Thats what I was afraid of getting it on my face and damaging my eye.
3 months from now I will get the second shot.
Shingles -The Illness
- Thread starter PontiacHO
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Thats what I was afraid of getting it on my face and damaging my eye.
3 months from now I will get the second shot.
Never had the chicken pox. Went to get the the chicken pox vaccine and they said that I needed to be tested for absence of the antibody before they'd give me the vaccine. I had no chicken pox antibodies so got the vaccine.
My understanding is that you have to have had chicken pox in order to contract shingles.
I got it on the left side of my scalp, temple and into my left eye. It's the weirdest pain. Just lightly rubbing my hair was extremely
painful. You want to rub it to help it but it hurts and so you rub it some more and it hurts more.....My Dr saw it was over my left eyebrow
and sent me immediately to Opthamologist. She said she knew it was in my left eye when she saw the red dot on the end of my nose.
There are 2 different antivirals. One is 5 times a day and the other is 3 (or twice a day?) times a day. Got me on gabapentin and I peaked at 1800 mg/day. Only then was the pain somewhat bearable. Washing my hair, shaving, etc was rough. My wife says I
have rubbed some of the hair off my left eyebrow. If I was really was in a torture mindset, I would roll my car window down. LOL
This happened about 3 months ago and I have slowly weaned off gabapentin two weeks ago. I can still feel it in my scalp and my left eyebrow. My wife had shingles about 2 years ago on her left side and back. No big deal for her so I didn't consider the vaccine.
Boy, if I had known then what I know now....
painful. You want to rub it to help it but it hurts and so you rub it some more and it hurts more.....My Dr saw it was over my left eyebrow
and sent me immediately to Opthamologist. She said she knew it was in my left eye when she saw the red dot on the end of my nose.
There are 2 different antivirals. One is 5 times a day and the other is 3 (or twice a day?) times a day. Got me on gabapentin and I peaked at 1800 mg/day. Only then was the pain somewhat bearable. Washing my hair, shaving, etc was rough. My wife says I
have rubbed some of the hair off my left eyebrow. If I was really was in a torture mindset, I would roll my car window down. LOL
This happened about 3 months ago and I have slowly weaned off gabapentin two weeks ago. I can still feel it in my scalp and my left eyebrow. My wife had shingles about 2 years ago on her left side and back. No big deal for her so I didn't consider the vaccine.
Boy, if I had known then what I know now....
Sure but you really don't want to get chicken pox as an adult.
That's why i got the chicken pox vaccine when I was about 40. Coincidentally, I was working at Merck doing some validation work on the vaccine.
Twenty four years ago and left me with intractable post herpetic neuralgia. My GP agreed to prescribe fentanyl at the beginning of this year and I have not had a disabling PHN attack this year. I'm opioid tolerant, so I experience none of the euphoria associated with opiod use. Everyone over fifty should get the shingles vaccine ASAP. You don't want to experience the severe nerve pain that inflicts about twenty percent of those who come down with shingles. Best advice you will ever get.
Bumping the thread as I have shingles now. Dropped the ball on the vaccine, had intended on getting it. I'm 60, with 30 years of autoimmune issues.
Holy mother of god, the internal pain was so bad they tested me for kidney failure, bladder infection and abdominal problems like gall stones/appendicitis. There was no getting any sleep, which has it's own set of risks. By the third day, I was out of my mind from lack of sleep AND in agony.
The best description is that my right kidney felt like it suffered a gunshot, but the pain never relented as it will with a physical injury. The skin pain, while not minor, was not of the same level as the internal pain. Writhing in pain, literally.
Finally a small and growing rash showed up, along with painful skin on the Right side only, and we all knew what it was. Valtrex prescribed, and within a few hours, pain went from 9-10 to a 3-4. Ahhhh. relief.
Of note, Valtrex is taken 3x per day, and seems to wear off about 2 hours before the next dose. It is still spreading, now to the Right face and leg, so I'm thinking the dose needs to be more frequent.
Holy mother of god, the internal pain was so bad they tested me for kidney failure, bladder infection and abdominal problems like gall stones/appendicitis. There was no getting any sleep, which has it's own set of risks. By the third day, I was out of my mind from lack of sleep AND in agony.
The best description is that my right kidney felt like it suffered a gunshot, but the pain never relented as it will with a physical injury. The skin pain, while not minor, was not of the same level as the internal pain. Writhing in pain, literally.
