# Shingles anyone?



## Pappy (Sep 27, 2013)

Are shingles as bad as I've heard? Folks are telling me I should have the shot for these. What are the opinions on this?
My doctor always gives me my flu and pneumonia shot but has never mentioned the shingles shot. I did have the mumps as a youngster.


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## Jillaroo (Sep 27, 2013)

_Shingles are very painful, my cousin had it all over his head and face and was in a bad way for weeks, i didn't know you could get a shot for it_


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## TICA (Sep 27, 2013)

I believe that shingles are in your system if you've had chickenpox (not mumps).   I've heard horror stories where even laying down to sleep was agony.   Apparently if you get on antibiodics within 24 hours of them showing up, you can nip them in the bud so to speak.  I don't know anyone who has had a shot to prevent them, but I don't see why not?


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## Phantom (Sep 27, 2013)

I was on Endone and Lyrica for pain.It felt like I had a broken back!! The pain tabs would allow my two hrs of sleep then I would be awake for another two hrs waiting for my next dose.
I went to a Dr. on duty on a Saturday and he thought maybe shingles but didn't give me anything
By Sunday I had to go to emergency Dept at hosptal,I was bent over with pain
If they have an injection for this then GET IT !!!!
I had blisters on chest,back and under both arms
  I never Never Never want this again


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## Diwundrin (Sep 27, 2013)

Didn't know there was vaccine against Shingles.  
They are caused by a residual virus left behind after a bout of Chicken Pox.  If you never had that then you won't get Shingles.  It's a form of herpes virus but not the embarrassing type. It changes form when it presents as Shingles but is the same virus.  It can lay dormant in the body for 50 years and no one seems to know what triggers it later in some while it never recurrs in others.  ... /end of unsolicited information.

I had it when I was in my 50s, by sheer coincidence I'd read something about Shingles and recognised the symptoms.  
If it can be caught within 72 hours of the outbreak there is a powerful antibiotic treatment that will stop it getting worse. 
Believe me, don't wait!

It begins as a strange 'crawling' sensation beneath the skin, like ants crawling around.  It gradually increases and the skin starts to inflame, like heat rash.  By the time blisters start to form you are in deep sh*t if the 72 hrs are up.  
A neighbour was months getting over them and wore nothing but a silk scarf around her upper body because she couldn't stand anything to touch her skin.  It damn near sent her crazy, it spread almost right around her body and she was red raw and blistered as though she'd been burned.  
I got off lighter because it was caught in time.  It still took months before the crawling sensation stopped entirely but it didn't spread past that first small patch.  I can't imagine how bad it would be to have it as badly as she did.

To my knowledge it starts around the rib area, never heard of anyone having it anywhere else but that's possible.

 I only know a bit about how the virus operates because I argued with the doctor about having had Chicken Pox.  I'd had about everything else going around but never Chicken Pox.  I lost the argument,  ....  and bear this one in mind....  If babies, under a year old get it they don't show any of the symptoms that older people do.  It doesn't even make them sick.  The C.Pox presents only as a few small red dots that look exactly like flea bites.  Fleas were a common problem back then, Mum wouldn't have known that wasn't what the spots were.  Just because you think you didn't have it is no guarantee that you didn't.

Those folks warning you have your well being in mind Pappy.  If you've had C.Pox and there's a vaccine, well, I'd do it, but that's up to you.   You always have that fallback of getting treatment early I guess but you'll never forget having had Shingles, that I can guarantee.


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## Bee (Sep 27, 2013)

When my ex-husband and myself were still together he had shingles, he was only in his twenties still, he had the shingles in his head and it was travelling down his forhead, he was in so much pain he was literally screaming with it, I called the doctor in and he immediately phoned for an ambulance,  apart from the amount of pain my husband was in,the worry was, that the shingles would travel down into his eye and he would lose his sight.

I can't remember how long my husband was in hospital for now but I do remember he suffered with pain and irritation for a long long time after he was home.

