Shingles

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cloudboy -> Shingles (7/13/2007 9:00:07 PM)
I had a very stressful work period ontop of some other shit. As a result, I contracted the shingles. I just finished a week long prescription of Valtrex. The rash is going down but the pain is persistent on the left side of my torso. Its a combination stomach ache / internal bruising feeling. No fun, let me tell you. Anyway, I'm curious when the pain will begin to subside and go away. So, if you've had the shingles, I'd like to hear your story. How did you get it? Did you take any meds? How long did it last? How severe was your pain? How would you describe the pain you experienced? 10 days into this thing and it still hurts like a bastard...... keeping busy and distracted is about the best method I've found to cope with this yicky condition.

MySweetSubmssive -> RE: Shingles (7/13/2007 9:20:59 PM)
Sorry to hear about the pain. Would you be willing to go to an acupuncturist or a reputable herbalist for this? I've heard that both modalities can be quite useful for shingles. MSS

slavegirljoy -> RE: Shingles (7/13/2007 9:27:13 PM)
Shingles is a disease that is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Even if you never had visible signs of chickenpox, you were, at some point in your life, exposed to the virus. The virus lies dormant in the nerves and, later on, it can become active, in the form of shingles, after being triggered by a weakened immune system, either because of stress, age, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, and/or illness/infection. The pain can be very severe i feel very sorry for you, because i recently witnessed my Master's 75 year old mother suffer with shingles, right after she had completed 2 1/2 months of chemo and radiation for her lung cancer. She had to take very large and very powerful pain pills, along with the acyclovir to treat the virus. If you aren't taking pain medicine, you might want to ask your doctor about that. Hopefully, you will be able to overcome this and not have to endure many more bouts of this disease and you won't have to suffer too much. In May 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved use of a vaccine to prevent shingles. The vaccine, called Zostavax, is recommended for people 60 years of age and older who have had chickenpox but who have not had shingles. Good luck to you. slave joy Owned property of Master David quote: ORIGINAL: cloudboy I had a very stressful work period ontop of some other shit. As a result, I contracted the shingles. I just finished a week long prescription of Valtrex. The rash is going down but the pain is persistent on the left side of my torso. Its a combination stomach ache / internal bruising feeling. No fun, let me tell you. Anyway, I'm curious when the pain will begin to subside and go away. So, if you've had the shingles, I'd like to hear your story. How did you get it? Did you take any meds? How long did it last? How severe was your pain? How would you describe the pain you experienced? 10 days into this thing and it still hurts like a bastard...... keeping busy and distracted is about the best method I've found to cope with this yicky condition.

defiantbadgirl -> RE: Shingles (7/13/2007 9:30:23 PM)
Most people catch the chicken pox (herpes zoster) during childhood. In some cases, the virus appears later in life as shingles, so you may or may not have caught the virus at work. All forms of herpes are extremely easy to catch. Take genital herpes for example. Doctors say that only 25% of the population is infected and that it is spread even when symptoms aren't present. They also say that 95% of the population is infected with oral herpes and that both genital and oral herpes can be spread to either area through oral sex. If only 25% of the population gets cold sores on their genitals, that would mean only 25% engage in oral sex. Herpes is herpes and all forms can be spread through sex, oral sex, kissing, or even drinking from the same straw. You would actually be a minority if you didn't have some form of herpes. My advice.......just take your meds and don't worry about it.

TexasMaam -> RE: Shingles (7/13/2007 9:33:15 PM)
a family member of ours suffers w shingles. Shingles are usually caused by an outbreak of a residual zoster virus that is the result of a childhood smallpox vaccine. Yep, a vaccine from when you were a bitty boy. Taking chlorampherine maleate actually helped. It's an inexpensive oral antihistamine. You can still find it as a single ingredient at pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS/Eckerds. Makes you sleepy though, take it at night. Combining that little yellow tablet with Zovirax topical creme really helps soothe the pain. Our patient had to stay on Valtrex, chlorampherine maleate tabs at night, and ibuprophen to stop the shooting pains, for about 8 weeks. ...And that was after three to four weeks on tegetrol, an anti seizure medication that's made for painful neuralgia. Hope you feel better soon. Maybe one of these will help. TM

DommeChains -> RE: Shingles (7/13/2007 11:30:21 PM)
Post herpatic neuralgia is a common result of a bout of shingles. The duration & intensity of pain varies for each person of course but to have some degree of pain for several weeks to a few months after the vesicles dry up is not unusual. The suggestion for trying acupuncture is, in my opinion, a good one. I have seen many patients have good results with nerve pain from acupuncture. You should also go see your doctor again and let the doc know that you are still experiencing pain. The stress of enduring the pain could even possibly trigger another outbreak of shingles. I saw my mother, who was a stoic of heroic proporations break down sobbing with the pain from her bout of shingles. This is a woman who endured massive chemo and radiation therapy without a single whimper. Nerve pain is, in my nursing opinion, one of the worse types of pain to experience and should be treated aggressively. I wish you a speedy recovery and you have my sympathy for going through this. A stinging butt is fun pain....burning, deep nerve pain from shingles is antifun.

