ever have shingles??? Chicken Pox part 2

[91 X]

:frown: I went golfing the other day after sleeping about 4 hours the night before...Later that day I felt a sharp upper back pain along with a sunburn sensation in my left arm...Thinking I just tweaked my back and triggered a nerve, I just kinda ignored it...Then a couple days later I got a couple weird dime size blisters on my left chest and showed my wife and she said I had one on my back too...Now I'm starting to worry, I'm a bit of a hypercondriac
and thinking the worst(skin cancer) so I finally go see a doctor on Monday and he tells me I have Shingles??? Basically it is chicken pox part 2..Apparently the chicken pox virus never goes away, it lays dormant in your spine and sometimes creeps back out using a nerve to surface...that is shingles...It sucks!!! I have them on my left side chest arm and back, luckily I didn't get the more dangerous facial ones...

I turned 40 last month and already falling apart...:redface:


just a heads up to us old farts(even some young ins too) if you get a weird burning sensation on your arms, back, neck etc. on one side of your body and notice a small skin rash the next day..go see a doctor right away..the quicker you treat it the better off you'll be...

 

[ALSWEL]

I had them about 6 years ago. Stress with a new job brought them on, says the Dr. So much pain...nonstop....and I caught mine within a day. Just slightly annoying in the morning after a hot shower and full blown blisters and swelling by that night. Had I not been visiting my parents that day I would have suffered that night. My mom said "Its shingles, go to the Dr." Pain meds do help with this one.

 

[Caustic]

Yes, I've had it. It sucks. Stress is the normal trigger and was for me as well.

 

[bambbrose]

Got it in high school actually, quite rare at a young age. All I remember was the pulsating stings while trying to sleep!

 

[Malibu Rapper]

I never had the chicken pox but I got shingles. My dad and mom always told me I was vaccinated for chicken pox and never had it. Stress was not a factor. Funny thing was I hung out over at a friend's house with one person who had chicken pox and then a few days later I got shingles. It just felt like an itchy headache at first. Funny how it only affects one side of the body.

 

[queenlives]

i've never had them (knock on wood) but my father has beginning in his late 50's. pop says that drinking hot coffee helps calm his down ... i don't recall him taking any meds, though i think he does use a type of cream on his skin that helps soothe them a bit. seems to me an md is the best source for help.

good luck!

 

[Zuerst]

I never had the chicken pox but I got shingles. My dad and mom always told me I was vaccinated for chicken pox and never had it. Stress was not a factor. Funny thing was I hung out over at a friend's house with one person who had chicken pox and then a few days later I got shingles. It just felt like an itchy headache at first. Funny how it only affects one side of the body.

stress or anything that knock your immune system down a few notches...

 

[stevieray122854]

My stepfather used to get them on his right side and he always used a cortisone cream to get them to calm down. Must have worked because I never heard him complain but then he had the pain tolerance of a mule.

 

[docjohn]

don't mess with any young children or pregnant woman during the blistering phase.

 

[westernb4]

If it's really shingles, blisters shouldn't be anywhere near dime-sized.

 

[BATMANs]

guess my voodoo doll theory worked......

 

[91 X]

If it's really shingles, blisters shouldn't be anywhere near dime-sized.

they aren't anymore:frown: it first appeared as a dime size pinkish rash...now it spread from chest to back and biceps....all on my left side....

sucks bad!!!

It's been about a week since the initial back pain and 5 days since the first blister appeared on my chest...I was prescribed Acyclovir and started taking it on Monday, so hopefully it will start to subside soon...

 

[Peace Frog]

I had the shingles when I was around 10 or so. No clue why, no abnormal stress at the time, or at least nothing I remember specifically.
Man that sucks. What a miserable time. :frown:
I think I just lay down on a wet towel on the floor as much as I could. Did anything yo keep my mind off of it.

 

[docjohn]

bump ...as we age ...lol I just started an anti viral because my nose and cheeks swelled a bit with some pain started 2 days ago...don't want to mess around if it is zoster of the face...

 

[whiteNSXs]

Get well soon, Doc!
Steve

 

[docjohn]

Thanks Steve...turns out it was just a nasal cellulitis from ingrown hair....But I can report that Famcyclovir is easily tolerated...:redface:

 

[whiteNSXs]

Thanks Steve...turns out it was just a nasal cellulitis from ingrown hair....But I can report that Famcyclovir is easily tolerated...:redface:

Sigh! Primates use to talk about hotest [sic] women, lap times, weight-training, and other "manly" stuffs. 25 years later, we are discussing dentures, arthritis, shingles, diapers, canes/walkers, and erectile dysfunction. How is that assisted living situation working out for you?
Steve

 

[docjohn]

:biggrin:....the riddle of the sphinx.............