Thread: I have shingles (and no.... I'm not talking about my house)

I've heard shingles can be painful. Good luck with the recovery, hope you get well soon.

I had Shingles 6.5 years ago, it sucked. It started with a mild headache which became severe, then I noticed some blistery things around my hair line and went to the Doc. She tells me I have Herpes Zoster and I almost shit my pants thinking I caught crotch rot. She told me that it was the clinical name for shingles and it was interesting, I had chicken pox twice as a kid, so I must be susceptible to the virus.

One thing Wit, when they tell you it is going to get worse before it gets better once you start the drug...They ain't shittin you, it gets a lot worse. I had the worst headache of my life for 2 days, I can't even describe it. I thought it might get mildly worse, but it wasn't mild at all. Then, the third day of the drug, I felt fine and have nad no problems since, go figure.

If it feels like DOMS, then I know what you mean. I think the IM boards have a bad case of DOMS.

Originally Posted by BigDyl

If it feels like DOMS, then I know what you mean. I think the IM boards have a bad case of DOMS.

Go fuck yourself, rodent.

This is a serious thread. Keep your shit out of it.

Sorry to hear about your illness, Wit.

I don't know anything about shingles, but Wiki usually has the scoop.

That was nice of Dale to give you the heads-up. Dale, is there any reason why he can't take painkillers for those two days?

Originally Posted by DOMS

Go fuck yourself, rodent.

This is a serious thread. Keep your shit out of it.

I was serious.

Originally Posted by DOMS

Go fuck yourself, rodent.

This is a serious thread. Keep your shit out of it.

sorry to hear about the illness.

about how long is the recovery time?

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I had chicken pox twice as a kid, so I must be susceptible to the virus.

I always thought if one got it as an adult, then they are susceptible to shingles. But those that got it as a small child are not.

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Just thought I'd share with you all what is steadfastly becoming the most miserable experience of my life.

you see, a week ago I noticed an unusual level of soreness in my right pectoral. It felt like a bad case of DOMS except I hadn't really worked out hard enough to merit this level of soreness. I thought I might have minor strain injury or something so I shrugged it off. I figured I'd just take it easy for a few days and all would be well.

Then last Tuesday I noticed a small rash in my right armpit. It was about the size of a quarter and looked like poison ivy. Being that I had just recently mowed the yard I thought that maybe I had contacted some poison ivy and shrugged it off.

Well... Overnight that little rash spread across my entire armpit, around the front of my right pec and back around my Lats. Basically, I looked like my entire upper-right torso has been hit by a blister agent!

Needless to say I went to the doctor.

Turns out I have Shingles. My doctor says the good news is we caught it early enough that the odds are good I'll not suffer any permanent nerve damage. The bad news is that recover is a paiinful 2-week process while I pound down 4000mg of Anti-viral drugs daily. Even more depressing is NO TRAINING. I'm supposed to let my body rest and focus on fighting this viral infection that seeks to ravage my nervous system. besides, it hurts like hell. I doubt I'd get a decent work-out in edgwise.

This has been a definate learning experience for me. I knew absolutely nothing about shingles. I'd heard of it but I honestly had no clue.

For those of you who don't know, Shingles is a re-eruption of the chicken pox. Anyone who has had Chicken Pox (or the vaccination) is a carrier of Shingles and may potentially break out ant any time without notice in your lifetime or not at all. It's simply wierd.

Fortunately for me, my outbreak has happened on a part of my body I can easily conceal. I've read of some poor souls who get outbreaks across thier face or, even worse, throughout their crotch region. THAT would totally suck. So far my rash and blisters has remained isolated to my upper-right torso region.

I'm relieved to know it's not contageous. the only real (possible) risk is to pregnant women with a fetus less than a few weeks old. To be on the safe side, I'm not going out in public for a while. I'd hate to think of the possibility of me unknowingly jeaprodizing a woman's unborn baby.

So, my summary for you all is this...

