Shingles

Have you put shingles in the search bar? I had them a decade ago but i went through the cycle that is described. By week four I was nearly healed. It likely depends too on where your shingles are.

A week before my shingles rash appeared, I had all kinds of aches and pains. I was at the lab which is in the same building as my doctor and the lab tech said to just go try to see a doctor. I did and lucked out and when the doc started looking at me to prepare for an EKG, he saw my chest and said "you've got shingles". Sure enough, i had red welts halfway around my chest and back that weren't there that morning. He prescribed Valtrex which I started taking that evening. The rash turned to blisters and I used Gold Bond Medicated lotion which helped a lot. That part wasn't too bad, probably due to the Valtrex. After the blisters dried up, the postherpetic neuralgia set in and was more painful. I took Gabapentin for a couple months, which seemed to help a lot. It finally just went away. All in all, Shingles wasn't nearly as bad as my Grover's Disease.

It wasn't as bad because it was caught early. Very early.

I remember those “pre-shingles” aches and pains. Mine were in my chest.

This is some of the worst pain I’ve experienced, which includes herniated discs in lumbar and cervical areas. No good sleep the last two nights. Sleep until midnight then wake up in extreme pain, which goes on for 5 hours. I am using heat, cold pack and tried hydrocodone. As this is nerve related, I’m sure that’s why it hasn’t helped. I am on Valtrex but this doesn’t deal with pain. I’m hoping that I don’t continue with extended neuralgia pain. Contacted Dr today for follow up. Why didn’t I get vaccine???????

I got the vaccine 5 years ago. I am 83 and got shingles anyway. much lighter case but still no fun. on valtrex and 10mg prednisone 2x a day. Dr. said don't put any kind of cortisone cream on it. Calamine lotion only. Sending hugs.

Thanks for reaching out. Helpful to hear others experiences. I had really bad pain for hours last night. I’m wondering if I could use an injection or prednisone. Especially if I have that neuralgia that can last weeks. No fun for sure.

Gabapentin seemed to help my pain from the post herpetic neuralgia. As I started the Valtrex the day I broke out, the blisters only felt raw and didn't hurt as much as others have indicated. If you try Gabapentin, be careful in the beginning as it seems a lot of people have problems with Gabapentin. My wife and I seem to have no problems with it.

My dr prescribed prednisone and it has really helped with the pain.

My dr believes I have shingles but I have no rash. Pain started in mid back and moved to right side front under chest area. Now the pain has moved to the center of my back and it seems to be on my spine. Any sudden movement causes excruciating pain which is sudden but stops when I change position. I usually scream due to the intensity. Also having pain in both knees and vague numbness down my legs … they feel very strange. I am into day 8 of symptoms and day 5 on Valtrex. I am seeing no improvement except no longer tired. Is this internal shingles? There seems to be limited info on this condition …and I’m uncertain where to turn and concerned this could take a worsening turn. Has anyone here been to an infectious disease dr or other specialist to treat this. Also I’m interested to hear of others have experienced similar issues and how they dealt with it .