Finally a small and growing rash showed up, along with painful skin on the Right side only, and we all knew what it was. Valtrex prescribed, and within a few hours, pain went from 9-10 to a 3-4. Ahhhh. relief.
Of note, Valtrex is taken 3x per day, and seems to wear off about 2 hours before the next dose. It is still spreading, now to the Right face and leg, so I'm thinking the dose needs to be more frequent.
Shingles is from the live chicken pox vaccine that was originally used.
Gabapentin was what eliminated most of my pain. I had to go to 1800 mg/day. Very hard to wean off. I still have some pain 6 months out.
Shingles IS from the same virus as chicken pox.
Shingles: Who gets and causes
Learn about who gets shingles and what dermatologists understand about the causes.
www.aad.org
I had one when I was finishing up Grad School, about 30 years ago.
Spent the day at Lake Erie with my then Fiancee when, all of a sudden, I started feeling pain like I was being jabbed with a needle all over my chest and down my sides. With this pain, started the blisters (about the size of the tip of an ink pen) over my chest, down my sides, all over my chest and arms.
I was home for the weekend, so we headed back to my Mom's house (she was an RN) and had her look at them. Within 15 minutes of that, she had me in the ER.
They diagnosed it as Shingles, and did what they did years ago, started me on a 10 day course of Acyclovir (sp?) with another 10 day refill.
I was told that If I still had the blisters on day 10, to take the second course.
I ended up taking both courses, and the blisters started receding about day 14. I was fortunate that I dealt with them early on, and was aggressive with treatment. Did not have a great deal of pain or a headache, other than the pin prick feeling. The ER doctor thought that they were stress induced, and knock on wood, I have never had them again.
I ended up taking the vaccine several years ago. Shot #2 caused some discomfort,but nothing major. The needle was nothing to me, after having had cortisone shots in my wrist prior to Carpal Tunnel surgery. Now, those are large, painful needles.
Shingles is the one thing that I won't procrastinate on. Both my MIL and Sister have had prolonged, multiple events with them, and while they came out alright, it was touch and go with them for a couple of months.
No, shingles involved itching, burning, rash in areas.
I got an outbreak near my ear and face. Initially I thought is was an ear infection (worst ear pain in my life) but then I got patches on my face and ear which looked like “dead skin”. It got very close to my one eye and I have to go on heavy duty anti viral meds which was rough because it basically kills everything in your body. You can go blind if it gets too closed to your eye. I felt horrible for three weeks…
I went to ER early during the outbreak (didn’t know then I had shingles) because of chest and left arm pain. At 65 I thought my heart was giving trouble. A series of tests revealed heart was fine. The ER doctor found the rash in the beginning stages on my upper left arm. Started me on Valtrez and Im thankful he did. A few days later my doctor prescribed the Gabapentin. I’m still on it for the nerve damage down my left arm. This virus is harsh. Take precautions.
Owen Lucas
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Get multiple rxs of the Valtrex and keep in on hand wherever you got. In the car, suitcase, home. It is OTC in many foreign countries so maybe you can stockup if you travel abroad. Glad you are feeling better.
I've read that the chance of recurrence is 5%
I've also heard that it can come back in the same location or a different one.
I'll be getting the vaccine as soon as I am able. I'm only 6 days into this and I hope to prevent recurrence.
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Hope you're getting better without unbearable pain /
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I think I already posted in this thread, I got one shot and never went back for the 2nd. If I understand it, it may have been pricey too until 2023, as mine was no charge. anyway of all the shots, this one made me feel under the weather. Also, if I read correctly, 1 shot is 90% efficacy, 2 is nearly 100%? So odds with 1 are decent...I mean do I get another now, or forget it...
edit: I guess this is the answer....it seemed that after 2 mos and up to 6 was the desired action. But nobody likes shots imho...
www.cdc.gov
A: You should give the second dose as soon as possible. However, you do not need to restart the vaccine series.
edit: I guess this is the answer....it seemed that after 2 mos and up to 6 was the desired action. But nobody likes shots imho...
Shingrix Vaccine FAQs | CDC
Healthcare providers can get answers to common questions about the Shingrix vaccine.
www.cdc.gov
Q: What should I do if a patient waits longer than 6 months to get the second dose?
A: You should give the second dose as soon as possible. However, you do not need to restart the vaccine series.
