Shingles Support Group
Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. It occurs very rarely in children and adults, but its incidence is high in the elderly (over 60), as well as in any age group of immunocompromised patients.
Hello from a another lucky inductee to the shingles club.
Finally went to the doctor today after a week of living with what I thought initially was just a rash, or an irritation on my back and neck. One look and he says; oh, you have shingles, does it hurt?
He said since you are past the first 72 hours of the outbreak, there is no point in taking any of the drugs usually prescribed, you will have to ride it out, it will probably resolve in a week or two.
At this point, my 'rash' consists of a lot of swelling in and back of my right armpit, painful raised bumps on my back below the shoulder, and an all around sort of muscular pain encompassing the neck, shoulder and back, all on the right side. It feels like something in my back or neck needs re-alignment, though I'm sure it is related to the shingles.
Is this sort of pain and swelling more or less normal during a shingles outbreak?
Is there any relief to be found in meds like Ibuprofen or acetominphen etc?
Thank you.
Finally went to the doctor today after a week of living with what I thought initially was just a rash, or an irritation on my back and neck. One look and he says; oh, you have shingles, does it hurt?
He said since you are past the first 72 hours of the outbreak, there is no point in taking any of the drugs usually prescribed, you will have to ride it out, it will probably resolve in a week or two.
At this point, my 'rash' consists of a lot of swelling in and back of my right armpit, painful raised bumps on my back below the shoulder, and an all around sort of muscular pain encompassing the neck, shoulder and back, all on the right side. It feels like something in my back or neck needs re-alignment, though I'm sure it is related to the shingles.
Is this sort of pain and swelling more or less normal during a shingles outbreak?
Is there any relief to be found in meds like Ibuprofen or acetominphen etc?
Thank you.
Welcome to the "lucky" 20% club! (80% of people never get Shingles). As Mike mentioned, the healing process can vary greatly from one person to another. In my case, the whole thing was over in 3 months. But to answer your question about meds: For me, I tried both Ibuprofen and Acetaminiphen at the inital breakout, and it barely put a dent in the pain level. I went back to my doctor, and then got Pecocet for 2 weeks, which really helped. But that's addictive, and should be used longterm. Then, I got a 6-week supply of Neurontin (Gabapentin), which worked very well. After that, the pain level was low enough that I didn't need any more meds. I feel lucky compared to some of the cases here on this support group. Hopefully, your case will not last too long! Wishing you Good Luck!
I agreed with the doctor to wait a couple of weeks, then re-visit the issue of prescription drugs (perhaps my pain and discomfort is less than what others experience?) He knows I tend to be rather stoic when it comes to pain, and that I don't like to add more prescriptions to the daily load, if it can be helped.
Okay, I admit that frugality MAY play a role too;)
I just had to get out of the house today to get some outside chores done, especially since the weather was so nice. so took a couple of ibuprofen tablets, they seemed to take the edge off the pain. Of course, keeping busy with things that have to be looked after is often a good way to take your mind off your troubles, I find.
All the best to you, and stay well.
Either your "pain and discomfort is less than what others experience", or you're just One Tough Guy! Either way, it sounds like you are blessed. That's good!
Off topic - That's a great looking German Sheppard you have there! I had 2 myself, growing up - a boy and girl from the same litter. When I was 4 years old, I could ride the boy like a horse! By the time I was 5 and too heavy, he basically barked "Get the heck off me!" hahaha...