If you feel an unusual level of muscle soreness with stabbing pains combined with a small developing rash... go see your doctor. It may be nothing but, if it's Shingles, it's something you want to identify and treat as early as possible.

I didn't realize it was that serious.

So it must be a different manifestation of chicken pox, because it seems to have different symptoms.

Originally Posted by DOMS

Dale, is there any reason why he can't take painkillers for those two days?

They may prescribe pain killers, I was given some on top of the valtrex, but I never used them.

Originally Posted by BigDyl

So it must be a different manifestation of chicken pox, because it seems to have different symptoms.

It is the actual chicken pox virus, traveling down the nerve and erupting on the skin, it remains dormant until a lowered immune system allows it to express itself. Surprising, I didn't get too many skin eruptions, the few I had were covered by my hair, but that virus aggravates the nerve something fierce when it travels down it. I have been told it is similar to a TMJ headache multiplied by about 50, but I don't have TMJ so I can't confirm. All I know is that wherever it comes out, you can actually feel it fucking with the nerve from root to tip.

Sounds pretty nasty. Hope you make a fast recovery Witmaster.

Originally Posted by Witmaster

For those of you who don't know, Shingles is a re-eruption of the chicken pox. Anyone who has had Chicken Pox (or the vaccination) is a carrier of Shingles and may potentially break out ant any time without notice in your lifetime or not at all. It's simply wierd.

So much for only being able to get it once .

I hope you aren't totally out of commission for the time being. Also hope you've got a good woman taking care of you . I am glad you will be back to normal after two weeks.

My sister got shingles when she was battling cancer. When you immune sysytem is not working properly you are open to a lot of health problems. I'm sure because you are a healthy and active person you will recover quickly as well as you started treatments early. Some people only get a mild case of shingles- it's good it hasn't spread to your face- I've seen that before- it isn't pretty.

I should add, I'm really glad you decided to get it checked out early. It's scary to think about, but I don't think I would have went straight to a doctor. When it comes to my health, I am far overconfident thinking my body will take care of itself, therefore I have a good feeling I would have just waited it out until it got really bad, which might have been too late by that time.

I feel for you Wit, chronic pain can be aggravating as hell. Just be glad you're only out for 2 weeks instead of a year or longer....

My GF's aunt had shingles, it was on her lower back and down her right leg. She was in really bad pain and took high dose Oxycontin for it....she still has pain from time to time in her leg 2 years later, but that because she's over 65 and thats when the body is more susceptible to prolonged problems, that and she waited almost 2 weeks after the rash appeared to see a doctor. You know those depression era folks, they always try to save a penny by curing themselves....

Any way when my doc put me on Amitriptyline for my back pain I read that it is also useful in reducing the risk of having prolonged pain or Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)

If you are scared of opioid pain killers ask to try Ultram...if it becomes more severe and they want to put you on percocet or MS Contin ask to try Methadone, it's longer acting and not nearly as addictive....

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Just thought I'd share with you all what is steadfastly becoming the most miserable experience of my life.

you see, a week ago I noticed an unusual level of soreness in my right pectoral. It felt like a bad case of DOMS except I hadn't really worked out hard enough to merit this level of soreness. I thought I might have minor strain injury or something so I shrugged it off. I figured I'd just take it easy for a few days and all would be well.

Then last Tuesday I noticed a small rash in my right armpit. It was about the size of a quarter and looked like poison ivy. Being that I had just recently mowed the yard I thought that maybe I had contacted some poison ivy and shrugged it off.

Well... Overnight that little rash spread across my entire armpit, around the front of my right pec and back around my Lats. Basically, I looked like my entire upper-right torso has been hit by a blister agent!

Needless to say I went to the doctor.

Turns out I have Shingles. My doctor says the good news is we caught it early enough that the odds are good I'll not suffer any permanent nerve damage. The bad news is that recover is a paiinful 2-week process while I pound down 4000mg of Anti-viral drugs daily. Even more depressing is NO TRAINING. I'm supposed to let my body rest and focus on fighting this viral infection that seeks to ravage my nervous system. besides, it hurts like hell. I doubt I'd get a decent work-out in edgwise.

