shingles sucks.

**el hefe** · 04-22-2010, 01:21 PM

Bump for my fucking shingles! too many sled ski/drinking trips I think (Doc asked me if I am an alcoholic!)

Anyone still feeling pain from theirs? My doc thinks long term pain on my back, ribs, stomach are a possibility and it is killing me right now.

Any other suggestions - acupuncture etc...?

**Spats** · 04-22-2010, 04:09 PM

There is evidence that we are getting shingles much more often now -- because now that we vaccinate kids for chicken pox, our immunity is no longer being boosted by being around people with chicken pox. Since shingles is much worse than chicken pox (one in five victims ends up with "post-herpetic neuralgia", i.e. the pain doesn't go away, and shingles kills many more people than chicken pox), the chicken pox vaccine most likely kills more people than it saves!

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/09/01/12896.aspx

"Another recent peer-reviewed article authored by Dr. Goldman and published in Vaccine presents a cost-benefit analysis of the universal chicken pox (varicella) vaccination program. Goldman points out that during a 50-year time span, there would be an estimated additional 14.6 million (42%) shingles cases among adults aged less than 50 years, presenting society with a substantial additional medical cost burden of $4.1 billion."

"The principal reason that vaccinees in Japan maintained high levels of immunity 20 years following vaccination was that only 1 in 5 (or 20%) of Japanese children were vaccinated," he said. "So those vaccinated received immunologic boosting from contact with children with natural chickenpox. But the universal varicella vaccination program in the U.S. will nearly eradicate this natural boosting mechanism and will leave our population vulnerable to shingles epidemics."

**mmmthmtskier** · 04-23-2010, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Alpine Dreams

Their is a vaccine for Shingles http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/...s/vac-faqs.htm

My Dad got shingles a few years back and he only recently got back to his old self again(He contracted it in his late-70's). This vaccine had just come out during his outbreak but was not covered under his medical insurance. I really pushed him to get the vaccination, even offered to pay his expenses. A year later it was covered under the insurance(Kaiser) and now both he and my Mom got vaccinated.

It disturbs me to read how younger maggs have had to deal with this. I thought it was it was a disease confined to the elderly. I learned something new.
Those who have had shingles, ask your doctor about the vaccine and get it even if you have to pay for it out of pocket. I hope neither of my parents suffer like my dad did.

My mom told me she heard that some people who get it in their eye commit suicide because the pain is so bad...

**Goddard** · 04-23-2010, 02:33 AM

Just go for a Google search you will definitely find the solution....

**iggyskier** · 04-23-2010, 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by el hefe

Bump for my fucking shingles! too many sled ski/drinking trips I think (Doc asked me if I am an alcoholic!)

Anyone still feeling pain from theirs? My doc thinks long term pain on my back, ribs, stomach are a possibility and it is killing me right now.

Any other suggestions - acupuncture etc...?

Realized I already posted in this thread, so figured I would just keep this short.

Got it when I was 18. Didn't do anything about it until it was too late, hurt like a bitch.

23 now. Definitely get pain when I am not sleeping well, stressed, partying too much, etc. Best I can describe it would be someone taking a lit match and putting it out on my skin...quick wave of burning and it goes away, then repeats. Other times it is a bit more constant...but while noticeable, that is all it is. Never affect me/my life in any other way. Definitely notice it less when I am healthier.

Damn did it suck at the time though. Good luck!

**carvedog** · 04-23-2010, 05:36 AM

Originally Posted by rideit

OK, I'll share one of my worst pre-adolescent/adolescent moments...

I had shingles when I was 14.
All over my tender bits.

Local hospital had never seen such a case, and proceeded to use me as a case study for 12 mixed gender medical students at John's Hopkins. So there I am, barely with pubes, and covered in a painful, humiliating rash. Being 'studied' by girls.

That ranks as one of my life's worser moments.

Shit rideit that sounds like a nightmare for a young guy.

I had it bad enough a few years back when I had a very unusual rash on my unit. It turned out to not be std related ( or shingles ) which is what was scaring the fuck out of me.

My doctor decided to make it a teaching moment and called in his intern. Hot late twenties, brunette ......that I would be all over if I saw her at the bar. So very uncomfortable. Still brings back the weirdness to think about it.

So my wife may have this. On her forehead and up onto her scalp. I hope it's just a spider bite or something. Seems like it should follow nerve lines??

Its in the middle of her forehead and then kind of trails off to the right under her scalp. She has swollen lymph nodes on the right side and some pain on the right side of her face.

