# Shingles



## QuickSilver (Oct 26, 2014)

Just had my shingles vaccine today..  anyone else get theirs, or are you just going to take your chances and hope you are not the one out of three seniors to suffer with it?    It is expensive though.. $225 .    Fortunately my group insurance covers it 100% for people over 60.


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## Denise1952 (Oct 26, 2014)

I'm getting one, and I am fortunate because mine is covered as well.  I had no issues from the flu shot, and the same lady gives the shingles shot.  I do wonder the difference in the shots, or will they act the same, feel the same?


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## QuickSilver (Oct 26, 2014)

So far so good...  The shingles shot is subcutaneous... which means it is not injected deep into tha muscle, so there is less pain.  I don't feel any soreness in my arm at all.    As for the vaccine, it is a live virus that has been weakened.. It's the chicken pox virus.. AKA varicella... as we get older, we lose our antibodies to fight the virus.  If we have had chicken pox as a child, the virus is still in us dormant.  If it decides to wake up, and we have lost our antibodies.. we get shingles.  The Shingles vaccine gives us the chance to update the antibodies so we can fight off shingles.


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## tnthomas (Oct 26, 2014)

My wife had shingles earlier this year, so we got the vaccine a couple months after she cleared it.  The Dr. said even though she had had the shingles, getting the vaccine would lessen the severity should she get the virus again.


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## Vivjen (Oct 26, 2014)

We get ours free at age 70.... I have a little way to go yet....


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## Ameriscot (Oct 26, 2014)

I haven't gotten one yet and I'm 62.  I did have a mild case when I was 53.  I get it free at 70, but might just pay for it before then.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 26, 2014)

I probably get it free with my health insurance, but I won't be getting, and I have not had a flu vaccination in many years either.  While I respect other's personal choices to be injected with these vaccines, I take a pass.  Prefer to just continue to strive for a healthy immune system.


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## Pappy (Oct 26, 2014)

To little, to late for me. I had a bad case of them this last May. Terrible pain for about three weeks. Still have some numbness in affected area. 
Drs. Appointment Tuesday and wil ask his opinion on getting the shot now.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 26, 2014)

I'm sure he'll tell you to get a vaccination Pappy...http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/expert-answers/shingles-vaccine/faq-20057859


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## QuickSilver (Oct 26, 2014)

Pappy said:


> To little, to late for me. I had a bad case of them this last May. Terrible pain for about three weeks. Still have some numbness in affected area.
> Drs. Appointment Tuesday and wil ask his opinion on getting the shot now.



I would guess you'd be immune now as you have built up antibodies from your case.. Because shingles attack along major nerve tracks they can cause what is known as Post herpetic neuralgia.. that can last for several months to years.  

Your "healthy immune" system has nothing to do with it Seabreeze..  If you had chickenpox... you still have the virus.. it lives at the base of your spine.  When it decides to errupt you get shingles... because your antibodies from the chicken pox are gone... and need to be replenished.  The vaccine gives your body a chance to rebuild them....   BUT too each his own as you always say seabreeze.. just keep in mind that Shingles is a very painful debilitating disease that can cause problems for years..  Your choice... your chance.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 26, 2014)

Thanks for your advice QuickSilver, I just weigh the pros and cons of the illness and the vaccines, and go from there.  Maybe there'll be a time in the future that I have a change of heart, but for now, I pass on all vaccinations.  I had chicken pox and the measles when I was a kid, and didn't die from it.  Some say this shingles epidemic wouldn't have even started if they didn't start giving out a chicken pox vaccine to the kids.  I don't know.  Even if I do get shingles, I'd try to treat it naturally.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 26, 2014)

As I said...  It's your choice...  Our immune systems are OLD... and what we were once immune to... we no longer are..  Shingles is one of those diseases..  

