Posted on 07/01/2013 5:54:42 PM PDT by West Texas Chuck
Shingles. Hah. Funny name.
Nothing funny about suffering from an attack of this condition.
I went to see the doctor lady and she said "you have a case of Shingles. I can give you medication that will clear it right up." Yeah, about that.
The rash is pretty much healed up but the pain is still there and impressive. Seems like I had "prodromal pain" which means I had the pain before the rash. And I'm 50+, and I'm a white boy, so apparently I have a 15% chance of having this "neuralgia" for the rest of my life. That don't sound good. It hurts real good, though.
Guess back when I was a tadpole I had the chicken pox, I sorta seem to remember something about that. Not sure what woke it up but I'm sure hoping this is a one-time deal.
Can't sleep unless I eat hydrocodone and can't work if I do. Helluva mess. My neighbor says it basically killed his 67yo dad. The man went from playing golf every day to being dead in less than 3 years. Sounds like the pain and the meds were more than his body could take and he just gave up and went to meet Jesus.
That is a trip I'd rather put off for a while. The Lord and I ain't exactly on a first name basis, not since I went over to the dark side and married this Buddhist chick ;)
It is weird, until this year.......never saw anyone talk about it.
So far, all I know is that the doc says all old people get it and it is painful
Good luck
Try the amino L-lysine. It works great for several people in my family.
You can get it at any vitamin store. Take 3 to 6 grams per day.
Steroids make me crazy angry, so I had to take a week off of work.
/johnny
My dasd had shingles in his 80s. He was in the big one and was know for a high tolerance for pain. he shingles were very tough on him.
When I was 15 I had small pox and my mom told the dr that I had had them when I was a kid.
The dr called our retired family doctor who not only remembered me but when I had small pox.
Can’t explain it.
A few years ago my doc asked me if I wanted a shingles shot. I didn’t know there was such a thing. I jumped at it and it’s supposed to last the rest of my life.
Doctor Lady mentioned that, but I already have it so not sure a $300 shot will do me any good.
More research necessary.
My first episode was just after the 2008 election.
I got over them in a week or so.
The election lingers though.
My 94 year old grandmother used to have shingles all over her body for years and years - at least ten. Then she went into the hospital for something else, they gave her anti-biotics for the other thing (don’t know what that was) but as a side effect, the anti-biotics cured her shingles.
Gone, all of it. I think she was 84 at the time.
Had it about 40 years ago when I was in my twenties. Hurt like hell. Nothing funny about it. Luckily the Doc indicated I probably wouldn’t get it again.
Try aloe.
..Herpes Zoster killed my father.
My brother contracted it about 6 years ago.
Earlier this spring, I decided to get the shingles vaccination. I also got the pneumonia vaccination.
Shingles is not to be taken lightly. I live in a very active “over 55” community, and several cases of shingles have turned people into recluses for months at a time.
There is a vaccine available, and It seems to be very effective at preventing shingles, or greatly reducing its effects.
Both my wife and I have the vaccine, with no ill effects. Check with your doctor!
If you are,in fact,in "west Texas" a visit to Dallas (or Houston) might even be in order...even though it's not right around the corner.
Wow, another one.
I had no idea, I heard of this before but it was not even on my radar.
I’m trying to decide if I can still ride my bicycles. So hot lately I have no stomach for going into the sweat zone, but I ain’t dead yet. I might be getting better.
So cliche.....I got shingles ON my 50th birthday. Worst pain ever. Except for childbirth....close second. ;^O
Sure enough, three days later I felt fine, went back to work, and haven't had any problems since. (Knock on wood)
There is no cure for shingles, but treatment may shorten the length of illness and prevent complications. Treatment options include:
Antiviral medicines to reduce the pain and duration of shingles.
Pain medicines, antidepressants, and topical creams to relieve long-term pain.
Initial treatment
As soon as you are diagnosed with shingles, your doctor probably will start treatment with antiviral medicines. If you begin medicines within the first 3 days of seeing the shingles rash , you have a lower chance of having later problems, such as postherpetic neuralgia.
The most common treatments for shingles include:
Antiviral medicines, such as acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir, to reduce the pain and the duration of shingles.
Over-the-counter pain medicines, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen, to help reduce pain during an attack of shingles.
Topical antibiotics, applied directly to the skin, to stop infection of the blisters.
For severe cases of shingles, some doctors may have their patients use corticosteroids along with antiviral medicines. But corticosteroids are not used very much any more. This is because studies show that taking a corticosteroid along with an antiviral medicine doesn’t help any more than just taking an antiviral medicine by itself.2
Ongoing treatment
If you have pain that persists longer than a month after your shingles rash heals, your doctor may diagnose postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication of shingles. PHN can cause pain for months or years. It affects 10 to 15 out of 100 people who experience shingles.3 Treatment to reduce the pain of postherpetic neuralgia includes:
Antidepressant medicines, such as a tricyclic antidepressant (for example, amitriptyline).
Topical anesthetics that include benzocaine, which are available in over-the-counter forms that you can apply directly to the skin for pain relief. Lidocaine patches, such as Lidoderm, are available only by prescription.
Anticonvulsant medicines, such as gabapentin or pregabalin.
Opioids, such as codeine.
Topical creams containing capsaicin may provide some relief from pain. There is also a high-dose skin patch available by prescription (Qutenza) for postherpetic neuralgia. Capsaicin may irritate or burn the skin of some people, and it should be used with caution.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-treatment-overview
Mr Ditter got Shingles a few months after he had a double bypass 5 1/2 years ago. He was pretty miserable for several months but nothing serious happened. he still mentions that it itches from time to time. I immediately went to the doctor and got a Shingles vaccine shot. I hope it keeps me from having Singles If you are 50 get the shot!
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