shingles?

[SpiDer_AnGeL]

I have a question. On friday i went to the doctor and i was told i had a virus. Well the next day I woke up and I had a rash on my face above my eyebrow. So i went to the doctor again and he said I have shingles. Well today I woke up the rash had spread down to my eye and now my eyes swollen. I was wondering how many of you have had shingles. I know it is most common in people the age of 50 but i'm a week until my 17! gosh..........can any one tell me how long this rash will last because I have work on wen,thur, and friday and i dont want to have a big rash on my face. I also am supposed to go to Santa Cruz on Saturday and my friends bday on sunday.....and i dont want to look like this! I just want it to go away! I already am taking 15 pills(the minimum) a day........I also have some pills for pain, but does any know anything about it? Sorry,I started ranting about this...anyways thanks!
-SpiDy

[Old Witch]

PM flar7, he can give you all the information you don't want to hear............

[Theres]

shingles is a herpes virus, related to chicken pox.
the good news is that once you've had it, you can't get it again. it can be painful, but it does go away in about a week, with treatment. it will eventually run it's course.
the bad news is that it is not usually dangerous UNLESS you get it on your face, in which case there is a possibility of facial paralysis.
you ARE seeing the doctor about this since it spread to your face, right? if not then i suggest you do so IMMEDIATELY!

[Willow_Raindancer]

Originally posted by Greenman
shingles is a herpes virus, related to chicken pox.
the good news is that once you've had it, you can't get it again. it can be painful, but it does go away in about a week, with treatment. it will eventually run it's course.
the bad news is that it is not usually dangerous UNLESS you get it on your face, in which case there is a possibility of facial paralysis.
you ARE seeing the doctor about this since it spread to your face, right? if not then i suggest you do so IMMEDIATELY!

It IS the Chicken Pox virus!
Yes it's a herpes virus.
Once you've had them, you have them forever, just in remission.
A friend of mine got them when I was in High School. I guess he was about 15-16 years old.
Shingles ARE contagious if someone touches the lesions thay may get Chicken Pox (if they haven't had them before)
Did your Dr. Put you on Zoverax?
Like Greenman said, call your Dr. ASAP!
Zoverax is not a cure but it is an Anti-Viral. It will lessen the symptoms and decrease the length of time the virus will remain active.
Ususally Shingles are from stress. Stress related hormones weaken the immune system.
It can also occure when your immune system is compromised (aids, transplant patient, Chemo, the list goes on).
I know they can also be quite painfull, I hope they gave you proper pain management!
I'll send some healing energy your way and for Goddess sake
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! ;)

[SpiDer_AnGeL]

Yes, I did go to the doctor. AND tomorrow my mom and brother have a doctors apointment in the morning my dad wants my mom to get me blood tested. The doctor, (who ,btw, wasnt my normal doctor but a clinic doctor ,who i had to go to since it was saturday), put me on three different medications. One was a herpes medication, Valtrex, and another medication, Predisone, I believe. For pain I was given tylonol w/coating....advil....and thats all. And okay, I will PM flar7
Thanks for the response too!

[)O( ~ Khara~ )O(]

Not to make you worry but....... I would not consider ANY trip for now. I had Chicken Pox at 28 when I was pregnent and they couldn't do anything. I was in the hospital for weeks, after the Chicken Pox had run it's course and I was going to be sent home, I woke up with what was thought to be another bought of Pox and ended up being Shingles. I had them on my face, my chest and torso. It got so bad I wore socks on my hands to keep from scratching in my sleep. In total I spent almost 5 weeks in the hospital and missed 9 weeks from work. I still have 2 small places on my face which are completely numb now 6 years later. Trust me on this, do what your Dr. says and thank the Goddess you can take medicine for it. Be prepared for some tingling and feelings almost like where the rash is has gone to sleep. Even after it clears up there can be pain. Take your pain medication. However a bout of shingles can take up to 3 weeks to completely run it's course. So take it easy. Oatmeal in pantyhose (yes sounds nuts, trust me) use that as a scrubby and use oatmeal soap. Aveeno Oatmeal Baths were my best friend. That combined with the hose scrubby and soap were the only treatments I could use.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

Blessed Be...

[flar7]

also, you can keep getting shingles. My mother has had them
three times that I know of. They do stay with you for life. And
the nerve damage if not caught quickly can be permanent. Am
waiting to see if my nerve damage ever goes away......grrrrrrr.

[Willow_Raindancer]

Prednisone is a steriod for the inflamation and itching.
Zoverax is an ointment. (It's given topically for shingles.
acyclovir (aka Valtrex) does the same thing in a pill.
Advil may be the only help you need for pain since your on a steroid.
But don't be afraid to ask for other meds if the ones they give you are not helping!
Sorry, I worked in a pharmacy for years, just some of the old info leaking out of my brain.
I also have never had chicken pox. When my daughter was young I read everything I could about it. My aunt and grandmother had shingles.
There is a shot for chicken pox now. It doesn't garentee you'll not get them, but if you do, they won't be so bad.
Maybe I should get the shot LOL!
After all, I made my daughter get it;)

[flar7]

Valtrex also treats the herpes, Bactroban does more for the itching
than any of the other stuff. For me anyway. And the steroids
enable you to heal quicker as well.

[Amemphis]

I go shingles when I was like ten. It is Not pleasant. Thankfully I didn't have it that bad. It was from stress! A ten year old so stressed she gets shingles...

[Theres]

if at all possible avoid the prednisone. that is nasty stuff. i refused it when i had shingles (refused all the other stuff too, as a matter of fact).
however, i did take a two week course of prednisone when i was out of work with carpal tunnel syndrome. i felt terrible, and put on nearly 15 pounds over those two weeks! i had avoided it for months, but nothing else worked, so i finally gave in. it DID reduce the inflammation, allowing the PT to work. however, in my case all other options had been exhausted without success.
but i believe that doctors prescribe it for too cavalierly these days, there are certainly other options for itching.