In October my medical centre is starting the flu jabs again and this year is offering the shingles jab for people that are aged 70 or 79, because of the way I saw my husband suffer with shingles all those years ago,_* I*_ am going to be vaccinated against it.


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## That Guy (Sep 27, 2013)

Wasn't it chicken pox that our parents wanted us to be exposed to early so we would become immune?  Great.  Just great . . .


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## Pappy (Sep 27, 2013)

I really did mean chicken pox, which I also had as a youngun. From the stories I am getting from you folks, I am going to ask my doc as soon as I get back to Florida.


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## basefare (Sep 27, 2013)

*Shingles Discussion*

I had the shingles when I was around sixty. I didn't recognize the symptoms until large leaking blisters broke out around my waist and up my back. I have never, ever had anything so painful. I could not stand to wear a shirt or pants or have anything touch me. I finally was able to wear some loose fitting clothing to goto the doctor. They gave me what they said was a high powered narcotic. The nurse who attended me had just gotten out of a three week stay in the hospital with shingles. She had them in her head and fact and said she came closing an eye. I was offered a shingles shot twice at the VA and refused, but I had gotten some bad, erroneous information. A year later I was offered the  shot again but did not get one. I have had terrible itches on my back where I had shingles, from nerve endings, I was told. I have a number of friends who have had the shingles shot with  no ill results. I wouldn't have a problem taking the shot.


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## Anne (Sep 27, 2013)

I had them years ago; on my face, and got a cream for it...can't remember what it was.  It went away and then came back later on; the dr said it was triggered by any stress; a cold, or any stress to the body.   I've sure had stress since, but so far, haven't had it again.

The next time I got it, I did some reading, and took L-Lysine 3 times a day at the first sign, and it hasn't bothered me since then.  I would try that, hopefully it will help if it's not too far gone.


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## Katybug (Sep 27, 2013)

Anne said:


> I had them years ago; on my face, and got a cream for it...can't remember what it was.  It went away and then came back later on; the dr said it was triggered by any stress; a cold, or any stress to the body.   I've sure had stress since, but so far, haven't had it again.
> 
> The next time I got it, I did some reading, and took L-Lysine 3 times a day at the first sign, and it hasn't bothered me since then.  I would try that, hopefully it will help if it's not too far gone.



*Anne, you might be the luckiest person I know regarding shingles.  As the nurse was giving me the shot when it first came out yrs ago, she told me I was saving myself from a nightmare!  Everyone I know who has had it suffered terribly for weeks and weeks, as these posts describe.  And everyone I know said it was a 24/7 misery that they could get no relief from.  You obviously had a guardian angel with you, cuz our members descriptions here describe the horror of it and the way I know it to be with my mom.  Lucky lady, you are.  
*


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## Anne (Sep 27, 2013)

Katybug said:


> *Anne, you might be the luckiest person I know regarding shingles.  As the nurse was giving me the shot when it first came out yrs ago, she told me I was saving myself from a nightmare!  Everyone I know who has had it suffered terribly for weeks and weeks, as these posts describe.  And everyone I know said it was a 24/7 misery that they could get no relief from.  You obviously had a guardian angel with you, cuz our members descriptions here describe the horror of it and the way I know it to be with my mom.  Lucky lady, you are.
> *



 Could be, Katybug...I know it was shingles as I was diagnosed with it, but it does seem it's important to take the L-Lysine at the first sign of the burn or itching.   My Dad had shingles, and I remember how he suffered with it. 
Here is something from Dr Whitaker; he mentions other options, also:

http://www.whitakerwellness.com/health-concerns/chronic-pain-treatment/shingles-treatment/

Earthclinic:

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/shingles.html

I notice 'prevention' is mentioned, and guess that's why it should be caught before it progresses, and that's not always possible either.   I wonder if one took the Lysine daily it might prevent it altogether???


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## rkunsaw (Sep 27, 2013)

My wife and I both had the shingles vaccine. It costs about 90 dollars each after the insurance paid their part. Well worth it if it will prevent the shingles. I've heard bad stories about it.


