Shingles Lucky I guess

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I had shingles about three years ago. Where I had the painful rash on my stomach I still occasionally get tingling. Never painful more almost an itch and seldom last longer than a few minutes, But man when i look online & I must have just dodged a bullet some people have severe pain for years and barely tolerate cloth on spot.

 

[luvthatduke]

I know people who got it in their EYE!
Said there was no pain like it...

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I’ve had them twice - one small spot both times same area - right at end of scar from spinal surgery - itching was insane - pain is same as pain I have from spinal injury so nothing new there
DD got them over a year ago - youngest patient our Dr has to date - she also was lucky very tiny patch on her back with intense itching - lucky very little pain - have no idea why as she was not stressed and no major life events going on
I also have known people who had it around their eye and that’s very dangerous - they are nasty little things - each person is different - my deepest sympathy to anyone suffering and I hope you feel better soon with no lingering symptoms !!

 

[Disney Ella]

You were lucky. I had them on my stomach and back. The worst pain went away at three months, but I continued to have pain for over a year. I just got my first Shingrix shot this week since I never want to go through that again.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Oh when I had I had pain. I mean I was able to work all but one day but I was in pain all day for a week, I'd say.

 

[kirstenb1]

I got it in my right eye. The headache and pain was staggering. The rash traveled through the nerves on my face, and reached my teeth. It was really bad, and 4 years later, I still have nerve pain. Please, I urge everyone to get the Shingrix vax.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I had them on my waist about 2 years ago. I had intense internal pain for about 3 weeks and then residual pain for 3 or 4 more weeks.

 

[disykat]

I was lucky too. I had a mild case of Shingles on my head when I was in my 40's. I had been having other health issues so my immunity was low and I was already so tired that I didn't notice a difference. I just thought "and now I have this weird rash that stings like crazy on my head." It took me a while to figure it out until I thought "that's weird that it's only on one side" and then it dawned on me. My doctor confirmed it. I had no ill aftereffects and any symptoms were caught up in my other issues. That said, I get my Shingles Vax!

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

I also got a little lucky. Mine was on my face stretching from just outside my eye up my nose to my eyebrow and thru it.

I was on vacation and my face itched. So I thought one of my pups had given me poison ivy. I kept putting clear calamine lotion on it.

But I also kept telling my husband that my face hurts and I did not understand why it hurts because poison ivy does not usually hurt.

Went to my Primary Care Doctor because it was not getting better and she took one look and said it was Shingles. I did not think I was old enough for shingles so that idea never crossed my mind.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I did not think I was old enough for shingles so that idea never crossed my mind.

My sister had shingles when she was 7. It's a virus. Same virus related to Chicken Pox. Of us 3 kids 2 of us had Chicken Pox and one had shingles at the same time.

 

[DisneyOma]

My sister had shingles when she was 7. It's a virus. Same virus related to Chicken Pox. Of us 3 kids 2 of us had Chicken Pox and one had shingles at the same time.

So the one with shingles had the chicken pox already? I thought there was only one virus that was chicken pox/shingles? You got chicken pox, the virus stays dormant in your body, then it can re-emerge as shingles?

 

[tzolkin]

DD got them over a year ago - youngest patient our Dr has to date - she also was lucky very tiny patch on her back with intense itching - lucky very little pain - have no idea why as she was not stressed and no major life events going on

I had shingles when I was 11 and I was pretty miserable. My parents took me to the ER and the doctors were fairly certain I had meningitis, but when they were taking me in for testing they noticed the rash just beginning. It developed into a 6" or so wide band that wrapped around my right side from my navel to my spine. It wasn't like a spotty rash, it was a solid swath of burning oozing grossness where you really couldn't even see my skin. I do remember the tingling/burning persisting for at least several months and I had scarring for years. I did have mono within the same school year so I think that's why I got shingles.

So the one with shingles had the chicken pox already? I thought there was only one virus that was chicken pox/shingles? You got chicken pox, the virus stays dormant in your body, then it can re-emerge as shingles?

Yes, you have to have already had chicken pox to get shingles so it is weird for siblings to have both chickenpox and shingles at the same time. One possibility is that the previous poster's sister had already had chicken pox years earlier, the dormant virus came out as shingles which transmitted chickenpox to her siblings (about two weeks from exposure). Or perhaps she really just had chicken pox too but it was mild and the rash was contained to one area so the doctor misdiagnosed as shingles? (I had a very mild case of chickenpox when I was in kindergarten, but my younger siblings all had progressively worse symptoms as it went down the line to my newborn sister.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Yes, you have to have already had chicken pox to get shingles so it is weird for siblings to have both chickenpox and shingles at the same time. One possibility is that the previous poster's sister had already had chicken pox years earlier, the dormant virus came out as shingles which transmitted chickenpox to her siblings (about two weeks from exposure). Or perhaps she really just had chicken pox too but it was mild and the rash was contained to one area so the doctor misdiagnosed as shingles?

I can't say. My mom was pretty good about tracking our childhood illnesses, so I doubt my sister had had chicken pox prior to this.

It definitely was shingles she had at the same time as the rest of us had chickenpox. She still has the scarring around her waist some 60+ years later. And she can recall the pain/burning she had, occurring for months/years afterwards.

 

[tvguy]

Never had it but from what I have heard, it can be awful. I got my vaccine when it came out. And now they say it wasn't effective for very long so now I have had the new two dose vaccine to avoid getting shingles. Cost me $199 since Medicare and my Medicare Supplement don't consider it an essential vaccine.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Never had it but from what I have heard, it can be awful. I got my vaccine when it came out. And now they say it wasn't effective for very long so now I have had the new two dose vaccine to avoid getting shingles. Cost me $199 since Medicare and my Medicare Supplement don't consider it an essential vaccine.

Well, the first vaccine (Zostavax - one dose) was only about 50% effective. But I got that shot, since 50% was better than 0%.

Then Shingrix (2 doses) came out, I got that, too.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Wow 7 years old
Wow 11 years old
How horrible - it’s horrible at any age but so young to get it !!

 

[trip]

With all of the Shingles ads on TV lately, it got me thinking. Will Shingles be one of the diseases that will "disappear" since almost everyone since '95 has been inoculated for chicken pox?

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I hope it is more than just a rumor.

With all of the Shingles ads on TV lately, it got me thinking. Will Shingles be one of the diseases that will "disappear" since almost everyone since '95 has been inoculated for chicken pox?

Or does getting shot mean you are now susceptible?

 

[kymom99]

Funny, my husband was just diagnosed with shingles today. I looked at the rash and said I think you have shingles. Go to the doctor. He swears he never had chicken pox but that must not be true. I’m wondering if he had them with no rash. He has lots of siblings so his mom might have been mistaken about that too.

My friend had them on her head. She had terrible pain. She still feels it a little bit years later.

 

[nw6675]

For those of you that had it, what was your very first clue? I have a painful rash that just appeared today and I suspect it may be shingles. Lord, I hope it isn't cause ain't nobody got time for that!!