Oy. Shingles.

[Gracie]

I thought a skeeter zapped me 13 times in one sitting and the bites got infected. Um. No. Got back from docs office awhile ago. He said "Shingles, dear".

Thrill. Joy. Not.

 

[Mr. H.]

Ouch. I've known a few folks who got this, and it ain't fun as I'm sure you know.
Good luck.

 

[MikeK]

I thought a skeeter zapped me 13 times in one sitting and the bites got infected. Um. No. Got back from docs office awhile ago. He said "Shingles, dear".

Thrill. Joy. Not.

Too bad, Gracie. What did the doc have to say in the way of treatment, projections, etc.?

 

[Gracie]

I have to take horse pills for a week. Other than that...the only thing I can do is wait it out. He said the good part of the whole thing is...once a flareup happens, it doesn't do it again. He said I am no longer contagious either. It is healing but it still hurts. Both of us were surprised though, at the location. Clusters of 13 on the inner area of my knee just where it bends. So as long as I don't touch it too much getting up out of the chair...I can handle it.

 

[syrenn]

Bummer!

I hope you heal up fast.

 

[Gracie]

He asked me what I did thinking it was skeeters and I said everything from breaking off aloe in the back yard and smearing it on to scrubbing with soap and water and hydrogen peroxide then wrapping it in toilet paper and the huge ace bandage I used when I had my mastectomy so I wouldn't scratch it at night inmy sleep. He said none of that was supposed to do any good but I have only had it since the 10th and it's looking not too wild so I am to not do any of that stuff any more...just leave it alone, keep it clean and covered until it decides to mosey on. I start the horse pills today.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Wow, Gracie, bummer. Sounds like you have it under control, though. Hopefully the horsepills will work quickly!

 

[Gracie]

I hope so too. I was doing a bit of googling to find out if I should keep it all covered up even though it is all ready dried up but still looks awful. And hurt? I noticed the beginning blisters on the 10th. Itchy, some pain, but not too too bad. Until about an hour or so ago. BURNING stabbing pain. Like someone is putting a cigarette butt out on my skin. Then deep horrible itching. I hope it doesn't get worse. Some of the stuff I read about it is like out of a horror story.

 

[whitehall]

I'm not making accusations but consider this. We all have the shingles (chicken pox) virus inside us. Almost every "miracle cure" prescription advertised on cable these days from depression to psoriasis and about a thousand other junk pills that doctors freely prescribe involve a lowering of the immune system. When the immune system is lowered we get bad stuff.

 

[waltky]

There is a shingles vaccine...

... is the doctor sure this isn't...

... a case of poison ivy or sumac?

 

[jon_berzerk]

I thought a skeeter zapped me 13 times in one sitting and the bites got infected. Um. No. Got back from docs office awhile ago. He said "Shingles, dear".

Thrill. Joy. Not.

sorry to hear that

when did you get the pox

 

[jon_berzerk]

I'm not making accusations but consider this. We all have the shingles (chicken pox) virus inside us. Almost every "miracle cure" prescription advertised on cable these days from depression to psoriasis and about a thousand other junk pills that doctors freely prescribe involve a lowering of the immune system. When the immune system is lowered we get bad stuff.

potentially yes

the idea behind lowering the immune system is because

in cases such as psoriasis or arthritis

the immune system has become over active

 

[Sarah G]

There is a shingles vaccine...

... is the doctor sure this isn't...

... a case of poison ivy or sumac?

I've heard that shingles are very painful. Maybe Gracie can handle pain like that but she doesn't seem to be letting it phase her too much. It has to be more painful than poison ivy.

 

[Gracie]

There is a shingles vaccine...

... is the doctor sure this isn't...

... a case of poison ivy or sumac?

I go in tomorrow for a blood test. No use getting the vaccine now since I already have an outbreak.

It isn't poison oak or poison ivy. I don't go anywhere. My dogs are confined to my back yard garden area. I have all the symptoms of shingles. Stress can bring it on and I've been stressed...and my immune system is shot due to rheumatoid arthritis. So far..it is a "mild" case. I hope it stays that way.

