@jlab952 — to make sure the member receives an email notification for your post just include the @ sign along with the name – like @joannerhodes. Here is the link to your post addressed to her so that when she receives this email notification all she has to do is click the View & Reply button on the email and it will take her to this post and she can click on the link below to see your post.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/shingrix/?pg=3#comment-346687

Thank you

My husband has developed peripheral neuropathy affecting his feet in the last half year, and when I looked up possible causes outside of diabetes (since he is not diabetic and quite healthy with a very healthy lifestyle), I saw infectious causes including viruses like the one which causes shingles. That piece of information immediately made me line up my husband’s receiving the 2-vaccine Shingrix vaccine series with the onset of his peripheral neuropathy…tingling in his feet after the first one and now after the second one the symptoms of numbness and tingling have worsened. How is your neuropathy now? Has it lessened with the passage of time or are you having to manage it with prescriptions or therapies?

Jim- I just read your post to my 65 year old husband who also is not diabetic and has developed peripheral neuropathy in both of his feet. Just tonight, I was researching other causes and when I saw virus infections like that which causes shingles, I immediately lined up his Shingrix vaccines to his new onset peripheral neuropathy. We agree that the timing is indeed suspect…have you had any improvement since you posted your comments?

Never had the vaccine, but my PN came on sudden and was is very intense. This happened following extreme internal pain in my abdomen which ended up being herpetic neuralgia followed a few weeks later by a second shingles outbreak. My doctor says it’s diabetes related which seems reasonable based on my sugars and length of time being diabetic, however I personally suspect shingles as being the culprit. Why? Because this was so sudden and so intense where it involved my hands fingers legs feet all at once that this had to have been viral, in my opinion. Anyways the vaccine surely has a small amount of live shingle virus and I think it is possible to cause PN.

Shingrex (the vaccine for shingles) is made by recombinant technology. It is not a live vaccine, and therefore cannot cause Shingles.
Shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus which lies dormant in your body until it is stimulated by many known and unknown things to cause shingles, which is therefore a viral illness.
Shingles is a form of peripheral neuropathy. It can become a chronic condition called post herpetic neuralgia, which is chronic pain in the area of the rash, even after the rash disappears. "Typical" peripheral neuropathy is usually a problem in the extremities.

Immediately after my first Shingrix shot I developed sensory neuropathy, not peripheral neuropathy. I am reluctant to get the 2nd Shingrix.

I’m not suggesting Shingrex causes a viral infection. I am wondering if Shingrix can trigger an autoimmune response and that elevated autoimmune response can cause peripheral neuropathy. The correlation of this onset of my husband’s peripheral neuropathy with his receiving this vaccine regimen is what is concerning. I am curious about the post-marketing adverse events associated with Shingrex.

@memomsloan, what is the difference between sensory neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy?

@mic3, I can't find any information about Shingrex causing an autoimmune response that results in peripheral neuropathy, although of course with this disease anything is possible. Shingrex is recommended to patients with PN.

I originally replied to this post on May 21st 2019 (please read it) where I blamed Shingrix for my newly developed symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. I must now disavow that post and can say that the vaccine did not cause it. In my case – it was from a combination of sciatica due to longstanding lower back dysfunction and the existence of a trigger point in both of my piriformis muscles. I am successfully resolving the symptoms by treating the lower back with what are known as Mckenzie exercises which are a type of physical therapy. But the most relief is occurring from rubbing the piriformis trigger points with a Thera-Cane as described in the excellent book 'THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK' 3rd Edition by Clair Davies. Piriformis trigger points can cause all of the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy because the piriformis muscle will be pressing on the nerve that goes right to the feet. If you are not diabetic and have developed peripheral neuropathy, I can only urge you to educate yourself on what I have described. Most doctors (especially older ones) have no knowledge or training about trigger points, but some recently graduated do. In my case – it was unfortunate that the symptoms occurred at the same time as when I got the Shingrix vaccine which was obviously purely coincidental. I hope this information will help somebody out there.

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestion! We are not only looking for the cause of the sudden peripheral neuropathy but also ideas on ways to address it! I really appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Yes, I have had improvement. Shingrix did not cause it. In my case – it was from a combination of sciatica due to longstanding lower back dysfunction (probably disc herniation) and the existence of a trigger point in both of my piriformis muscles.(They are in your butt cheeks) I am successfully resolving the symptoms by treating the lower back with what are known as Mckenzie exercises which are a type of physical therapy. But the most relief is occurring from rubbing the piriformis trigger points with a Thera-Cane as described in the excellent book 'THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK' 3rd Edition by Clair Davies. Piriformis trigger points can cause all of the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy because the piriformis muscle will be pressing on the nerve that goes right to the feet. If you are not diabetic and have developed peripheral neuropathy, I can only urge you to educate yourself on what I have described. Most doctors (especially older ones) have no knowledge or training about trigger points, but some recently graduated do. In my case – it was unfortunate that the symptoms occurred at the same time as when I got the Shingrix vaccine which was obviously purely coincidental. I hope this information will help somebody out there.

@jenniferhunter @jeffrapp and @johnbishop might have some thoughts on the trigger point therapy you were talking about, @19jimmy57.

Hello @19jimmy57, I was not familiar with trigger point therapy and found a link that ties it in with Myofascial Release Therapy which several members on Connect have used and there is a discussion on Connect.

Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/trigger-points.php

> Groups > Neuropathy > Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
— https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/