Any nerve experts know the paths it might take on the head? Unless we find out something different she is going to the doc today anyway.
Damn.

**concretejungle** · 02-14-2011, 08:07 PM

Bump for shingles. This place is a goldmine of info. Mine doesn't itch/hurt much so I'll shut up but this kind of sucks. I'm 29 and while wouldn't wish this on anyone it's nice to know I'm not the only younger person who had it.

**mrburns** · 02-15-2011, 10:28 AM

I was diagnoses with shingles in November, I'm 35. I was having shooting pains down the right side of my face, and had a couple weird sores pop up on my head and face. Not awesome stuff. I took a full round of the drugs from the doctor, and the symptoms went away after about three weeks. Since then I have been taking L-lysine as a daily supplement and (knock on wood) the symptoms have almost completely gone away. I don't know if the stuff is working or the symptoms just went away, but I am planing on sticking with it. There are also some dietary changes that I have implemented, limiting caffeine, peanuts, and trying to cut out processed foods, which is a good idea, shingles or not. Lots of good dietary info on the interweb.

This is what I am taking, hope it helps..

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CFAQ8gIwBA#

**Roo** · 05-09-2011, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by smitchell333

A colleague of mine got it in her eyes. Supposedly one of the most painful things around. She was out for the better part of 2 months.

This is the joy that I'm having at the moment. Agonising doesn't begin to cover it. Stabbing, migrainous episodes every ten seconds or so. Fuck, this is HORRIBLE.

**iceman** · 05-09-2011, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Roo

This is the joy that I'm having at the moment. Agonising doesn't begin to cover it. Stabbing, migrainous episodes every ten seconds or so. Fuck, this is HORRIBLE.

Holy shit man, I'd never even heard of getting it in your eyes until this very minute. You may need to take up drinking. Heal up. Just yesterday I saw a sign at the local pharmacy offering shingles vaccine shots and I just walked on by. Tomorrow I think I'll go back there.

**WrongWay** · 05-09-2011, 03:16 PM

Shingles suck mightily!

I found relief from a "colloidal oatmeal bath". They are messy, but feel really good when your skin is on fire.
http://colloidaloatmeal.com/

**SchralphMacchio** · 05-09-2011, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by Roo

This is the joy that I'm having at the moment. Agonising doesn't begin to cover it. Stabbing, migrainous episodes every ten seconds or so. Fuck, this is HORRIBLE.

Man I wouldn't wish that on the worst of my enemies. Vibes mate, maybe spread some marmite in your eye and pound some whiskey?

Originally Posted by iceman

You may need to take up drinking. Heal up.

and just in case anyone's meter is broken, Roo you should not be having anything to do with alcohol right now. I bet you are on crazy drugs but you have to do whatever you can to make your immune system happy so that you can heal faster. That means no booze for a while, lots of meditation and rest. I know it's pretty hard to sleep when your eye sockets are on fire.

++++vibes

**iceman** · 05-09-2011, 04:06 PM

He doesn't drink anyway, it was along the lines of a joke. Well, not a joke, exactly, more like a palindrome.

**brice618** · 05-09-2011, 06:44 PM

I still keep my left over meds near by in case I get a flair up. Its already been said, but don't touch that shit. I still have a scar from mine.

**BCMtnHound** · 05-09-2011, 07:13 PM

Healing Vibes, Roo! Hope it clears up really quick and with no lasting effects.

Suffered it for 3 weeks on my neck and shoulder in my mid twenties. Came out in the same spot a nasty spider bite I got while working in the bush two days earlier. Fucking huge arachnid with a bright yellow abdomen the size of my thumbnail (and I got big mitts). Young lady doctor in the small town I was in did the diagnosis, prescribed nothing but over-the-counter tylenol, and refused to associate the bite with the break-out. Wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially those nasty cases that migrate to both sides of the body.

**SchralphMacchio** · 05-09-2011, 07:16 PM

man I hate seeing this thread bumped.

Originally Posted by brice618

I still keep my left over meds near by in case I get a flair up. Its already been said, but don't touch that shit. I still have a scar from mine.

How did it end up messing with your grad studies? Everything worked out?

**JoeStrummer** · 05-09-2011, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by SchralphMacchio

man I hate seeing this thread bumped.

I'm with you. I had them last August - think it was the result of riding my bike 500 miles a week for 2 months. The worst of it only lasted a week or so but my lower back was sore for about 4 months afterwards on my right side. Worst shit ever.

**brice618** · 05-09-2011, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by SchralphMacchio

How did it end up messing with your grad studies? Everything worked out?

