It was a terrible ordeal for a month.. but that was just the start
I have had continual chronic severe pain in the chest area since then. continual. severe. And it affects other organ systems. terrible pain when I eat, move, breath. Residual neuralgia is the term I think. There is the normal awful regular pain and then now and then have the social treat of knife jabs to the chest area.
I know everyone has different experiences. Wish mine were better. On top of my other health issues, this is the pits.
I got the earlier version a couple of years back. People are strange - when I told my mother, she said she’d had shingles and she just dealt with it. You don’t know where this will show up and what kind of lasting damage you can have. No way would I just ‘deal with it.’
I am on the waiting list for the new version.