You can try to treat it naturally.... but it's kind of hard to treat blindness naturally....  Occular shingles are pretty common..  Don't look at the pic if you gross out easily.  

http://www.seniorark.com/Health Articles/shingles.jpg


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 26, 2014)

I don't gross out easily at all, and I don't scare easily either.  I'll take my (slim) chances, lol.


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## Shirley (Oct 26, 2014)

I got mine because I have seen people with shingles. I had to pay part of the cost but if it saves me from the agony I have seen, it's worth every penny.


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## Melody1948 (Oct 26, 2014)

I got my singles vaccine last year.  I had previously had the shingles and it was terrible.  I had to pay the cost, but money is no object when it comes to a choice as to whether I ever want that pain again.  I didn't think it was over $200.00, maybe $150.00 but I could be wrong I just can't remember.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 26, 2014)

Chances are very low that you will get shingles a 2nd time, but it can happen in people with poor immune systems that did not build up antibodies with the first outbreak.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles-come-back


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## Geezerette (Oct 26, 2014)

Seabreeze, for most of the old people getting shingles now , chick pox vac wasn't even around when they were kids of ch pox age, so the increase in shingles can't be blamed on the having the vaccine. A lot of apparent increases in incidence of disease can be attributed to increased ability to diagnose cases that might not have been counted before. At least people who don't get the shingles vac aren't risking anyone else but themselves. I got my shingles vac several years ago. I've known people to be so ill with it in its different manifestations including eye damage, that I wouldn't like to risk getting shingles.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 26, 2014)

The chickenpox vaccine started in 1995, and this has been the increase in shingles cases (mercola.com).  I absolutely support everyone's right to get the vaccinations and medical treatments of their choice.



> The incidence of adult shingles has increased by 90 percent from 1998 to 2003, following the release of the chickenpox vaccine for mass use. Shingles results in three times as many deaths and five times as many hospitalizations as chickenpox, and accounts for 75 percent of all medical costs associated with the varicella zoster virus.[SUP]8[/SUP]


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## Bettyann (Oct 26, 2014)

I know people personally, in their late 80's with excellent immune systems... but everyone should do what they feel they should do...


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## QuickSilver (Oct 27, 2014)

Bettyann said:


> I know people personally, in their late 80's with excellent immune systems... but everyone should do what they feel they should do...



Again...Shingles is not something you can catch.. You already have the virus is you've had chicken pox.. and  it's not about having an exellent immune system... it's about having an OLD immune system..  People in their 80's probably had chicken pox 70 or 75 years ago.  The anitbodies are gone.  So if the virus decides to become active again, they cannot fight it off.   The vaccine gives a little booster shot to encourage the production of more antibodies..  A person with an excellent immune system will immediately begin to produce the  varicella antibodies.


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## oldman (Oct 27, 2014)

I got my shot maybe 3 or 4 years ago. A few weeks ago, I saw an ad on TV for getting the shot. It shows this poor many lying down in bed in terrible pain. I guess it can last up to 30 days and in some cases, maybe longer. It may also come back.


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## rkunsaw (Oct 27, 2014)

I got mine when they first came out a few years ago. Insurance didn't cover it then.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 27, 2014)

oldman said:


> I got my shot maybe 3 or 4 years ago. A few weeks ago, I saw an ad on TV for getting the shot. It shows this poor many lying down in bed in terrible pain. I guess it can last up to 30 days and in some cases, maybe longer. It may also come back.



The pain can last long after the lesions are gone.  It's called post herpetic neuralgia, as the virus travels along nerve pathways.


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## Ameriscot (Oct 27, 2014)

My grandmother had a lot of pain with her shingles and it lasted many weeks.  My dh's uncle recently had it in his eyes but thankfully his sight has not been affected.  

I've heard that stress can bring out shingles.  At the time I had it I was only 53 and was finding certain elderly clients very stressful to deal with.  The doctor I saw said it was very unusual to have it at that age.


