Shingles

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Post shingles pain relief, was taking gabapentin but suffeted side effects , what else can i take ?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Previous

This is a thyroid forum which offers support for members who have a thyroid condition.

None of us are medically trained, nor do we know anything about you as there is no information in your profile, so it would be inappropriate to be suggesting medication for pain relief. It's a discussion for your GP really.

[dina7 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Is there any relation between shingles and thyroid? I've had shingles several times and wonder if it's being hypo that makes me more vulnerable?

[radd in reply to dina7]

dina7,

Most definitely according to people like Isabella Wentz & Datis Kharrazian. Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV).

'Direct evidence of the presence of viruses in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis has been found with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Herpes Simplex (HSV), HTLV-1, enterovirus, mumps, rubella, parvovirus, Coxsackie B, Human Herpes and Hepatitis C. Furthermore, emerging evidence implies that CMV can precede the onset of autoimmune disease.

It is worth mentioning that many of these viruses are part of the herpes virus family, including: Epstein-Barr (considered herpes 4), Herpes Simplex (1 and 2), Varicella zoster (the cause of chicken pox and known as herpes 3), Cytomegalovirus (herpes 5), and Human herpesvirus 7 (herpes 7). There are 9 herpes viruses that are known to infect humans, and the entire family is believed to be linked to the development of autoimmune disease.'

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

[Mamapea1 in reply to radd]

Yes, I had EBV...thankfully with no reccurances. I'd completely forgotten reading that excellent page 🙄 Thanks for posting. Weathers getting colder...may have to up my T3 a bit before my brain freezes in the fog! 😂

[dina7 in reply to radd]

Oh no, not the dreaded EBV again! Thank you so much radd, I'd kind of forgotten that EBV was at the root of everything, probably including my hypo. I don't have hashis though and was only diagnosed with hypo after being really ill with shingles (though I think I was hypo long before that). Nothing's simple is it? I'll have a read of your link tomorrow, thanks again.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to dina7]

I've been diagnosed/treated for over 45 years and I've not had shingles and my hypothyroidism is not autoimmune. I know it's connected to the chicken pox virus (and I had that as a child).

[Mamapea1]

I can't recommend a painkiller, but to get rid of the shingles and therefore the awful nerve pain, L-Lysine 500mgs (on an empty stomach) may help to rid you of the virus. Perhaps something to look into? It's worked for others, so maybe worth a try? There seems to be a lot of shingles about lately, unfortunately. I hope you feel better soon.

[Previous in reply to Mamapea1]

Thankyou mamapea 1

[dina7 in reply to Mamapea1]

That's very interesting Mamapea1 . Do you know if it's worth taking L-Lysine as prevention for shingles? I keep getting it and have heard lots of people have had it after the Covid jab, which I've not had as can't afford to get shingles at the moment. Though I know people who've had Covid itself have had shingles too, but at least I can try and avoid Covid! My sister in law has just had shingles though, not Covid related - why would there be so much about lately? She was lucky though, was diagnosed by GP on video call and got the antivirals in time, first person I know of who's managed that!

[Mamapea1 in reply to dina7]

Hi dina well I don't think it would do any harm, but I'm unsure of the dosage for that. It's worth looking into though, and if you're prone to recurrences, maybe it doesn't quite clear enough each time you get it? It's always there...a nasty virus that lurks and seems to get you when you're down in some way. I do believe you can keep these things down and out though...it's just finding the right solution. I know someone who used to get recurrent cold sores, and hasn't had one for many years since taking Lysine from time to time...I'm unsure how much/often she takes it though. I do take it occasionally myself as an antiviral, and always have some in the house, along with the mountain of other stuff we hypos need!

Please know this advice is all pure guesswork on my part...I don't suffer from shingles myself, but I do know many people who find L-Lysine very effective for it. Yes I've heard that it's very common after the vax/Covid, and I wonder if this current surge in active cases has caused it to be more widespread, and therefore more easily activated in vulnerable others, like your sister in law? Or perhaps they have caught Covid, but didn't realise it? Many people have immunity to it, I believe, or have such mild symptoms, it goes unnoticed.

As far as the hypo/thyroid connection, I'm sure I read somewhere that hypos were LESS likely to get shingles, but I'll have to search for that, and I assume that you have to be optimally medicated and have vits/minerals in good order for that to be so. Susie may know more about that, and judging by the many 'shingles' posts alongside this post, their study may well have been wrong (!) 😊 I haven't read them, maybe they're newish posts? I hope you manage to stay on top of it anyway.

[dina7 in reply to Mamapea1]

My sister in law thinks she had Covid - she lost her sense of taste for a day when my brother had Covid (!) but that was 18 months ago so probably not related, but who knows how long these things hang around in the body. I'm on a good dose of Vit D and B12. And haven't actually had shingles since I had two teeth extracted last year. But having to reduce my Metavive as now have osteoporosis, so I hope that doesn't leave me more open to it again.

[Mamapea1 in reply to dina7]

Re helvella's excellent link below, I do take a lot of methyl B12, as I get neurological issues otherwise. I probably should have injections, but I have managed very well so far on sublinguals. Hopefully you and Previous both have good levels of B vits, and D? They were my missing links to good health. I often assume people posting on here, (unless they say otherwise) always have good levels of everything, as it's advised so often! 😊

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Have you got any sort of thyroid issue?

In case it is of interest, there was some discussion about B12 and shingles - and it seems very definitely to be worth trying. Not personally convinced of the need/desirability of methyl-, I tend to use hydroxo-.

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

[MaxSmart]

You can get gabapentin as a cream to apply on painful areas