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.
I stumbled upon this site tonight and have spent some time reading through some of the discussions. I'm relieved to find a place with people who understand what is happening with shingles. Until you've gone through it, no description can fully make people understand how horrible it can be.
All my stress caught up with me and on New Year's Eve day I found myself in urgent care and diagnosed with shingles. I had some blisters on my lower back and was given the antiviral meds, prednisone and Norco. The blisters have healed nicely, but I now have PNP and not just where the rash was. I have the little hot needles also on my stomach.
Back to the doctor today and starting tonight on Gabapentin. I was wondering if anyone has had the following type of pain:
There will be the sharp stab of pain and suddenly it's like a flare being lit. It's like my stomach, my lower back are on fire. I have a high pain tolerance but the first one of these, what I call a flare, had me sitting straight up in my chair and screaming. I've never had pain this intense, even in childbirth. I've had it happen about 4 times. I never know when it will come, so whenever the little needles start I'm terrified that a flare is coming. I think they last about 30 to 45 seconds, not really sure on the time when I'm spending the time screaming in agony.
Has anyone experienced these? I'm so tired, so very tired.
All my stress caught up with me and on New Year's Eve day I found myself in urgent care and diagnosed with shingles. I had some blisters on my lower back and was given the antiviral meds, prednisone and Norco. The blisters have healed nicely, but I now have PNP and not just where the rash was. I have the little hot needles also on my stomach.
Back to the doctor today and starting tonight on Gabapentin. I was wondering if anyone has had the following type of pain:
There will be the sharp stab of pain and suddenly it's like a flare being lit. It's like my stomach, my lower back are on fire. I have a high pain tolerance but the first one of these, what I call a flare, had me sitting straight up in my chair and screaming. I've never had pain this intense, even in childbirth. I've had it happen about 4 times. I never know when it will come, so whenever the little needles start I'm terrified that a flare is coming. I think they last about 30 to 45 seconds, not really sure on the time when I'm spending the time screaming in agony.
Has anyone experienced these? I'm so tired, so very tired.
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I don't really know how to label this but I having a rough week and I can't say it's one thing.... I have a lot on my plate which is nothing new and I try to cope in many positive ways and do but I still have my moments.My kids more so my daughters talk to me about everything which I know it's cause of comfort and we are close.... however I really struggle with the venting about their dad which...
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I did the dumbest thing today. I charged my earbuds, unplugged the block and put the block in my little bag instead of the earbuds. I wasn't happy about that when I got to the gym. What a dummy!
Here's a good site: http://www.vzvfoundation.org/PHN.html
Take care,
Dennis
Yes, I had those flares, as did many of us here. I used to call them "daggers", as opposed to "needles". For me, Gabapentin was the right treatment for that pain, and so I believe it will help you, too. I was on 1800 mg/day. It brought the pain level down from a 10 to around 2. As for you feeling "very tired", unfortunately that is common to all of us. This is a part of the recovery process. Don't try to stubbornly push yourself too hard. Take the extra time to relax/sleep, and don't feel guilty for doing so. Your body will thank you! Good luck, and hope you have a speedy recovery!
The zombie feeling from taking the gabapentin seems to be a little less, I hope that continues. I would like to get down to taking two a day, maybe in a week or so that will happen.
Take care
The use of gabapentin is a life-saver for those symptoms. The side effects are often helpful in healing, since your body is able to rest from the bombardment of pain spikes, and that tiredness is how we feel the change in this experience.
For me, stress relief takes many forms. Getting up in the middle of the night to use the throne is fun..., now that I have all the helpful aids to manage the adventure. Putting on clothes, I have learned that when the shirt hurts coming over my head, to use clothes that are able to get on and off by sliding them around my shoulders over the shirt. This leads to some different color choices, which I see in the mirror, and I laugh, smile, and sometimes, I just leave it on because the thought of enduring that pain removing the shirt is not worth it.
For some people, finding something cool works better than warm, for others, it's something soft like a blanket, towel, cloth that works.
Best wishes. Hope you feel better soon.
Do light up with a good joint--oh it is wonderful--percoset with a joint chaser--or joint wih a percoset chaser--I forget which one. Become an official pot head. Why not? There's nothing else to do in these circumstances.
I feel for you jayah, and I do understand your impatience with this. I have a high tolerance for pain and dislike taking any pain meds, but found myself searching for anything I could find. You describe the pain I am experiencing well: sharp, hot jabs in all areas where the Shingles were. I am also getting pains where the Shingles WERE NOT and that scares me.
I hope you feel better soon and hang in there with us. It sounds like we are all in it together. Take care.