Hello Skald, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’ve been spared shingles up until now but I know one or two people who’ve suffered with it and I hear it is quite as unpleasant as you describe. Due sympathies, I too wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Oh crap. I’m so sorry Skald. Please do update when you can.
Oddly enough I never had chicken pox. So, supposedly I’m safe from this suffering, right?
:dubious:
I had shingles in my late 30s. At first I thought I was getting some sort of heat rash as my entire torso itched. When I went to the doctor they didn’t say much because it was on both sides of my body. I went back a few days later and they said they didn’t think it was shingles at first but knew it was then. They gave me the same stuff I see advertised for nerve pain, I’m not sure how much it helped.
I felt like I had been used as a punching bag it hurt so bad. I will be getting the shot when I’m old enough.
My dad’s had the shingles twice, most recently summer before last (2013). He got it shortly after asking the doctor if he should get the shot, and the doctor said he didn’t need it. DOH!
Nope. Sometimes chicken pox is really light, and people don’t know they had it. My mom certainly knew I had it, because she took me to my cousin’s to catch it (this was pre-vaccine days, and it was considered best to get it over with young, particularly if you were lucky enough to find someone with chicken pox in the summer, when there was no school to miss.)
But I had only four pox. Total. If she hadn’t been hoping and looking for me to get chicken pox, she may very well have missed it and taught me I’d never had chicken pox. I’d still be at risk for shingles.
Your doctor can run a blood test called a “titer” to see if you had chicken pox, if you were never vaccinated.
Skald, that totally sucks. I’m glad you went to the ER, and I hope they’re taking good care of you. Let us know how you’re doing.
until you get the virus.
If you’ve never had chicken pox you can’t get shingles. However you can get chicken pox when exposed to someone with shingles. Once you’ve had chicken pox you can later get shingles. One issue is some people get very mild chicken pox and don’t realize they’ve had chicken pox and come down with shingles later.
So I went to the ER yesterday. There were some complications I don’t care to go into hereabouts, so they admitted me; I hope to go home tomorrow, but we’ll see. I didn’t die or anything; y’all can decide for yourselves if that’s good or bad.:rolleyes:
More later. I don’t have enough juice to keep at this on the phone.
Wow, that sucks Skald. Hope you feel better soon!
I had no idea shingles were so painful. I’m 56 and had chicken pox as a kid. So I should get the vaccine?
I know the vaccine doesn’t work for everyone, but I would get it if I could.
The first time I had shingles, I ended up with some residual nerve pain that came and went for a good eighteen months. It was bad enough that it really did bring me to my knees more than once.
I’m hoping that I don’t get it with this round.
Everybody should get the vaccine. It is still under patent and about $300, but enough people under 60 get the shingles and it is so f’in painful that it is worth it.
Hope they’re taking good care of you and you’re finally getting rest! Best Wishes.
Very sorry to hear that - shingles can be an awful debilitating disease from what I’ve seen of people with it. I plan to get the vaccination soon - I think they won’t give it to you if you’re under 50, so two more years to go.
Here’s my wishes for a speedy recovery, good treatment, and no lingering side effects.
I’m five years and a few days short of 50 and got it, not that it seems to have done much. Maybe they made an exception. Maybe because my younger sister had it at in her 30s. Could there be some genetic susceptibility?
I feel so bad for you. You sound miserable. Did they at least get you on some pain meds, now that you’re in the hospital? I hope you’re able to get some rest. Stay there as long as you can, and let them take care of you. 
I am still in a bit if pain but not remotely as bad as Saturday. I should be going home this afternoon and will be sleeping in my own bed tonight.
I am still in a bit if pain but not remotely as bad as Saturday. I should be going home this afternoon and will be sleeping in my own bed tonight.
ETA: Many thanks for all your concern.
Best wishes! I hope it goes away soon.
Age is a factor, but I got my childhood chicken pox in the 1950s and got hit with Shingles at age 19, so you can get it at just about any age. Luckily the details are lost in the mists of time, but it was several weeks of absolute misery. Good thing it happened in the summer so there was no college time lost, and our family doctor spotted it right away (the Student Health Center would just have handed me a bottle of their all-purpose cure - codeine-based cough syrup - and sent me back to my dorm.) I don’t even think there were any effective antivirals available at the time, you were just expected to tough it out and take aspirin for the pain.
The vaccine is expensive unless you’re lucky/decrepid enough to be on Medicare - six dollars and change out-of-pocket. Even at full price it would still be worth the expense.
Good luck Skald, hope you have a fast recovery.