Shingles pain

[Lizzylily]

A family member has very bad shingles she has had it for almost a year and is in terrible pain the Dr is giving her paracetamol says there is nothing you can do for shingles does anyone out there have any suggestions to ease her pain I can't bear to see her suffer any longer she's 84 and getting very depressed

[Cal66]

Hi

I have lupus & when I had shingles I also had it pretty bad. To help with itching I took Antihistamines, pain Tramadol & Paracetamol, my mum also put lots of Calamine lotion on me, other than that there wasn't much else I could do, but wait for it to go away. I am sorry I don't know what else to suggest.

[Lizzylily in reply to Cal66]

Thank you for your reply

[Madlegs1]

Lidocaine patch is the recognised treatment. Only drawback is it can only be used for 12 hrs in 24.

I used it at night to get a decent sleep.

Good luck.

It has to be prescribed.

Fight for it. It is expensive, though.

[Lizzylily in reply to Madlegs1]

I'm pretty sure her dr won't supply lidocaine but thank you

[Madlegs1 in reply to Lizzylily]

Have s look at the NICE guidelines for shingle treatment. I'm pretty sure that lidocaine patches will be recommended.

[Madlegs1 in reply to Madlegs1]

Ok-- it's not specifically mentioned in NICE . But this is lifted from the manufacturer page. 😃

Uses. This medication is used to relieve nerve pain after shingles (infection with the herpes zoster virus). ... Lidocaine helps to reduce sharp/burning/aching pain as well as discomfort caused by skin areas that are overly sensitive to touch.

webmd.com › details

Lidoderm Topical : Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, ...

Good luck.

[Lizzylily in reply to Madlegs1]

Thank you

[Lizzylily]

Thank you i will check it out

[Astridnova]

High doses of Vitamin D are used to combat the disease (and other auto-immune ones) and I found that, from the time I began to take them, my symptoms started to diminish, day by day. Probably something like 3 x 1000iu daily to start with - maybe more - check what is safe. (I took about 3 times that and developed a strange thirst - sign of overdosage.) Some say that Vit D oil on the skin also works but I didn't find this. As well as this, I found that taking two panadol and two asprin (acetylsalicylic acid) at the same time helped me the most. They actually made it bearable. I stayed within safe dosage. I sometimes varied this with ibuprofen, aware of the risk of bleeding with this anti-inflammatory. Codeine did not help. I also alternated ice and wheatbags and this helped. Hot showers also helped temporarily. Initially the shingles affected my thinking to some degree, which made it harder to manage my distress, and I also slept a lot, but I think that the asprin and panadol both helped the fever aspect as well as the pain. I had a very severe form of shingles and it has left me with some nerve pain in my left arm and breast, but this has gradually diminished, although still there. I have heard of neurologists injecting botox into whichever nerve is involved, but have not actually found anyone who would do this. My doctor told me that at the Children's hospital in my state, they administered shingles vaccinations to children who already had shingles in order to raise their immunity and fight the actual infection. He gave me a vaccination at the tail end of my acute phase but I did not notice it working. It may have in the long term though. My deepest sympathy for your friend and thank you for listening to her and trying to help.

[Lizzylily]

Thank you so much for your lovely reply it was very helpful I'm sure she will try most of your suggestions and i pray they will ease her distress i will post you back if i see signs of recovery thanks again

[philforgot]

Gabapentin can and has been used for pain relief, maybe the family member could benefit from this as it may help, good luck for your future...

[Lizzylily in reply to philforgot]

Thank you I will get her to talk to her gp

[Astridnova]

Thanks, I will be interested to hear if any of this helps.

[BadHare]

Try zinc & natural vitamin C to boost her immune system. Also echinacea.

I use elderberry syrup or tincture, & if an infection lasts longer than a month, I add tinctures of yarrow, goldenseal, & white horehound. I find Neal’s Yard to be good quality. They’re expensive but last well if refrigerated. If you only want a small quantity, if you order by phone, they’ll send it mixed.

[littlebear]

Hi,

It sounds like your family member has post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is ongoing pain once the shingles rash has cleared; nhs.uk/conditions/post-herp...

I would suggest they return to their (or another) GP to discuss pain relief options, as detailed in the NHS article above. Unfortunately nerve pain is notoriously difficult to eliminate completely. I wish s/he all the best xx

[Lizzylily in reply to littlebear]

She has still got the rash which I find pretty amazing her Dr isn't doing more I live a hundred miles away and didn't realise things were so bad

[littlebear]

Oh, crikey. So sorry to hear. Is she on acyclovir?

[Lizzylily in reply to littlebear]

No the Dr will only give her paracetamol says there's no cure

[7534]

Hi Lizzy.....was SO SORRY to hear of your pain

I.....over many years have suffered with shingles pain ...on & off during each year...& have gone through MANY pain relief drugs

But 6 months ago a very new doctor ...put me on a drug called ACICLOVIR

200mg morning & night.......I CANNOT TELL YOU THE DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE 😊😊😊😊😊....only when the chicken pox ( shingles) are around)

I feel a little pain.......WHEW ! SUCH A RELIEF !! So much better !

So......DO TRY THIS .......

I SO HOPE YOU CAN GET THIS DRUG.....& YOU FEEL THE BENEFIT AS I DO NOW......

ITS BECAUSE THE VIRUS LIVES IN YOUR BODY.....& WILL BE ALWAYS BE THERE.......I SO HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU....(DO LET ME KNOW)

SENDING LOVE......Tessa

[Lizzylily in reply to 7534]

Would this work even though she still has the rash

[7534 in reply to Lizzylily]

I really hope it does.....it did for me ....I now take it every day ( twice) and will do for life

Tessa