Shingles

[heathermc]

Anyone else ever had Shingles .First time ever..its so painful. I did contact the Gp straight away and they prescribed antiviral medication..I took this straight away ..suffering nerve pain as well and Dr prescribed me some gabapentin.

So it's a few more meds to add to the tablets I'm.already taking !!

Just hoping it clears soon.

[jointpain]

Hope you get through it soon, I had shingles 45 years ago in my thigh, I'm fine now. My wife had it behind her ear two years ago and still not fully recovered from the virus. She has MF.

[Turfbeg]

Hi, yes I had shingles a few months after starting taking hydroxycarbamide and aspirin. I was fairly lucky as it was along my midriff and as I immediately suspected a shingles diagnosis, I had the antiviral very quickly. Having said that, the pain was still a real nusance, especially in the mornings. At my husbands suggestion, I tried wearing a back support belt pulled tightly and the pressure certainly eased my pain. If you can apply pressure it might help. This was 7 years ago and it's the only time I have had shingles. Hope you recover very soon.

[heathermc in reply to Turfbeg]

Thanks mines on left side of my face and nose. Caught it quickly but the facial pain is bad at times . Hopefully on the mend now. Still got antivirals to take .

[ainslie]

it may be a idea to get the Shingrix vaccine which is very effective

[beetle]

I never had chickenpox as a child and was exposed to it in my early 20s. I had shingles immediately followed by chickenpox then shingles again. The cyclovirs were not around then and the best they could offer me was polio vaccine but with the warning that I could get polio! I declined!

Over the years I have had several bouts of shingles mostly on my back and thigh. I have been taking acyclovir for many years but recently had a bout of shingles despite that. My immune system was way down at the time following chemotherapy.

I have been told that shingles vaccine - Shingrix is the non live one - is not effective when you’ve already had shingles. The virus can lay dormant in your body for many years so it would be good if there was a way of dealing with that as the outbreaks of shingles are extremely painful

I hope you recover quickly and do not suffer any recurrence.

Best wishes, Jan.

[Lilliegarden in reply to beetle]

Oooh your experience sounds awful!!

I had shingles as a child but not since.

I thought you could only catch it once?

[beetle in reply to Lilliegarden]

Unfortunately the virus lies dormant in the original nerve that was infected. It is most likely to re-emerge when your body is under stress - illness etc.