Found this during my googling:
Shingles can strike twice. Will the shingles vaccine help? - Harvard Health Publications

This month’s Harvard Health Letter has an article about getting shingles a second time or even a third time. (Click here to read the full article.) The bottom line is that recurrence is a) certainly possible and b) if some recent research is correct, much more common than previously thought and about as likely as getting shingles in the first place if you’re age 60 or older.

For the new study on shingles recurrence, researchers at the Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., examined medical records of nearly 1,700 patients who had a documented case of shingles between 1996 and 2001. They found that more than 5% of them were treated for a second episode within an average of eight years—about the same rate as would typically experience a first case.

In the Mayo paper, Yawn and her colleagues report that 95 of the 1,669 people with an “index” case of shingles got shingles again over the course of a follow-up period that averaged 7.3 years, which works out to about 5.6% of the shingles sufferers. Six people had two recurrences and two had three! The timing of recurrence varied from 96 days to 10 years after the initial episode. In 45% of those who got shingles again, the site of the recurrence was in a different region of the body than the site of the first case. They also noted that the single biggest risk factor for having a second case of shingles was having pain that lasted 30 days or longer during the first case.

Other studies have shown the recurrence rate to be much lower. Yawn and her colleagues said a longer follow-up period is one explanation for their results:

Studies that include 1 to 2 years of follow-up may underestimate the average yearly recurrence rates over a lifetime. A reliable estimate of HZ [HZ stands for herpes zoster, the more formal medical term for shingles] requires several years of follow-up. In our study, few recurrences occurred in the first 12 to 18 months after the index case, except in those who were immunocompromised. Our two-year recurrence rate (2.0%) is similar to that reported by Donahue et al but is poorly predictive of the eight-year recurrence rate.

They also said their study probably did a better job than most at capturing all the shingles cases:

Unlike other studies, our cohort came from a community-based population with a well-established infrastructure to report administrative diagnoses and allow access to medical records for in-depth review. The ability to obtain follow-up information across all health care facilities within the county is likely to have ensured a high degree of completeness of recurrence identification.

There is a vaccine against shingles, called Zostavax that is made by Merck (Merck funded Yawn’s research, along with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute on Aging). Zostavax isn’t guaranteed protection against shingles. But in the large clinical trial that led to its approval by the FDA, the vaccine did cut the risk of getting shingles in half and the risk of pain that lingers after the signature shingles rash is gone, called postherpetic neuralgia, by even more.

 

[Gracie]

I have a high tolerance for pain, Sarah, but yeah..it hurts enough to make me wince. If it gets worse..then I will have to take the pain pill the doc gave me.
Shingles can cause long term chronic pain because shingles follow the nerves.

Spooky shit, what I've found. And here it is..on my leg. Ack!

 

[jon_berzerk]

I have a high tolerance for pain, Sarah, but yeah..it hurts enough to make me wince. If it gets worse..then I will have to take the pain pill the doc gave me.
Shingles can cause long term chronic pain because shingles follow the nerves.

Spooky shit, what I've found. And here it is..on my leg. Ack!

you take care Gracie


sometimes removing stress can help

 

[Sarah G]

I have a high tolerance for pain, Sarah, but yeah..it hurts enough to make me wince. If it gets worse..then I will have to take the pain pill the doc gave me.
Shingles can cause long term chronic pain because shingles follow the nerves.

Spooky shit, what I've found. And here it is..on my leg. Ack!

Take the pain pill, maybe you can fall asleep right there in your chair for a couple of hours.

 

[Gracie]

I gotta take the other horse pill at 1am. I take one every 8 hours for a week. I just took half a vicodin. When I take the horse pill, I will go to bed at least its on the top/side of my knee so laying on my back I can keep it elevated and sleep that way. I am just thankful it isn't all around my stomach and back..like a belt. Which is how it usually appears...or on the neck..or worse..on the face.

Like I said..google can be a big help..but it can also scare the hell outta ya.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Keep posting here on USMB. It seems to have a way of reducing stress...............

(Unless...............of course..............you have a way of causing stress on others...................)

Think good thoughts, and revel in the good thoughts that others have sent your way via the USMB.

BTW.....................I'm thinking good thoughts for you...............I hope you feel better and your pain goes away.

 

[Gracie]

Vicodin kicked in. Horse pill swallowed. Dozing off in my chair....so I'm off to bed.

Good night, folks.