Shingles the bad kind

[wavelandscott]

I've been feeling poorly the last week or so and this week my wife noticed I had developed a rash on my back...went to the Doctor and discovered that I have "Shingles" (adult form of Chicken Pox)...

I am feeling pretty uncomfortable at the moment...should be on medication for a week and things whould clear up in a couple of weeks...

Of course there are clear skies tonight and forecast for the next several nights...

[Liz]

Ooh, nasty there Scott, they can very veeery painful I hear, take care.

[Barrykgerdes]

I believe it can be vary painful. However there is a vaccine under development to prevent it (we hope). My son has had them, My father had them. I have missed out. Had chicken pox as a child.

I am on the test program, two years into a five years program. I have a monthly check.

Barry

[silv]

oh man! bugger that!
be careful and take everything the doctor subscribes.
you'll be feeling weak for more than 7 days. listen to your body and let it fight the shingles without exhausting yourself with other activities.

here is some virtual chicken soup with loads of veges *bowl*

[wavelandscott]

Thanks all, it is uncomfortable that is for sure.

[Sarge]

Not good Scott. Hope you are feeling better. Get well soon.

Good skies will be back.

Clear skies

Rod
:D:D

[RB]

Sorry to hear Scott, hope you recover quickly mate.

:thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

[Ric]

That's a bummer Scott

Hope they clear up soon.

[blink138]

i had a really good mate who got shingles in his 20's and it went up onto his face and across one of his eyes and and it went onto his cornea!
urrrggghhhh!
he went blind for the whole recovery process!
nasty business is shingles, get well soon scott
pat

[Octane]

Eek! Get well soon, mate!

H

[Deeno]

Nasty!
Take it easy....

[jjjnettie]

:( you poor thing. It's not nice is it.
Mum had shingles years ago. She found alpha keri oil in the bath was very soothing.

[Astro_Bot]

Sorry to hear that. I had shingles in my early twenties - rash on back and around to the front along a couple of lines (it follows nerve pathways, so they say).

They said it could be stress related - you catch the virus and it lays dormant until tiggered - it's similar to cold sores/herpes in that respect (NOT the STI kind; get your minds out of the gutter!). At least that's what I recall - medical knowledge may have advanced a fair bit since then.

Of course in my case it wasn't stress ... I mean just because it was final exams at Uni, and my gf had dumped me, and someone threw a brick through my car's rear window, and I got into a fight with my best friend, and I was flat broke ... no, definitely no stress there.

Get well soon, Scott. If it's any consolation, there have been no long-term repercussions of shingles in my case my case my case my case my case .... slap! I'm fine, trust me! ;)

[acropolite]

Not a nice illness to contract, I had a chuckle at your thread title "Shingles the bad kind"' didn't know there was a good kind, better move back to Australia, the stress of living away from your adopted country must be the cause... :P

[Barrykgerdes]

Never mind just wait another three years and the vaccine should be available. It works for me.

Barry

[wavelandscott]

We had some roof work done earlier this year...with good shingles.

Moving back to Oz would be fine with me...just have to see what the bosses in Japan have in mind...

I am hanging in okay but it is not comfortable. I understand that for some it can be very painful...mine hurt but it is bearable. I am hopeful that they go away in the next few weeks.

[jamiep]

Scott,

Sorry to hear that - they're a nasty thing! Hopefully they've got the antibodies into you ASAP - as they help speed the recovery up - depending on the severity of the bout.

My wife had them recently - with a concentration of the rash that came up through her hair, down one side of her face and through one eye.

With many trips to the eye specialist (who incidently picked up it was shingles before the GP did) lots of TLC, a whole lot of time off work (was nearly 6 weeks in the end) she has made a full recovery - with only some minor nerve damage to the face - full eyesight in that eye is ok.

She was basically constrained to being locked in a dark room/house for 6 weeks - as the medication for the eye to relax the pupil to prevent damage meant it was permanantly dialated for that time - a truly miserable time for her.