It ended up not being too bad. Fortunately I had finished most of the project that was due when I figured out I had it. Long story short, I graduated, and haven't touched the degree since. Though I do find out this week if I get my first "real" job, so maybe the jury is still out.

It is still the most painful thing I can imagine short of being burned alive.

**SchralphMacchio** · 05-09-2011, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by brice618

It is still the most painful thing I can imagine short of being burned alive.

I would have agreed this time last year, had some freakish shit not subsequently happened to me in the summer ... but lung surgery is pretty fucking make you cry like a 5-week old baby painful if you try to get off your meds the day after surgery. Shingles was much more prolonged though.

I'm not using my Master's either for what it's worth, but I do get to dickwave at work when the new engineers try to get all technical with me (the marketing guy) and I drop some knowledge.

**Roo** · 05-10-2011, 03:28 AM

Originally Posted by BCMountainHound

Healing Vibes, Roo! Hope it clears up really quick and with no lasting effects.

Suffered it for 3 weeks on my neck and shoulder in my mid twenties. Came out in the same spot a nasty spider bite I got while working in the bush two days earlier. Fucking huge arachnid with a bright yellow abdomen the size of my thumbnail (and I got big mitts). Young lady doctor in the small town I was in did the diagnosis, prescribed nothing but over-the-counter tylenol, and refused to associate the bite with the break-out. Wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially those nasty cases that migrate to both sides of the body.

Cheers guys. Strange that a spider bite brought yours on. I got nailed on the eyelid by a horsefly nine days ago and that was what triggered it. Doctors reckoned a shock to the nervous system like that can spark your old chicken pox back to life.

I just really regret missing my wife's 40th birthday party due to being in hospital with it.

**snapt** · 09-14-2014, 08:02 PM

Andddddd bump, thought I came down with poison ivy last week, normal treatment didn't work. Back to the doctor today, and its shingles. Isolated to my back, ribcage, and right under my nipple. It didn't feel too bad until today. Pretty much feels like someone beat me with a baseball bat then lit me on fire right now. At least they perscribed me some Norco's. Fingers crossed for no lasting damage. I guess I'll work from home just in case somebody never got the pox?

**Viva** · 09-14-2014, 10:01 PM

You'll be fine in a week, in all likelihood. Once the pain subsides, you can carve away the blisters with a razor blade- they'll come off pretty easily. That's what I did.

I had shingles once. Happened after a 12 hour trail race. During the race on the second downhill leg on the second leg (this was an out-n-back course with a peak in the middle), I tripped, fell forward and rolled, landing on my back. Then, I fucking did it again in almost the exact same point along the course, landing on almost the exact spot on my back, in front of the same fucking people (we were running together those first few out-n-backs). I heard about those falls for a while thereafter.

**Bunion 2020** · 09-15-2014, 07:32 AM

This is the reason I really like TGR. This spring during annual physical my MD wrote me a Shingles Vax. Script.

Went to have it filled and holy shit! Cost is 275.00!

Called my Insurance provider. No coverage until I am 60, WTF?????

Decided to gamble and wait 4 more years until I visited this thread.

Seems like a cheap investment now, thanks and vibes to those afflicted.

**TBS** · 09-15-2014, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by Bunion

This is the reason I really like TGR. This spring during annual physical my MD wrote me a Shingles Vax. Script.

Went to have it filled and holy shit! Cost is 275.00!

Called my Insurance provider. No coverage until I am 60, WTF?????

Decided to gamble and wait 4 more years until I visited this thread.

Seems like a cheap investment now, thanks and vibes to those afflicted.

FWIW, a business partner got the shingles vax and two weeks later was in the ICU. After three weeks in hospital and a couple of up-close meetings with the grim reaper, the docs concluded it was an allergic reaction to the vaccine.

**that dude who did that thing** · 09-15-2014, 08:55 AM

I had a bout with it 10 years ago. Fairly classic case, following a month of fairly extreme stress, and nearly at the end of it, suddenly had pain following a nerve band from my shoulder blade, around my side. Thought I pulled something loading boxes of paper and binders, and just walked into my doc's and said "I need some muscle relaxants." Doc kind of laughed at me, siad he'd do the diagnosing from now on. Never had any real skin break out, just some reddening.

Good luck to those who get it. There's not much you can do but grin and bear it (unless those anti-virals actually work, never tried them). I also have eczema on my hands, and break outs of that are likewise stress-induced (in part, I also get break outs if I just abuse my hands with lots of woodworking, gardening, dry air without gloves). It's kind of an early-warning system that tells me when to go skiing or fishing.