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## Bee (Sep 27, 2013)

We have it done through the NHS and it doesn't cost anything.


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## Katybug (Sep 27, 2013)

Anne said:


> Could be, Katybug...I know it was shingles as I was diagnosed with it, but it does seem it's important to take the L-Lysine at the first sign of the burn or itching.   My Dad had shingles, and I remember how he suffered with it.
> Here is something from Dr Whitaker; he mentions other options, also:
> 
> http://www.whitakerwellness.com/health-concerns/chronic-pain-treatment/shingles-treatment/
> ...



*For those of you who haven't had it, you may want to ask your dr about the Lysine for prevention, but as for me I would run rather than walk to get the shot.  It's some of the wisest money you'll ever spend.
*


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## Diwundrin (Sep 27, 2013)

> I wonder if one took the Lysine daily it *might *prevent it altogether???



MIGHT?  I wouldn't be betting on that one Anne!
  Why do people automatically look for tenuous alternatives when the simple answer is right in front of them?  Immunisation is 'natural' too.  It's what nature does.  It does it the hard way, it makes you have to survive the disease to build up the immunities to it.  Vaccination does the same thing without suffering the ailment.

Is Lysine really a better 'preventative'?



> *LYSINE Side Effects & Safety*
> 
> Lysine is *POSSIBLY SAFE*  for most people when taken by mouth at recommended doses for up to one  year, or when applied to the skin short-term. It can cause side effects  such as stomach pain and diarrhea.
> 
> ...



This is from a site that sells the stuff so you can bet it's the softest report of side effects you'll find.
Your call.


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## terra (Sep 27, 2013)

I've had shingles twice in my lifetime....  the last bout being only last year.
The Doc said that it's usually triggered by stress.  

Yep !... it's painful and itchy but in my case, not a big deal.   Takes a few weeks to clear up.

Not everybody has the same reaction and it may effect some more than others.


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## Diwundrin (Sep 27, 2013)

Twice!  I was told it only hit you once!  aaaaaaghhhhh!

Might be right about stress.  I got mine at a bit of a crossroads in life and was stressing out.  The Shingles sure took my mind off the other worries though.

It can have a range of intensity in different people apparently, from a mild rash to fatal.  You're a lucky lad Tezza.


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## Anne (Sep 27, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> MIGHT?  I wouldn't be betting on that one Anne!
> Why do people automatically look for tenuous alternatives when the simple answer is right in front of them?  Immunisation is 'natural' too.  It's what nature does.  It does it the hard way, it makes you have to survive the disease to build up the immunities to it.  Vaccination does the same thing without suffering the ailment.
> 
> Is Lysine really a better 'preventative'?
> ...



Diwundrin, if you'll read what I posted, nowhere did I say that no one should get the shot; it's up to them what they want to do.  I said it *might* prevent it, but I don't claim to have medical knowledge; just know what seemed to work for me.  

I'm not a fan of vaccines in general; and know that there have been problems with bad side effects from some of them, also.  And of course there can be side effects from supplements.  I also believe that everyone here is intelligent enough to research any treatment before they get it.  I made a suggestion, and it's up to anyone else to decide what's best for them.


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## Phantom (Sep 27, 2013)

terra said:


> I've had shingles twice in my lifetime....  the last bout being only last year.
> The Doc said that it's usually triggered by stress.
> 
> Yep !... it's painful and itchy but in my case, not a big deal.   Takes a few weeks to clear up.
> ...



I had mine about 12yrs ago and every now and then I still get an itch and in one place on my chest it feels numb to touch
Took me abouth 4 weeks to clear up


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## Diwundrin (Sep 27, 2013)

Hey Anne, you phrased it as a question and I framed an answer.  Nothing more to it.  I do get a burr about some of these alternative 'natural' medicines fads and try to shut up about it usually but I slip now and then, sorry.  This one didn't even qualify as that I guess but it did seem a risky option to me.  I'll have to practice that shuttin' up thing.


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