This has been a definate learning experience for me. I knew absolutely nothing about shingles. I'd heard of it but I honestly had no clue.

For those of you who don't know, Shingles is a re-eruption of the chicken pox. Anyone who has had Chicken Pox (or the vaccination) is a carrier of Shingles and may potentially break out ant any time without notice in your lifetime or not at all. It's simply wierd.

Fortunately for me, my outbreak has happened on a part of my body I can easily conceal. I've read of some poor souls who get outbreaks across thier face or, even worse, throughout their crotch region. THAT would totally suck. So far my rash and blisters has remained isolated to my upper-right torso region.

I'm relieved to know it's not contageous. the only real (possible) risk is to pregnant women with a fetus less than a few weeks old. To be on the safe side, I'm not going out in public for a while. I'd hate to think of the possibility of me unknowingly jeaprodizing a woman's unborn baby.

So, my summary for you all is this...

If you feel an unusual level of muscle soreness with stabbing pains combined with a small developing rash... go see your doctor. It may be nothing but, if it's Shingles, it's something you want to identify and treat as early as possible.

I feel for you...I've gotten it twice, and it went around my neck

My didn't hurt like most cases though...my just itched like a none other

There shouldn't be any scarring if you caught it early...They prescribed me a lotion that I had to apply 4x a day. It worked.

I was also told that L-Lysine helps out and that caffiene and chocolate aggrivate the virus....Keep your amune system up and stress down. These are the two agents that cause the virus (herpes zotras) to pop up.

Originally Posted by BulkMeUp

I always thought if one got it as an adult, then they are susceptible to shingles. But those that got it as a small child are not.

def not true i got shingles when i was 13 and they def do suck

Thanks all for your well-wishes, prayers and concerns.

Dale, you wern't kidding. It does get worse before it gets better. I had hopes once I started pounding down anti-viral meds things would quickly improve but it seems I've only pissed this viral infection off all-the-more.

I'm now taking some topical Capsaicin ointment which seems to help. Doc said this may take anywhere from a couple weeks to a month or more. One thing I have going in my favor is I am in excellent health and my age.

Thanks for the tip Manic. Amitriptyline sounds good. I'll ask my doc about it but what I really need is a sleep aid. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain while I'm awake but when I'm sleeping.... It's another story.

Don't sweat it DOMs. I kinda thought when I made reference to the muscle pains that someone would seize the opportunity to invoke a reference (or inferrance) to you. It's all good. I have a feeling that if I was suffering from "pains" caused by you, this paltry little rash and blisters would be the least of my concerns

Thanks again everyone. My only hope is that others might be educated about Shingles and be better prepared to deal with it should such an affliction befall them.

Cheers!

Now, does everyone get shingles once or twice in their lifetime or is it possible for some people to never get shingles?

Just wondering cus i hope i don't get them

I think it's possible to never get them. It's still a mystery why some people do and some don't.

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Thanks for the tip Manic. Amitriptyline sounds good. I'll ask my doc about it but what I really need is a sleep aid. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain while I'm awake but when I'm sleeping.... It's another story.

Pain killers can help with sleep, but you can also try melatonin and valerian, or ask your doc to try Lunesta, do not let him give you Ambien unless you want to have some crazy experiences....

a few years ago i was scrubbing mold off the cellar walls in a house i was renting n supposedly there is no connection but i got shingles. it was near my eyebrow n very mild not very noticeable cuz i have bangs but it hurt like hell.

i called the landlord and he hired a guy to paint over the cellar walls n guess what... he got shingles.

heat helped me.

n supposedly once you have it you will never get it again.

I have a friend who had it but she must have had a more mild case because hers didn't really hurt she just itched all over.God we teased her so bad about having a disease and told her it was an STD.Damn doctor had to go and ruin our fun.

Could someone please post here I have been the last post in the "I have shingles thread "for like 2 days now and it's making me feel creepy.