Shingles & needing more heart surgery

[Warm-heart]

My first mitral valve repair has failed sadly after 3 yrs & I need it redone, more open heart surgery..... but a month ago got Shingles. I was unable to take acyclovir as it made me incredibly dizzy & unbalanced. I am in terrible pain after 4 weeks & no sign of it improving though the rash blisters are healed up. Hard to sleep at night for the pain, & all I can do is doze in the day. Has anyone any suggestions for speeding up recovery? The severe pain with no let up is really getting me down too. And has anyone had any success with homeopathic remedies, as I react badly to most medications. Even for my AF all I can take is the blood thinner. Thanks in advance!

[Happyrosie]

my mother had this some thirty years ago and took some months to recover completely from the pain. This is what the NHS says “How long shingles lasts: It can take up to 4 weeks for the shingles rash to heal. Your skin can be painful for weeks after the rash has gone, but it usually gets better over time.

Ask your pharmacist for help.

[Warm-heart in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated!

[Wanderinglady]

Hi, I have had shingles 7 times, so have plenty of experience with it! I’m fortunate in that, I can take acyclovir, although it makes me feel very unwell. On the one occasion I was unable to get it prescribed quickly enough I went on to develop severe pain. It was on my had, so was pretty awful. I got some relief from traditional acupuncture given by a Chinese doctor trained in traditional Chinese medicine. If you decide to give this a try I suggest you find a practitioner who is knowledgeable in true Chinese medicine and not just a physiotherapist who has some training in acupuncture as purely pain relief. I hope you find some relief very soon.

[Warm-heart in reply to Wanderinglady]

Thank you! May I ask how acyclovir made you feel unwell? I felt being dizzy for the 7 day course was not tolerable taking it 5x daily. 1 dose was enough to put me off taking more unfortunately. Did the acupuncture shorten the time that the pain troubled you?

[Wanderinglady]

It’s difficult to say if the acupuncture shortened the duration of the pain because I don’t know how long it would have lasted without it! I do though think, in comparison to other shingles attacks that I have had, it lessened the intensity of pain. It was my first episode and I didn’t know it was shingles until at least a week after it had started, by which time it was too late for acyclovir to be effective. I always go straight to the GP now as soon as I get any signs. I feel very spaced out and nauseous on the tablets but it’s better than the searing pain of shingles. The important thing is to rest as much as possible.

[Warm-heart in reply to Wanderinglady]

Thank you that is very kind of you to reply, I really appreciate it.

[Wanderinglady]

I hope you get relief from the pain soon

[Warm-heart in reply to Wanderinglady]

Thank you!