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Shingles, any one?

Skeptic Ginger said:
Shingles results from the varicella virus becoming incorporated into a single spinal column nerve root so when it occurs it occurs along the area that nerve root leads to.

And if you had a classic single dermatome location and the recurrence was in the same spot, that would likely be a true recurrence and not a misdiagnosed one. HSV 1&2, while they do recur in the same one spot, don't tend to be in the same pattern as around one's side.
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So I'm not clear... Are you saying it's likely it wasn't shingles, or it was? Or they didn't really recur, it was something else the second time, and I was lucky that the anti-virals made it stop?
 
HawaiiBigSis said:
So I'm not clear... Are you saying it's likely it wasn't shingles, or it was? Or they didn't really recur, it was something else the second time, and I was lucky that the anti-virals made it stop?
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From your description, I was saying it was likely shingles recurring. I didn't want to be misunderstood that because many (most) recurrences are in fact misdiagnoses, that they all were.

The location, shape, and clinical history are key indicators for whether to culture or not. One infection is the result of the virus literally emerging on the skin surface innervated by a spinal nerve, called a dermatome. The other two (HSV 1&2) are the result of a localized cells being infected with the virus. So the location and shape of the outbreak can sometimes tell you which virus you have. Not always, though.

So a stripe across the side would be zoster, while a circular shape could be any of the three.
 
I had shingles a few years ago on my left breast. I'm used to pain (due to a back injury). I had no clue I had shingles but the pain got to a point that I went to the doctor and he put me on Valtrex and pain meds. I hope I never get them again, it made the pain in my back seem like pale in comparison.
 
Had 'em years ago, on my face. No pain to speak of, fortunately, but the scab on the side of my nose must have been an inch across. Left a lovely scar. . .

quarky said:
This is the most pointless pain I've ever had, other than that.Glad I don't have phantom-limb pain. That must be extra bizarre to cope with.
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It's not that bad, at least in my case. Kinda funky to move a foot and wiggle toes that aren't there anymore.

Any species of snake oil I should be applying to my oozing skin?
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Isn't l-lysine the standard alt-med treatment for herpes viruses? My ex used to swear by it for cold sores, but YMMV.
Any lines I could use to get my sweetie to cuddle?

(I want to snuggle when I'm in pain, but she's on to me.)
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I believe someone further up the thread mentioned roofies. . .? :D
 
I had a bout of shingles nearly twenty years ago. I went to the doctor on the second day of the rash, before any vesicles had appeared. He prescribed topical acyclovir and the outbreak was pretty much done with in about two weeks.

I had very little pain; mostly just a soreness in my back that was very similar to the "sick backache" I commonly experience when I have a cold or other viral infection.

Be aware that the vesicles, just like ordinary blisters, are vulnerable to a secondary infection. It's important to keep the area clean and the rash covered with a sterile bandage.
 
ktesibios said:
I had a bout of shingles nearly twenty years ago. I went to the doctor on the second day of the rash, before any vesicles had appeared. He prescribed topical acyclovir and the outbreak was pretty much done with in about two weeks.

I had very little pain; mostly just a soreness in my back that was very similar to the "sick backache" I commonly experience when I have a cold or other viral infection.

Be aware that the vesicles, just like ordinary blisters, are vulnerable to a secondary infection. It's important to keep the area clean and the rash covered with a sterile bandage.
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That's interesting since topical acyclovir was never shown to work in any of the clinical trials. Perhaps you had a naturally mild case. Not every case is severe.
 
For me, the most memorable symptoms occurred as the lesions were healing. The sensations were bizzarre, unlike anything I had felt before. I could only describe it as stabbing itchiness, deep in the muscle where I couldn't scratch. Very unpleasant, and it didn't completely go away for about a year.
 
aggle-rithm said:
For me, the most memorable symptoms occurred as the lesions were healing. The sensations were bizzarre, unlike anything I had felt before. I could only describe it as stabbing itchiness, deep in the muscle where I couldn't scratch. Very unpleasant, and it didn't completely go away for about a year.
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Hate to hear that. When reading up on it, I heard of it lasting that long. I'd go nuts. Close to it already.

Thanks, all for advice, etc.
I hadn't heard that there was any point in covering the rashy area, though I could see wherein a secondary, bacterial infection could happen.

The stress connection factor also seems a bit vague. I haven't been in any emotional type stress, though my immune system may have been compromised by all the tick bites that coincided with it.

The pain reminds me of wasp stings mixed with fire.
I'm trying to do my whining here so that she doesn't have to hear it.

Though I live in a very rural area, the Dr. I saw said that he sees it a lot.
The anti-viral pills were rather cheap. He also prescribed a salve with the same chemical, which was very expensive. I had to pass on the salve, for economic reasons and some doubts on its effectiveness. But i wonder why the salve was so expensive?
 
He also prescribed a salve with the same chemical, which was very expensive. I had to pass on the salve, for economic reasons and some doubts on its effectiveness. But i wonder why the salve was so expensive?
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Did that salve contain Lyrica (pregabalin), by any chance? My local pharmacy tried to charge me $850 dollars for a month's supply.
 
I had them a few weeks ago and just recently got over it. I had chicken pox as a kid and a friend who had shingles earlier in his life said his doctor said the outbreak can happen if you had the pox. Was on my back in several places and a spot on my chest. Felt like the flesh was being torn from my body, but that wan't the worst of it, it was the damn itching. The pain was nothing compared to the itching. Only pain meds I had to take for it was beer.
 
The only big childhood infection I had was chickenpox.
I had a bout of shingles a few years ago in my lower left back. Not as unbearble as some but quite sore.
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You have my sympathies. Shingles is nasty.

Ju-Ju went through a bad case of the shingles. She spent all night pacing up and down unable to sleep because of the pain. She also became afraid of the dark during the shingle attack. Then during the day she spent it swearing and fidgeting through lack of sleep and finding clothes hurt.

I brought her some silk tops to wear, kept in the freezer to keep her cool, that seemed to lessen the clothing issue. At night we resorted to burying her in a mound of duvets and pillows, so she could get comfy laying on her front. I also found ice on her back helped as did keeping on a light and checking for monsters under the bed before she got in it.

It was months of hell until it finally went. Like others have said, if she gets run down the pain emerges where the virus settled in her upper back.

I also learnt later that many also suffer mental issues, like Ju-Ju's sudden onset fear of the night and things under her bed. All I can say is that is one nasty virus.
 
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Surely it's not shingles if you haven't had chicken-pox already ?

I had chicken-pox as an adult in 1992 (caught from my 3-year old child) - that was easily the worst illness I've ever suffered in my life. Very, very, very painful. No (shingles) re-occurrence since then.
 
I had a bout of shingles a couple of years ago. I got them on top of my head. They weren't terribly painful, but the itch was rather irritating. I also got Bell's palsy (paralysis of one side of my face). I took the antivirals, and both the shingles and palsy went away after about three weeks.
 
Blue Bubble said:
Surely it's not shingles if you haven't had chicken-pox already ?

I had chicken-pox as an adult in 1992 (caught from my 3-year old child) - that was easily the worst illness I've ever suffered in my life. Very, very, very painful. No (shingles) re-occurrence since then.
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Both are caused by the same virus. So shingles is a chicken pox virus re-activation.
 
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