Not a fun week

[DLCTEX]

I started the week with aches and pains that were thought to be arthritis, then Tuesday I woke up to a lumpy rash on my upper right chest and back of my neck. Shingles! It is contained to upper right body, to top of my head on the right side, and down my right arm to the fingertips. It is no fun, but not as painful as my brother had it recently. The pain meds put me to sleep and the pills upset my stomach. Medicare would not pay for the $200 prevention shot, so now they are paying much more . Can't stand to be on the computer long and the website problems haven't helped. Hope none of you have to endure this.

[mikeym1a]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Never had shingles, but I understand it is very painful. I hope you find relief from your pain.

mikey

[btroj]

A shingles shot is no guarantee you won't get shingles. Not even close.

It can last a month or more.

[TheCelt]

I got the shot and still got shingles! I feel for ya Pard, it ain't no fun that's a fact. Hope ya heal up quick.

[ph4570]

Nasty stuff. I had it on my head and then on my back. I read that 1500 mg of vit C a day is as effective as the shot. I do the vit C now.

[Rick Hodges]

The shot only has something a little over 50% effectiveness.....but if it saves you from getting it....it is money well spent.

[MtGun44]

I had it in Russia, they didn't have a clue what to do. Doc here ID'ed from 6 ft away
when I got home, and gave me some pills that made it go away in a few days. I got
the vaccination a year ago, but it is no guarantee, about 50-60% effective.

The disease is HIGHLY variable. Mine wasn't too bad, but a friend's mother had a
severe case, half her torso on one side was "on fire" permanently. She had to
wear a huge lidocaine patch over the whole area all the time just to stay sane
from the pain. Kept it for years, only stopped when she died.

Hope yours is short and minimal.

Bill

[jcwit]

I hope I never get this, I did get the shot, VA covered the entire expense. Fingers crossed!

[crappie-hunter]

I finally went to an infectious disease Dr. and he told me that if you ever had a shingles outbreak the shot would not help it was only for people that never had an outbreak, and then there was no guarantee. This Dr. now has me on a med called valtrex (spelling) and my outbreaks are gone. The Wife is also on this med and her outbreaks are non-existent.

If you have ever had chicken-pox the virus is in your system and the older you get the more likely the chance of a shingles outbreak.

[Goatwhiskers]

I feel for ya. My son, 31yrs, broke out with a case 3 weeks ago. Arms, hands, between his fingers, some on his body. Getting better, he takes his meds and gripes because he didn't get instant relief. Hope I never get it. Prayers for you, this too shall pass. GW

[Wayne Smith]

My MD told me that it would not stop shingles from happening but it would prevent permanent nerve damage from happening.

[dbosman]

Very variable. I wish everyone the light case I had. Even that kept me in bed with the covers off my leg for two days. Tylenol and aspirin alternating kept the pain down.

Here is how bad it can be though.
On a Friday afternoon my doctor prescribed 50 Vicodin to get me through to Monday.
I didn't fill the script as Vicodin doesn't do anything for me.

[felix]

Vicodin is soda pop compared to Percocet. The difference is in the poppy ingredient. Vicodin uses HYDROcodone; Percocet uses OXYcodone. Both of these can be thought of as a modified morphine, the first of which is a much weaker formulation to most people, but not all. So, ask the doc for oxycodone/acetaminophen(tylenol) in the ratio of 5mg/325mg, or oxycodone/aspirin in the ratio of 5mg/325mg which ever you feel works better for YOUR situation. Best to ask for would be just plain old oxycodone HCL at 5mg. Thataway you can add either tylenol (liver killer) or aspirin (kidney killer) yourself, both of which can be used at the same time with the oxycodone. The advantage of using any codone (NOT codine) with these two normal drugs is that the codone is a strong booster for each normal drug. I typically cut the pills, each of them including the oxycodone, in half for a single dose, 6 hours apart per dose, when pain is strongly apparent. ... felix

Lidocaine works for about any skin or skin-deep pain as Bill says in post #7, so keep that in mind as well when you talk to the doc. The idea of these so-called pain drugs is to stop the pain signals to the brain. ... felix

[Duckiller]

Recently got over my first and hopefully only case of shingles. I had the shot approximately 3 years ago. CDC says shot is approximately 50 % effective in preventing shingles. Based on my experience it greatly minimized the effects. It took two days of antiviral and pain killers to get everything under control. After that only minimual pain and discomfort. If you have had chicken pox and you Dr. will give you the shot , TAKE IT! I also took part in a CDC study of people who had the shot and still got shingles. My rash lasted about 2 weeks. Once the antiviral medicine kicked it most of the pain and discomfort stopped. After a month I never felt anything from shingles. No one knows why some peopl with the shot get shingles and others don't. Study I was in focused more on minimizing side effects. Good Luck!

[MaryB]

not good to cut pain meds, some are a timed release and that can screw it up. Never had it and never want it but no shortage of pain meds here. I take Oxycontin and percocet for my spine issues.

[felix]

Mary, Oxycotin is Oxycodone Hcl with a time release coating. Yes, that should NOT be cut up into smaller doses. Percocet has Oxycodone plus Tylenol and has NO time release anything, and therefore can be cut up onto smaller doses. Must know the drug on-hand and its exact chemical contents. The generics almost always go by chemical names rather than by sales-patented names. So, if possible, always select drugs via chemical composition. Most docs, believe it or not, have no idea. You need to know what the doc wants for a specific cause and then you can ask for a generic that should be commonplace enough to purchase that day. ... felix

[Windyvista]

My mother had shingles in her 70s across her face and eye. I know it was very painful so my prayers to you on a speedy recovery. I am close to 60 myself so I really need to be addressing this as well before I get it.