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Shingles....anyone?

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Posted 3/27/2011 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
So another lovely offshoot of autoimmune problems....shingles. I was on a business trip last week and came down with a nasty rash -- I thought maybe it was my new bra, but it just got worse and by Friday I was flying home in utter agony. Saturday I went to urgent care and was told it was shingles and they gave me an armload of meds including pred...lovely, eh?

So, the burning is the worst; has anyone else had shingles and was there something you could put on to help ease the pain? I tried something the pharmacist gave me, but it made it burn even worse. Thanks for your help!
Posted 3/27/2011 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
i had shingles when i was little, and i remember my mom covering them with calamine lotion and then putting a bandage over it to keep it that way all the time, and then putting me in the bath with something, probably oatmeal. 
Posted 3/28/2011 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, no! Sorry to hear that. It's the reactivated herpes virus left in your body from chicken pox. Did they give you anti-viral med? Maybe calamine lotion would help calm your rash, unless you got an Rx for that, too. Take care & let us know how you're doing. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 3/28/2011 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
Oh no Carol! That's horrible! I'm so sorry :( I know sometimes anti-viral meds can help such as Valtrex. These can help shorten the duration as well as help with the pain. What meds did they give you?
Posted 3/28/2011 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the suggestions, I think the Calamine might be the ticket. I've been given Medrol and Zovirax. The Medrol is actually Methylprednisolone, so it's also producing the lovely flushed face feeling. Tomorrow I turn 52, and I'm feeling like I'm about....hmmmm...102? lol. I have one week at the office and then I'm off again to the east coast and hoping that this is healed by that point.
Posted 3/28/2011 6:28 AM (GMT 0)
Yikes Carol...I've never had Shingles, but I know it can be nasty.

I hope the meds help get it under control quickly and that you won't suffer for too long with it.

Happy BIRTHDAY!!! what a way to start your new year..sigh...hope once you're healed it'll be a perfect one from then on.

q
Posted 3/28/2011 10:48 AM (GMT 0)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY........here........have some shingles! What a nice way to celebrate a birthday :(
Posted 3/28/2011 1:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hey thanks for the birthday wishes! Lol, you never know at this age what type of special presents you are going to get, ha.

Posted 3/28/2011 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
Happy Birthday, Carol!

I'm so sorry for the shingles, argh. Both my husband and I have had them (and he doesn't have any auto immune issues.)

I developed them, oddly, after I slipped on an area rug and took a bad fall. My wonderful internist at the time - known as a crackerjack diagostician - said that, among other things, a physical trauma could bring them on.

Mine were fairly mild, I used the Zovirax cream. My hubby used a steroid cream but nothing by mouth.

I wish you a speedy recovery and a good birthday anyway!

52 - I remember that year, lol.......

Meg
Posted 3/28/2011 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much Songlady; funny I keep reading about how people aren't supposed to get them until after age 60, but what do the experts know anyway? :-) I'm feeling so much better today; I look back at last week and keep wondering how I made it through the week especially having to talk with people for two days straight; amazing what our minds can do!
Posted 3/28/2011 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, gosh!

Let's see.... I was.....35 when I had shingles, and my husband was 41 when he had them. So...... right, so much for the experts!

I hope you continue to feel better!
Posted 3/28/2011 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Last year on Christmas eve I had what was a numb, stinging feeling on my stomach. It almost felt as though my stomach had fallen asleep. The next day... there was the rash! Since it was Xmas, I didn't get to the doctor until Monday and by then the anti-viral would have been useless. So, they gave me Vicodin and Nerontin and told me to watch to make sure the rash didn't get infected.

What I didn't realize about shingles is that it affects the whole nerve. The rash itself actually wasn't that terrible, felt like an abrasion, a little burning. What killed me was the pain in my kidney/liver area that was just the nerve going bonkers! Electric shock like pain, that I couldn't get away from. And it lasted like a month! Even today, sometimes a piece of clothing brushes against my stomach in a way that triggers a tingling shudder.

My doc blamed the H1N1 I had the previous month as the culrpit for weaking my immune system enough to allow the chicken pox to re-surface. He didn't think the UC was really a factor.

Take care! I totally understand.

Posted 3/28/2011 2:47 PM (GMT 0)
By the way... I was 36.
Posted 3/28/2011 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
So what do those experts know anyway?! Ha. I know, the worst part is that its all around my bra line, so I can't wear anything but a camisole because of the stinging pain. Right now I'm thankful for being on the small side of things, lol. I'm thinking that my body is just trying to get back into whack again after being on Remicade so long. Funny thing is that my UC is totally in remission, knock on wood.

Posted 3/28/2011 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
For me I got shingles july last year ....i guess it was due to physical trauma or being on Imuran - my resistance to diseases was very low...My Gp told that these virus are in everybody body and they sit near the spinal cord (without, no harm )and when they get trigger they catch any nerve and sits there. She said when the rash comes within 78 hrs if we start anti viral treatment then it recovery would be fast...She gave me big sized antiviral tablet which was to dissolved in water and has to be take every 4 hrs for 7 days.....aah that was a time when my colitis was worse and then these came in and i shoot up to total 25 tablet per day (including colitis medication).  Dont itch your skin otherwise u shall end up scarring . I know its difficult to resist but still and even when it get healed that  nerve take long time to get rid of pain .  Also i still have dark patches which has got much lighter as the months pass but it really take long time to get rid of those dark patches.

Just take care ....happy birthday !!!!!

Posted 3/28/2011 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
i was 6 when i got shingles!  noone told me 60! 

mine were on my right side of my trunk, and i still have a spot that is slightly discolored and has an odd feeling at times, because it does permanetly damage the nerves.  For a long time we thought that spot was an allergy to detergents and then my mom said, that's exactly where your shingles were worst and sure enough after askign the dr, that was it! 

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