shingles

[ballyboy]

Hello all I am back i have had a bad time ,my back was bad and i had shingles .Istill have pain .has any one had them ,i do not think it is normal stillto have pain .i think i will go back to doctor .

[Sandradsn]

I had shingles right through January but I do still get tenderness and aching around my ribs.I sometimes think it's coming back🙄

[Hidden]

Hi ballyboy, it's a while since I last had shingles but I remember it took a while to go. This may help you regarding the pain that goes on beyond the rash/blister phases. Hope you feel better soon.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2...

[SnazzyD]

Hello, in some the pain does go on for considerably more than the ‘advertised’ 3-5 weeks and is called Post Herpetic Neuralgia. There are medications they try if it is causing problems. Looks like another trip to the doc is called for to see what might be shingles and what might be back problem, though sometimes they are both treated with the same sort of meds depending on the issue. I hope you get some relief.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Unfortunately the pain from shingles can last for months I'm afraid.

[jinasc in reply to PMRpro]

Too true, . Long before I had GCA I had had shingles and the pain lasted ages.

So the second time it came around and I had GCA and someone who shall be nameless visited and hr grandchildren had chickenpox. Bingo, within days shingles appeared, luckily when I rang the GP he came and within an hour I had the stuff that stops it taking hold.

[Jackoh]

I had shingles in January of this year.I was already not sleeping because of pain from peripheral neuropathy in my leg. I had Amitriptyline from the doctor for the peripheral neuropathy and I did raise the dose for the pain from the shingles( the pain was in the small of the back) I still have twinges but still continue to take the Amitriptyline and therefore am able to sleep.I might start to reduce the Amitriptyline and then I suppose I’ll be able to tell if all the pain from the shingles has gone but I’m not in a rush!!

[Noosat]

I had shingles a few weeks before I was diagnosed with PMR. I do think I had suffered from PMR for many months earlier, just thought it was symptoms of aging. After the obvious rash disappeared, it was on my left buttock, I had a tenderness any time I was touched in that vicinity, such as when I took a shower. It seemed to take several months before going away. Good Luck

[Pippah45]

I had shingles a few years back - first diagnosed as a scratch from a rose and treated with anti-biotics! Even though I told the GP it had started on a chicken pox scar on my temple. Nasty disease - and long recovery time. I still get itchy sensations on the two places - which is not fun at the moment being under the threat of GCA. I had the vaccine to prevent a recurrence although now I have seen things that suggest it may not be as safe as I thought!

[Hidden in reply to Pippah45]

There is a shingles vaccine that is ok for use with PMR/GCA. There was a discussion a few weeks ago...

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

It really gets me when you know what's going on with your body but the dr over rides you. I think once you have chronic conditions - pain, PMR, Ra. Anything that reminds you you live a a body, the slightest change is amplified in terms of you knowing what it isn't. Your knowledge that you had a shingle scar there was important. I really wish listening skills were better amongst the medical profession. That an environment where patients feel comfortable airing their concerns was available.

[Pippah45 in reply to Hidden]

Yes - I remember in sales training we were told - one mouth - two ears - use the ears twice as much!

When doctor finally got it was shingles I had done 5 days on anti biotics but he told me to continue with another course - I said one is enough when I didn't need it thank you! His pills for shingles didn't help either I don't think.

My daughter had it recently and I didn't recognise it - on her torso but her GP did.

[Hidden in reply to Pippah45]

I had shingles twice on my torso...where most of my chickenpox scars were as a child. It was just a red rash for ages but it that pain I recognised.