habibi -> RE: Shingles (7/14/2007 3:41:56 AM)
i have had shingles a total of 3 times. it's partly what made me realize that the life i was living was NOT for me. i was getting so stressed out i had a heart arrythmia, shingles and my MS came to light with a bang...all due to stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition. 2 times my shingles pain lasted about 4-6 months, but the second time, which was the worst, i still had some residual pain for almost a year. i'd get this very bruised feeling and occasionally this terrible stabbing pain in my spine (which is where all of the lesions concentrated) i was on either darvocet, vicodin or ultram for the pain...and to my mind, it's wise to take pain meds when they're available for this type of pain since normal NSAIDs don't really do a whole lot and the pain can really disrupt your day. i also used Zostrix HP which you can find in the "pain cream" aisle. it's capsaicin, which comes from peppers....it's useful for both itching and nerve pain. you have to use it a couple of times a day, every day for it to work, but it does work in many people. there are other options out there for nerve pain like neurontin and a few antidepressants, but i've never had any luck with them. i found that other than the things i've mentioned after you finish your antivirals, it's just a waiting game. but, eventually all you'll be left with is nasty memories of the time. until then, try to boost your immune system any way you can and reduce your stress!!! life is never worth that kind of pain, lol!

zindyslave -> RE: Shingles (7/14/2007 8:00:51 AM)
If you have had chicken pox that doens't mean you will get shingles..does it?

IvyMorgan -> RE: Shingles (7/14/2007 8:02:34 AM)
No, just that you carry the virus. It's a bit like a coldsore in that, if you've had chicken pox, and you get horribly run down, you might get shingles. Edit: For nerve pain, you can also try an anti-epileptic such as gabapentin or pregabalin. Gabapentin works well, but try and keep the dose as low as possible, because possible side effects include seizure like symptoms.

mistoferin -> RE: Shingles (7/14/2007 8:06:44 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: TexasMaam Shingles are usually caused by an outbreak of a residual zoster virus that is the result of a childhood smallpox vaccine. Yep, a vaccine from when you were a bitty boy. This is not true. Small pox and shingles are unrelated. Shingles is a recurrence of a chicken pox infection. Different virus entirely.

SirStephan55 -> RE: Shingles (7/14/2007 8:13:34 AM)
mistoferin is correct - it is a residual from chicken pox, NOT from the small pox vaccine. See http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/shingles.htm for detailed information. Also "In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved a VZV vaccine (Zostavax) for use in people 60 and older who have had chickenpox."

cloudboy -> RE: Shingles (7/15/2007 12:45:27 AM)
Thanks for all the advice. As long as it doesn't go the PHH route, I'll be pretty happy. Reading stories of worst case scenarios on the internet can be pretty frightening.

NovelApproach -> RE: Shingles (7/16/2007 4:47:01 AM)
I had shingles a few years ago, took antibiotics and slept pretty much constantly until the rash cleared up. I've been living with nerve damage in my face since then, but its usually not bad enough to cause me any problems. In your case, I'm guessing the rash should probably heal soon and the pain should go away within a few weeks after that. If either one of those things doesn't happen, you might want to talk to your doctor. N.

missjan -> RE: Shingles (7/16/2007 5:07:10 AM)
I have had shingles, probably 5 times. It is strange, because I break out in the exact same places, every time. My doctor gives me Lyrica for it. Sorry to hear You are suffering with this...

cloudboy -> RE: Shingles (7/24/2007 12:38:11 PM)
I want to thank everyone for their input. My shingles has now pretty much run its course. I think taking Valtrex at its onset kept it somewhat in check. Anway, I had pretty persistent steady pain for about 2.5 weeks. At the 10 day mark it seemed things peaked, and that was when I was most worried about "what is going on" and "when is this going to start getting better." I was pretty stoic about it, and never took more than Tylenol or Advil for the pain. I really feel for anyone that develops PHH. I think that would be pretty nightmarish.

earthycouple -> RE: Shingles (7/24/2007 2:00:01 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: defiantbadgirl My advice.......just take your meds and don't worry about it. Not so great advice. Shingles is severely painful for most and for you to tell him to buck up really sucks. I wish you a very speedy recovery from this pain, OP. As others suggest, get pain meds from the doc and try alternative therapies too.

sub4hire -> RE: Shingles (7/26/2007 11:20:40 AM)
Doug got shingles in 2002. He never had much pain. Gave me the chicken pox as well that year. About 6 month's later a good friend of ours contracted shingles. She still has pain to this day. So, as someone stated it varies individual to individual. It may be how fast you got help? No idea really. Hopefully your pain will subside and never come back.

bliss1 -> RE: Shingles (7/27/2007 10:29:47 AM)
As someone who also has had an adventure with shingles - I can relate. The pain is pretty severe. The bad news is that it can last up to several years. (I was lucky and had the pain for about 6 months after.) Do see your doctor for some relief - a good doc will help out.

came4U -> RE: Shingles (8/2/2007 7:44:05 AM)
I had a neighbor lady from Poland that told me she saved her (fresh)urine to pour onto her shingles., her re-occurs every few years. The urine both relieves pain and, as a mild form of amonia, speeds healing. Look it up and try it.

phoenixinchains -> RE: Shingles (8/6/2007 10:24:26 PM)
One summer my Mate when was twenty He was roofing a house in the dead of summer. He came home with the worst sun-burn i (a redhead) have ever seen, then He got very sick. The ring had nearly reached His navel before He got treatment, and He was in a lot of pain. Yes, my Husband got shingles while roofing. i've heard that if you got severe chicken pox as a child, you won't get shingles later on. i didn't get sick while i was caring for Him, but i'm not sure if that's true or an ole' wives' tale- phoenix

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