Connect
← Return to Shingles rash and pain
Discussion
Comment receiving replies
I have shingles going into the 4th week now. I still have the rash, but it is slowly dissipating. I have a lot of nerve pain. The rash and pain is under the breast and around the left side of the torso. I am unable to wear a bra for any length of time even a softer one without wires. The problem is I am a DDD and obviously I have to wear a bra outside of the house. I teach yoga. I tried teaching a few classes, wearing a bra on the outside of a camisole with another shirt over that. I had tremendous pain afterward. I am on gabapentin. Was on 100 mg 2x daily, starting today 300 mg 2x daily. I hope it will help. I’ve tried a few topicals. Dermatologist recommended capsaicin cream that was a terrible idea. The burning was intolerable. I had to wash it off and lie down for an hour. Dr. also recommended lidocaine spray that also made the pain worse. Calamine lotion is OK. It’s frustrating because I don’t seem to be able to function or do anything much because of not being able to wear a bra. Hopefully it will pass so that I can return to some normal life. Thanks for listening. Any suggestions most welcome. Thanks.
Replies to "I have shingles going into the 4th week now. I still have the rash, but it..."
Hello @kaa1
I'm really sorry to hear about your Shingles pain. A couple of years ago I had Shingles, and I understand that nerve pain is a terrible type of pain.
With my Shingles pain, sleep was difficult. The pain worsened in the evening. Are you able to sleep at night?
The nighttime combination of meds that helped me the most was a small dose of Trazodone and 100 mg of Gabapentin. While Trazodone is an antidepressant that belongs to a group of drugs called serotonin receptor antagonists and reuptake inhibitors (SARIs). It works quite well for both pain and sleep problems. I only took one-half of a 50 mg tablet, so only 25 mg. It did help me sleep and took the edge off the daytime pain as well. Were you given an anti-viral medication when you were diagnosed?
As you are looking for suggestions, I wanted to add this one to the mix. Recovering from Shingles pain does take time, though. It sounds like you have a rather severe case. I wish you well.
Will you post again as you go through this process?
Connect
I came down with shingles in the middle of July. For the week before any rash and blistering, I had a bunch of weird pains in my ribcage and chest areas and even some stomach issues and was having a little trouble urinating. I was able to get a doctor appointment and he was about to do an EKG and looked at my chest and said "you've got shingles" as there was a red rash on my left chest and back. This was about 4 pm and there was no rash when I got dressed that morning. He prescribed Valtrex and I took it about two hours later. I already have Grover's disease, which is a red rash of a different type and itches like crazy. The shingles rash and eventual blisters were relatively mild, probably due to the Valtrex. But then, my skin started hurting where I had the rash and other spots on my chest and back. Some of the pain in my ribcage and stomach returned. While it didn't fit the exact pattern of postherpetic neuralgia, it was assumed that is what I had. After a week or two, the doctor prescribed Gabapentin, which I had taken for 13 years between 2008 and 2021 for my Grover's (which worked great until it just stopped working). The Gabapentin seems to work and I'm able to sleep again after having some sleepless nights. It's not hard to find forums with people who have all kinds of problems with Gabapentin. I've never had any problems with it or stopping it.