Connect
Shingles pain is the worst thing EVER!!
Returned from vacation to end up in ER with what I thought was gallbladder pain. It was so intense. 8-9 out of 10. Scans showed clean. They told me it was soft tissue/muscular. No one mentioned shingles. 2 days later the rash was full-blown. RUQ rib cage to back extending down to stomach area.
I am on fire. Went to family dr 4 days later. He said "oh my I am so sorry " and prescribed valacyclovir (which gives me horrible side effects/flu-like symptoms) and gabapentin (which does kill the fire a bit). This is the worst thing. I had a horrible case of chickenpox when I was 8. It was inside and out. I hope I can clear this sooner rather than later. Day 8 from first onset of pain. Any thoughts on calming the pain?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Infectious Diseases Support Group.
Connect
How long have you been taking valacyclovir?
@tillymack
Just a few days. Since Thursday night. So 6 pills.
Are your symptoms improving even slightly?
Yes. I did not take the valacyclovir today. My blisters are about 1/2 scabbed over. I keep taking naps. Still not super hungry but my stomach pain is lessened. BTW, I am 60.
I can so identify with you about the chicken pox and the shingles. I missed having Chicken pox when I was young. I got them when I was 57, in 2019 for Thanksgiving. Should have ended me up in the hospital. But do to other medical procedures I survived to discover a circumvent for shingles. By accident when I had Chicken pox I had put the pink stuff on my pox and covered it with paper medical tape. The pox was really painful and itchy as it was right on my sciatic nerve. Within 5 minutes of putting on the medical tape the itching and the pain stopped. I thought this very strange that it would react so well to the tape. But in the middle of the night when the pox's attacked my face, I remembered that one from earlier. I proceeded to put the paper medical tape all over my face. And the pox's stopped attacking my face. I only have one or two scares from the pox on my face. About two years later I got that same over all I don't feel well and my left eye felt swollen only this time it came with an intense pain right above my left eye. These are the same symptoms except for the intense pain that I had with Chicken pox. I began to wonder if it could be shingles as shingles are chicken pox so I put the paper medical tape over it and the pain stopped. It seems that they need oxygen to come forward. I reported this to my doctor and she is currently doing a study. I hope you found this helpful.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 Reactions@mrsjohn101
Thank you for sharing your story. I'll consider it.