Anyone had shingles?

[zoebartlett]

Yenny, I asked my husband about the shingles vaccine and he said he didn't have it. His (now former) doctor must not have mentioned it to him (not sure why!) because I'm pretty sure if he had, my husband would have definitely gotten it.

 

[yennyfire]

Thanks for asking your hubby Zoe! I'll definitely be checking with my doctor!

 

[ksinger]

ksinger, no the percoset was after I had my daughter. The dr. gave me lortab for the shingles.

Your Mom sounds a lot like mine. I can just picture my Mom doing that, though she wouldn't have been able to diagnose the shingles.

Yeah, she had seen a case on the head before, which is the reason she could recognize it.

Lortab is an opioid too, although a weaker one than percocet. I do hope you get some relief.

 

[chupiechow]

I hope they gave you Valtrex too! My understanding is the sooner you catch it and treat it the better. I did a research study on PHN Postherpetic Neuralgia and everyone who didn't treat it fast enough suffered from PHN at some point. Not just treating the pain, but the virus. Also, the generic version of the Valtrex is not near as effective.
I do feel for you, take care of yourself!

 

[yennyfire]

I'm on valcyclovir...I'm not sure if that's different from Valtrex...I'll have to look into it, thanks for the tip.

 

[TristanC]

Hmm, sparklyheart, I'm on antivirals, but not steroids. I wonder why? I'll have to call the dr. and ask.

ksinger, I'm not trying to be a hero , but I had a reaction to the pain meds the first night I took them (nauseous and cold/sweaty like I was going to pass out). I'm really sensitive to pain meds (have passed out unconcious from percoset after my daughter was born), so I try to avoid them whenever possible. Believe me, I'd like some relief from this, but being nauseous/faint on top of the pain is even worse than the pain itself. I am so glad that your Mom recognized what it was. Having it around your eyes is no joke!

Thanks charmy and stargurl!

You poor thing! Hope it gets better really soon. I got the tamer relative (chicken pox) a long while back and choose to get steroidal meds as well. Had such a ridiculously light attack immediately after the steroids were administered and it became a long holiday instead of a period of misery.

 

[yennyfire]

Thanks Tristan. I wonder why the dr. didn't prescribe steroids? There must have been a reason, but I'm going to call to find out.

 

[Arcadian]

Yikes! I feel for you. My father had it not long ago (recurrance number 2) and he was pretty miserable. I've never had chicken pox so I can't related (sorry)

I hope you feel better soon.


-A

 

[MuffDog]

I had shingles when I was 22 or 23. It was more annoying than anything. My doctor told me that because I was so young, the 'coverage' wasn't as bad as in some of her older patients.

Worst part was that I had to take a week off of work because someone I worked with hadn't had chicken pox, and he was an older guy, and I guess chicken pox to adults can be very very dangerous.

I hope you feel better soon!!

 

[yennyfire]

Thanks Arcadian. I have to admit, I'm starting to get fed up with feeling this way. It's just awful!

 

[TristanC]

Weird. It was about 14 years ago for me. At the time, there were basic meds to just calm itching $15, the steroid based pills ($200 - 4 days effectively and a very very mild attack), and a steroid injection $300? something like that, and the jab was supposed to quell the outbreak in two days instead of the 4 for the pills.

I figured that 2 days and 4 days were more or less the same, given that symptoms would be severely reduced in either case. In the end, for chicken pox, I had all of 4 pustules (2 of which formed before I went to the doc), and some 30 odd red spots that looked like the aftermath of a mozzie bite on a non allergic individual. So just little red spots which didn't itch or scar.

I've seen people with full blown chicken pox and shingles and consider myself very lucky that medication was available when it was.

Sorry i don't have the details on the names of the medications. This was a long time ago and I was marginally less anally retentive then.

 

[Sky56]

I hope you feel better soon! I have two friends who have it and they told me they suffer quite a bit. One of them gets outbreaks in her eyes, something I find scary. Medication helps control it for her.

 

[Enerchi]

Valtrex is the trade name for the generic Valcyclovir - same drug.

 

[GreyCat]

Hi Yenny, just wondering if you are feeling better? Hope you are....

 

[ksinger]

Well, here is some high weirdness...after this thread, guess who woke up with shingles? My husband. He was on his way out the door and mentioned that he had this weird rash on his back, I'm like WHAT?? WHERE?? SHUCK!! So off comes the jacket, tie, shirt, and it was faint but ran around from back to sternum on one side. I said, you are going to the doctor NOW, not later, NOW! And he did.

Luckily, we caught it in under 24 hours and it is quickly going away. I'm SO glad he mentioned it! I feel good in that he said he would not have recognized it without me, so I'll give myself a pat on the back for that.

He's a bit cranky about it tho...another evidence of getting older, and he's not liking it much. Poor baby.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Your poor husband! But he is lucky you insisted and recognized it. I hope he improves quickly.