Posted on 03/25/2016 4:20:04 PM PDT by Hostage
A very close friend of mine has had a bout of Shingles for several weeks and finally went to the VA Hospital to get help.
Shingles is a reactivation of the Chicken Pox that one might have had as a kid. It is the Herpes Zoster virus and it can damage nerves causing severe pain.
He is 61 years old and he told me November last year that a visit to the VA for shoulder pain had him diagnosed for tendonitis. So he followed steps for gently exercising to restore his movement and he took Ibuprofen for the pain.
He said that while at the clinic late last year, he was told he should have a Shingles vaccination but he declined as he did not know what it was and he was skeptical of vaccines in general. He said he was going to read up on it but got so busy that he forgot about it.
I drove him to the VA Hospital week before last because his pain was so severe and he hadn't been able to sleep for a week. I walked with him into the ER and he was nonstop apologizing to the staff that he didn't follow the advice to get a Shingles vaccination. A Nurse Practitioner saw him in the exam room and told him it was Ok that he skipped the Shingles Vaccination because it didn't always 'hit' anyways. He also said that likely his tendonitis was likely the Herpes Zoster virus emerging and not tendonitis. So it wouldn't have mattered whether he got a Shingles vaccine or not.
I thought the Nurse Practitioner did a great job calming him down. He was prescribed a 7-day course of Valtrez (an anti-viral) and Oxycodone. He took the Valtrex immediately while in the hospital but wouldn't take the Oxy because another vet who was waiting in the lobby had told him they were habit forming (which as a narcotic pain killer they are).
The NP told him to follow up with his primary in a week if the pain persisted. The appointment with the primary was more than a month out (talking VA here) so the NP suggested he do a walk-in to the primary clinic and tell them he was in pain.
Walking with him down to the hospital pharmacy, he seemed calmer. He said he had always been tough as an Ox and was never one to rush for medical help. He said he did not want to take the Oxy but he was so deprived of sleep he might have to. At the pharmacy dispensary, the pharmacy assistant assured him that the Oxy was only for one week and there was no danger of it becoming habit forming. She said it would take about a month before habit forming tolerance would be seen. He told her he would only take them if he could not get to sleep.
So I drove him home. The next day he told me he had taken the Oxy and it worked like a charm, barely felt any pain but he would continue with the Valtrex as his rash breakout had been worsening. He vowed to not take any more Oxy but he did. He told me several days later that after stopping the Oxy, the pain came back with a vengeance and so he took the Oxy again along with Ibuprofen.
Now he said he was deeply concerned that he was going to fall into the category of being addicted to painkillers and that distressed him greatly.
After one week he was finished with his Valtrex and his Oxy but was still having a lot of pain. I drove him back to the hospital and dropped him off. He wasn't supposed to drive while on Oxy and he had just taken his last pill a few hours before. He said he was sure the pain would return and that he best get to the clinic.
He called me after returning home and was relieved that he had been prescribed a non-habit forming painkiller called Gabapentin. Last week he told me that the Gabapentin was working but not always. One day he would be relatively painfree and the next day in a lot of pain.
Shingles vaccine is normally only given once per lifetime but additional administrations can be given with physician approval.
Good to see this post is still getting the word out. L Lysine is a natural wonder.
Awesome comments, feedback, personal experiences, suggestions and recommendations. I printed the thread and took it over to my friend’s home where we sat down and discussed it while he read it.
You should all know you had him in tears. This is a real tough warhorse of a guy and you had him in tears.
Good job everyone!!!
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