[flar7]

she needs to take it since the shingles are on her head. You
can suffer permanent blindness in one eye if they are bad enough
and arent stopped soon enough. The prednison really helps with
that, and in all likely hood she will never have to take it again.
Plus, they are supposed to wean you off prednisone.

[Willow_Raindancer]

Here's a little info for anyone who doesn't know.
When the Chicken Pox virus goes dorment, it hides in your Central Nervous System. Particularly in your nerve endings.
Then when the virus re-activates it inflames the nerve endings.
That's why it's so painful! The pain varies depending on the severity of the Shingles and the persons tolerance to pian.
In Pharmacology-101 we were asked if we could define pain.
Most of us coulden't. So we were taught pain is anything the patient says it is! I like that train of thought. Unfortunatly too many Drs. don't see it that way:(
In my opinion Prednesone is over prescribed as well, BUT
I believe it's up to the patient (or their gardian) to know what medications they are taking. All meds have side effects including herbal ones! You should ask questions about any Rx you get because chances are the Dr. won't volunteer too much info unless you ask PERSISTANTLY. OR ask your pharmasist, they know more about the meds than the Drs. anyway.
Shingles are a serious illness and should never be treated without medical supervision.


:cool:

[earthcat]

Prednisone is over-prescribed because it works. I was on it for 7 years..... When I had a R.A. flare-up, I would take a 'burst'; 5 for 5 days, 4 for 5 days, etc.; back down to my daily low maintenance dosage of 1 a day.
The weight gain in my case was minimal; however I did notice things tasted a little sweeter when I was on the higher doses. And I'm still slightly 'moon-faced'. I guess what I'm trying to say is that different people experience different side affects.
Don't be afraid to take it, SpiDer_AnGeL, but do follow your prescription to a tee. If you stop suddenly without being weaned off of it, you may experience some mental anxiety.
You're in my prayers....
(((((((((SpiDer_AnGeL)))))))))






-- Being on Prednisone that long, I began to worry about my bone density. I had the test last year; my bone density is ok...--

[Willow_Raindancer]

Originally posted by earthcat
Prednisone is over-prescribed because it works. I was on it for 7 years..... When I had a R.A. flare-up, I would take a 'burst'; 5 for 5 days, 4 for 5 days, etc.; back down to my daily low maintenance dosage of 1 a day.
The weight gain in my case was minimal; however I did notice things tasted a little sweeter when I was on the higher doses. And I'm still slightly 'moon-faced'. I guess what I'm trying to say is that different people experience different side affects.
Don't be afraid to take it, SpiDer_AnGeL, but do follow your prescription to a tee. If you stop suddenly without being weaned off of it, you may experience some mental anxiety.
You're in my prayers....
(((((((((SpiDer_AnGeL)))))))))

-- Being on Prednisone that long, I began to worry about my bone density. I had the test last year; my bone density is ok...--





Sorry I did not mean to start an anti-prednesone thread;)
It's a great medication and helps a lot of people!
They tried to put my daughter on it as a trial for allergies!
All she has are seasonal allergies, they said it was for immediate relief. NO! I said regular Benadryl does that, I just wanted something that would not make her too sleepy. So we tried Allegra. Two months in the Spring and one month in the Fall.

My Vet won't even allow my Shar-Pei to stay on Prednisone for more than 2 weeks at a time. Too bad, it works great for her allergies, loads better than Benadryl. :(

[SpiDer_AnGeL]

Thanks everyone for the info. Also, the medication has been working quite well for me, I'm just sick of the doctor! Ive been there three times in four days and I go back tomorrow..........but this time it will be the eye doctor.

Gosh shingles at ten? Thats horrible.........Yeah, Ive got to figure out how to stop stressing.......thats how I got mine also.

[Willow_Raindancer]

Originally posted by SpiDer_AnGeL
Thanks everyone for the info. Also, the medication has been working quite well for me, I'm just sick of the doctor! Ive been there three times in four days and I go back tomorrow..........but this time it will be the eye doctor.

Gosh shingles at ten? Thats horrible.........Yeah, Ive got to figure out how to stop stressing.......thats how I got mine also.

Try Kava Kava (just don't take it and drive!);)
They say St. Johns Wort too, but I can't take it,
it interferes with Birth Control Pills. I think another kid
might be more stressful! :rotfl:

[flar7]

be wary of St. John's Wort, it interferes with many medications.

also, the reason you get shingles from stress is that stress lowers
your immune system. So anything that lowers your immune system
can cause another outbreak of shingles. Thats one reason that
if you have had shingles, you cant have an organ transplant, at
last check that is. My info for transplants is a year old.

[Willow_Raindancer]

Originally posted by flar7
be wary of St. John's Wort, it interferes with many medications.

also, the reason you get shingles from stress is that stress lowers
your immune system. So anything that lowers your immune system
can cause another outbreak of shingles. Thats one reason that
if you have had shingles, you cant have an organ transplant, at
last check that is. My info for transplants is a year old.

Then it's a good thing I haven't had Shingles.
All my friends say I need a brain transplant :)

I'm such a goof!:boing:

[)O( ~ Khara~ )O(]

I didn't know you couldn't have an organ transplant if you have had shingles. That is terrible. Geez what if one of my organs flops? Now I really have something to stress over:(

On the prednisone note, for those who can take it, it does help. I was bit by something (I squashed it in my shirt) and had a sever reaction a couple years ago. They gave me prednisone. I didn't gain weight though.

Sounds like you are a good course to get well!