Posted on 02/06/2007 4:27:47 AM PST by finnsheep
Maybe they are still too experimental? I had shingles last fall and i had to TELL the PA there was a vaccination. I have read the vaccine can give you a nasty case of shingles too. starting zovirax or something can help a lot if you start it right away.
Then again, if my doc won't do what i want i find another one.......
It is not that I am not a good candidate for the vaccine. I am 62 and in good health.
Why I haven't managed to get vaccinated up to now? First, I was told he had to order the vaccine in a 10 pack - - too expensive and it might expire before he could use it up.
Then when I found our local pharmacy could order a single dose, I was told he would write a scrip and I could pick it up. So far he has not written the scrip.
It is BECAUSE you have had chicken pox that you can get shingles later in life. The virus remains dormant for decades.
I had shingles when I was 16 years old. Yes, it's extremely painful. As a child, I had chicken piox twice. Yes, that can happen. Then in college, I got an eye infection that the doctors thought was a herpes virus that was in that same family. So when my own daughter got chicken pox, I asked the doctor if I had anything to worry about. He wasn't sure, but we kept an open eye just the same. Fortunately, I didn't get anything.
You're wrong. I receive avonex injections once a week. The medicine is directly delivered to my home. I have a LPN friend give me the injection. If not I would either have to self inject or go to a doctor's office. I would not be charged for the medication but I would be charged for the office visit.
A shot of B12 cleared up my case of shingles very quickly.
I remember my father, a long time family practice physician, talking about patients with shingles. He said that it was very frustrating treating these patients as they frequently suffered excruciating pain that did not respond to any pain edications. If a vaccine will prevent getting shingles I'm all for it.
Thanks for posting (#10) that web site. Of great interest to me.
There's a very simple and inexpensive treatment for shingles.
It's called L-lysine. It's an amino acid, so it should be quite safe for most people. It keeps the virus from replicating and it is very effective at treating shingles and any type of herpes infections.
You can get it at any vitamin store and most drug stores. The capsules are better absorbed than the pill versions. You do have to take quite a bit of it to treat symptoms, though. Dosage recommendations are in the Univ. of Maryland Med Center link below.
Also, shingles outbreaks are usually triggered by a weakened immune system, i.e., after a cold or flu. Consumption of foods high in arginine can trigger it, too -- arginine is found in whole-wheat, nuts, seeds, peanuts, brown rice, popcorn, soy, raisins, chocolate.
More info here:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Lysinecs.html
Some things like this are only available through the hospital pharmacy and retail pharmacies can't order it, even if the doctor prescribes it. Or the doctor's office could order it for delivery to them, then they can administer it. See if you can make arrangements to get the vaccine at the outpatient part of your hospital ( non-emergency).
OR try another doctor and another, until you find someone who will help you obtain it. Good luck!
ping
Are you one of those people who actually go and ask your doctor, when you see a commercial for some pill, and they don't tell you what the hell it is, but they say "ASK YOUR DOCTOR!!"
I didn't think those people really existed!
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