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Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Chronic Pain | Last Active: 13 hours ago | Replies (7051)

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@jerid

Hi, I am Jeri and I suffer from PHN on the left side of my scalp, forehead, face and left eye. I had Shingles 4 years ago and I can not get rid of the pain. I have had injections of steroid and numbing medication directly into the nerve above the left eye as a first treatment in June, which gave me 3 days of relief. A month later I had another injection of just the numbing medication and it did nothing for the pain. Then a month -6 weeks later I had Radio Frequency Ablation to the nerve and head hoping to burn the nerve to remove the pain. Well, as luck has it it lasted 2 weeks and now I am suffering almost constantly once again with burning, sharp pain that literally feel like electric shocks directly to the head. I have learned to ice it at night to relieve the pain for sleeping along with a 500 mg Tylenol, which I do not like taking, but I feel I have no choice. I have found that Peppermint Oil helps to calm the nerve, but not for any length of time. Cool water also helps while I am in the water, such as swimming. So I swim a mile daily at our public pool when it is open, but the season is closed for our outdoor pool. I just want it gone forever. If anyone out there has suffered from eye, forehead and head pain due to Shingles and has found a method of treatment that works please let me know. The photo is of me obviously while in the hospital with my Shingles. The physician stated it was the worst case of head shingles she had ever seen. I was in the hospital 2x. The first was for the treatment and the second was for the severe pain I continued to experience. It has healed very well and to look at me one cannot tell I had such a horrible case. I only wish I could get rid of the pain so I can be happy and not under stress from all the almost constant pain. Thank you.

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Replies to "Hi, I am Jeri and I suffer from PHN on the left side of my scalp,..."

@jerid It is terrible the amount of pain you suffer. If anyone is an advertisement for why you need a shingles vaccine it would be you. So, so sorry you have to endure what you do every day. I so hope you find someone who can stop this extreme pain. Please keep us updated on your search.

Hi @jerid and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I would like to connect you with other members who have also experienced postherpetic neuralgia and pain. Please click the link below and join the conversation:
- Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia and Pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/shingles-and-neuropathic-pain/