I had shingles a few years ago under my left arm I believe. I didn't know what it was, but my doctor at the time recognized it right away and put me on antibiotics. It went away soon after, but ya, it hurt like hell-o.LoLoLoLo

Hope you are recovering fine Mark.. I was hauled in for a shingles shot last week by My GP... legislated here once you are in your 70's...

Cheers

John

John! If only I would have had my vaccine, I'd be feeling fine today! I just kept putting it off, thinking I would be immune to contracting Shingles! The truth is, at 3 months now, that the infected area is still numb, burning and itching! I just saw my primary care doctor yesterday, and she increased my Lyrica dosage from 50mg to 75mg per capsule, 3 times a day.

I've been through so many different drugs, including narcotics and even CBD oil, to help alleviate the after effects, which is known as PHN, or PostHerpetic Neuralgia.

I would not wish Shingles on anyone! This is much worse than the Pulmonary Embolism I suffered on my birthday! While I was in the hospital for 2 nights, there really wasn't any pain, I was treated well...and even enjoyed the food!!!

Getting any vaccination is a personal choice, but I will say that I do believe in the Shingles Vaccine and will get it once my PHN is gone. But, there is no way of knowing just how long that will be!

-Mark

Two things time has taught me:

1. A slipped disc is like having someone put a vice-grip on your spinal nerve and, after awhile, you start making deals with your creator -even if you're an atheist.

2. Shingles is like getting knuckle-punched in the arm by your big brother so hard, that the pain basically is unbearable....But, unlike getting punched, the feeling of shingles is sustained right at that peak moment of pain....and it doesn't diminish after a few minutes. It just goes on and on for days and weeks. Oh, and add a bit of fire to that, too.

...and that's basically all that time has taught me.....heh heh ;)

O-Lugs!

#1. While I've never had a slipped disc, I would agree totally with your comment!

#2. Yep, that's where I'm at. 3 months in and it hasn't diminished! I finally gave in and took a Norco tonight, so that I can get some sleep. No worries, though, as I'm not addicted!!

-Mark

Sorry to hear this Mark,

Hope you recover ASAP... (my Mother suffered from shingles, but seemingly to far a lesser extent than yourself...

( by the way,.. you are doing a great job around this forum )

Cheers..

John

I wanted to post an update to my shingles saga. After 4+ months, the affected area is still causing me quite a bit of pain. I won't go into the details, other than to say that this experience has been one of the worst things I've had to go through.

However, relief may be on the way. Tomorrow, Tuesday, I'm getting a pain-blocker injection in my right-side Trigeminal Nerve. It's only taken a month-and-a-half to get it! The wheels of pain management turn rather slowly for us "normal" folk on Medicare! The injection "cocktail" will be a steroid/lidocaine mix.

I'm being cautiously optimistic that relief will come!

-Mark

Sorry to hear it, man. Is it just the post-herpetic neuralgia? Or, are you still treating the lesions?

I have a good friend who had a liver transplant and has to be on organ rejection meds for the remainder of his life. Then he contracted shingles and he can't take any of the preventative vaccines due to drug interactions. He has been suffering with the pain and taking an array of prescriptions for the pain.....some of them cause his voice to have a tremor.

He told me that he's tried just about everything and found that one of the best things has been medical marijuana. He said it didn't treat the pain but rather distracted him from it. Unfortunately, he can't be high all the time so he only uses it in the evenings before bed. I'm not sure if this is an option where you live but it seems that more and more places are recognizing it as a substance of merit. If you prefer to not smoke it, there are "edibles" that can impart the same effect......at least that's what they tell me.....*cough* ;)

Hi O-Lugs! Yes, it's PHN. My face has completely cleared up and you'd never know anything was wrong with me! I'm leaving in 15 minutes for my appointment!

Very sorry to hear about your friend. Sounds like he's been through quite a bit. For myself, I did try CBD oil some time ago, but it offered no relief.

-Mark