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## Melody1948 (Oct 27, 2014)

Carolyn, I remember when you had them in 2012.  You went through a lot of pain.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 27, 2014)

Never had shingles, but any kind of nerve pain is excruciating.. and unrelenting.. I'm sorry you had to go through the even one time, let alone twice.


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## rxjimbo (Nov 4, 2014)

Most Medicare D plans in the states will pay for most (and sometimes all) of the cost of the shingles vaccine.  I give lots of them.  If it keeps someone from suffering from a painful ordeal, then I am all for it.  As far as I understand  the older we get it is only a matter of "when" shingles will rear its nasty little head.  The vaccine gives you about a 50/50 chance of not getting the shingles.


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## Pappy (Nov 4, 2014)

I had mine back in May, this year, and still have numbness and some pain on my side. Never felt so much pain and medication didn't help that much. My dr. Thinks I should still have the shot. I can still get them but maybe not so hard.


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## shedevil7953 (Nov 4, 2014)

I had shingles a year ago and although it was bad, not as bad as some have it.  It did come back just as it was starting to clear up.  Doc told me to wait at least 30 days after all symptoms disappeared before getting the shot, which I did.  Nasty bug for certain.


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## Don M. (Nov 4, 2014)

I had shingles hit me at about age 40.  I was at work, and it came on suddenly....I thought I was having a heart attack.  I called the boss, and the wife, and went directly to the hospital, where they diagnosed it as shingles.  Then, the rash began to appear, and the pain kept me at home for several days.  I would not want to go through that again.  I avoid shots, as they usually give me the illness they are supposed to prevent.  I got a flu shot 3 or 4 years ago, and spent a couple of days with my head hovering over the toilet.  I just take a daily vitamin, eat well, get plenty of exercise, and avoid crowds during cold and flu season.


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## QuickSilver (Nov 5, 2014)

A Misconception Don.   The Flu that the vaccine protects you from is NOT gastrointestinal.  That is a different virus.. norovirus causing gastroenteritis.  The Influenza protected by the vaccine is completely respiratory, and people that die of it usually do so from pneumonia.


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## Don M. (Nov 5, 2014)

QuickSilver said:


> A Misconception Don.   The Flu that the vaccine protects you from is NOT gastrointestinal.  That is a different virus.. norovirus causing gastroenteritis.  The Influenza protected by the vaccine is completely respiratory, and people that die of it usually do so from pneumonia.



All I can do is pass along my personal experience.  I got a flu shot, and within hours I was totally sick to my stomach for about 2 days.  Were the two related???....I suspect so.


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## rxjimbo (Nov 5, 2014)

*different strains*



Don M. said:


> All I can do is pass along my personal experience.  I got a flu shot, and within hours I was totally sick to my stomach for about 2 days.  Were the two related???....I suspect so.




Hey Don,

Seems like every 3-4 years the flu strains that are in the flu vaccine don't agree with me either.  The last couple of years the WHO or CDC or whoever has recommended using the same strains in this year's flu shots again.  Anywho, no symptoms for me last couple of years after flu shot.  Remember the H1N1 thing a few years back?  I did the nasal prep for that one and felt like I had the nastiest head cold for 2 weeks.


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## Don M. (Nov 5, 2014)

They change the formula every year....so what a person experiences one year, might be totally different, the next.  One things for sure....if I get a shot, I try to get one when I'm not planning anything for the next few days....that way if it makes me sick, I don't have to cancel any plans.


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## QuickSilver (Nov 5, 2014)

Never had more than a minor scratchiness in the back of my throat following a flu shot.  Most years I get no reaction...  Also.. I had no reaction to the shingles shot.. not even a sore arm.


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## Pappy (Nov 5, 2014)

Got flu shot last week. Must have hit a tender spot as my arm was sore for two days. Usually it doesn't bother me at all. Still have to check insurance to see if they cover shingles shots I have the scrip. From doctor. Just need to get shot.


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