Full recovery time was more like 3/4 months for energy levels to return to normal etc - it was a really scary time.

It's more common than you think - speaking to a few friends and colleagues about it - you'll find a few who've had it - those who have are quite fearful of a return bout ... it's nasty!.

Jamie.

[tlgerdes]

Scott, I know how you feel.

I had a dose about 5 weeks ago. Felt like Anthony Mundine had used my right side chest for practice. Pain lasted about 2 weeks, the rash suprisingly wasnt itchy (luckily).

Took another 2 weeks for the nervous "tingling" to subside.

Oh and stay away from kids, I gave my 9yo daughter a dose of chickenpox even though she had been vaccinated.

[Octane]

That sounds truly horrible. How does one contract it? I haven't had chicken pox, either, and am in my early 30s. My understanding is that these types of condiitions are far worse to endure when you're older.

H

[wavelandscott]

My limited understanding is that when you have chicken pox as a child that the virus never truly leaves but becomes dormant in the nerve endings.

At some future point they can become active again because of some trigger...there are a number of potential triggers. Anyway, the nerve endings become inflamed and a rash develops.

Oh well, I appreciate all of the thoughts and comments, they help.

I've been on the anti-virals fot two days now and while I am not feeling any relief yet, the Dr said it might take a few days but he thought we caught things early so I should bounce back pretty fast.

Cheers All,

[silv]

First you get chicken pox. That's your encounter with the virus.
Then, the virus lies dormant in your spine and waits.
Waits for a time when your body is weakened due to stress or some other thing like a flu that won't go away or something.
Then the virus breaks out again - as shingles.

There is no 2nd contamination involved.

At least, that's what they think atm.

I had shingles when I was 16 - on the facial nerve, upper trigeminal or what it's called, including the eye. No damage to the eye.

But it is assumed that the first onset of trigeminal neuralgia at the age of 27 (during a stressful time at university) was somehow connected to the shingles infection. (Symptom: horrible waves of tooth ache and no help with normal pain killers.)
I have not had shingles again, yet.
But several incidents of said neuralgia.
(Only at the third incident, a dentist finally wondered how I had lost all the teeth on the left side and why he was about to pull another one. He did pull it - but the next day, he gave me call and sent me to a neurologist.
Since then, I know a medication that works against the awful pain.
and haven't lost another tooth. yay :) )

My housemate had shingles just 2 weeks ago, too. I was not infected by it. *knocking on wood*
One of the pre-school mates of her son recently had chicken pox and one of the teachers came down with shingles, recently, too.

So maybe, it is not correct that you can not get shingles from a renewed exposure to the virus.

Funny, too, that in Europe, I have not heard from anybody that they had shingles (maybe I did - but on a very small scale, if so.)
And now here in NZ (and Aus), it seems to be quite common.
Is it the stress from the laid-back way of life?
Is it the ozone hole?
Is it some pre-vaccine promotion? Pharmaceutical companies bringing shingles into everybodie's awareness before they launch their vaccine in 3 years?

Get well soon!

[tlgerdes]

I didnt find the anti-virals made much difference, but hard to tell, did it lessen that length of recovery from 4 weeks to 2 weeks???:shrug:

[sheeny]

Get well soon Scott.

Al.

[cybereye]

Scott,

Sorry to hear about the Shingles - I've had it twice and it's not nice at all!

Ignore any old wive's tales you might hear (I was told one about what would happen if the rash completely encircled my lower abdomen and it had me sweating for days!) as they're all BS!! Just try and get as comfortable as possible, although it's not an easy thing to do, and ride out the storm.

Get well soon,
Mario

[Suzy]

Hi Scott, I'm sorry to hear that you're having to endure this.
I hope you start feeling better soon; it sounds a torturous thing to endure but you're spirits sound good neverthless- keep it up! :)

[wavelandscott]

I do appreciate the comments and commiserations...it is helpful to know that it will pass...eventually.