Shingles relief

Posted by bwendland @bwendland, Oct 18, 2017

I've been diagnosed with shingles. I did not break out with sores or have a rash. I have stabbing pain in my upper back and right shoulder, headaches, muscle aches, itching, nausea, chills and am very tired. The Dr. prescribed prednisone which I have been on for a week. That doesn't seem to be working. I just had an extra which revealed mild osteoarthritis in my shoulder which I already knew about and degeneration in my spine. She didn't think that would be the cause of the pain I was having. I started on gabapentin yesterday. I had the shingles shot 2 years ago and the Dr. thinks that is why I do not have a more severe case. I have been taking hydrocodone to help with the pain, but I do not want to take this long term. Any suggestions are welcome. Oh yes, I also went to the chiropractor, but found no relief there.

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Correction: Had an X-ray!

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Hello @bwendland,

I'd like to invite @oliver22, @kturchin, @loisblo, @steve1948, @spicegirl, @bergw2818, and @tula to this discussion as I believe they have all previously discussed shingles or something similar.

@bwendland, I am a little unfamiliar with shingles, but understand they can be very painful. How long do shingles normally take to subside or become less painful? We also have many members with experience taking Gabapentin for a multitude of different diagnoses, but a lot of them have mentioned that it takes a few days to start helping. Is this what you were told by your physician, or was the gabapentin supposed to help quickly?

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She didn't really say, but I hoped it would start working soon. I figured it would take a few days though. I've only taken it 2 days, so hopefully by the weekend I feel some results. I wish I knew how long before they start getting better.

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