What Was Your <b>Shingles</b> Experience Like?

So here I am, almost six weeks after developing shingles, which SHOULD be gone by now.

And it’s not.

So it turns out that the pieces of information I had about the onset of shingles, and the duration of shingles, were different for me.

My shingles didn’t begin with burning and a rash.  It began with heavy duty pain in my right shoulder blade.

And long after I should be past it, my shingles is still hanging on. The rash is 99% gone, but the pain… oh the pain.  It seems I have developed post-herpetic neuralgia, the name for shingles that lasts many weeks, months or years beyond the rash.

My frustration is that I spent quite a bit of time roaming the internet for information about that back pain I started with – and found nothing. No references to shingles and this sort of back pain.

So I want to change that for the next person who starts to have the same start-up symptom, so that he or she can figure out it’s shingles, start taking the drugs sooner, and avoid post-herptic neuralgia.  I don’t want others to suffer from shingles like I have.

How about you? If you have had shingles, what was your experience? Did you have the classic symptoms or did you have unusual ones? Any complications? How long did it last?

Read more about my experience with shingles, and then please share your experience, too.  I hope we’ll cover all the possibilities so that when someone else searches, they’ll figure out early on what their diagnosis is…

Then quicker treatment will mean a quicker recovery – I hope!

•  Share Your Shingles Experience (This is a special page for reporting – please don’t comment below with your experience – use this page instead.)

•  Read about my shingles experience - see if any of it sounds familiar to you

• And – regarding the vaccine – try Do As I Say and Not As I Do

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Agree? Disagree?

Share your experience or join the conversation!

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Do You Need the <b>Shingles</b> Vaccine? Small Doses - GoodRx

Shingles (Herpes zoster) is viral illness that can occur later in life if you have had chicken pox (Varicella). It is a common illness in the elderly, and can cause significant discomfort. People with weakened immune systems are also more likely to get shingles.

Shingles occurs when the chicken pox virus reactivates in the body, leading to a blistering rash, nerve pain, and other nerve-related symptoms. When the infection is active, you can’t give anyone else shingles, but you can spread chicken pox to anyone who hasn’t already had it (this is unusual in adults). Shingles can result in chronic symptoms of severe nerve pain, spreading to the eyes or brain, and other complications. One of the most common complications is the development of post herpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is a chronic form of deep nerve pain that occurs in one out of every five affected people.

How do you treat shingles?

Shingles will generally go away on its own. However, treatment will shorten the duration of the outbreak, and reduce your chances of developing post herpetic neuralgia. Treatment involves a short course of antiviral medication during active infection (acyclovir (Zovirax) or valacyclovir (Valtrex) are most common, and relatively inexpensive generics).

What about the vaccine?

The Zostavax vaccine is recommended if you are above the age of 60 or if you’re at high risk. It should only be given if you don’t have an active infection. You’ll only need to get one shot as a subcutaneous injection.

The vaccine is not a guaranteed cure, meaning that you can still get shingles if you’ve had the vaccination. However, it does substantially lower your risk of getting shingles, and it decreases the severity of nerve pain and complications.

The vaccine is not recommended if you are allergic to any of its components, if you are pregnant, or if you have a weakened immune system. Side effects include localized pain, redness, itching, or bruising. Zostavax is a live vaccine (meaning it contains a weakened version of the virus), so talk to your healthcare provider if you will be in direct contact with pregnant women, newborns, or anyone with a weak immune system.

Where can you get vaccinated?

In most states, you can find the Zostavax vaccine at your pharmacy and have it administered by your pharmacist, with no need for a doctor’s office visit. It is covered under most Medicare plans, and may be covered by your regular insurance; otherwise you can pay cash or use a discount card at your pharmacy.

Always talk to your pharmacist or health care provider if you have any questions.

Till next week,

The GoodRx Pharmacist

Low-cost <b>shingles</b> vaccine available for eligible seniors - Times <b>...</b>

Humboldt County seniors who want the shingles vaccine may be eligible for a reduced immunization fee through the Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program.

Department of Health and Human Services Public Health staff members can help seniors apply for a subsidy for the Zostavax shingles vaccine, which is recommended for people 60 and older.

Applications for the patient assistance program for Zostavax are available at the Public Health Clinic, 529 I St. in Eureka, or the Garberville Public Health Clinic, 727 Cedar St. in Garberville. Appointments are required and can be made by calling the Eureka clinic at 268-2108 or the Garberville clinic at 923-2779.

There is a short enrollment process and applicants will know within an hour if they qualify for the reduced Zostavax immunization fee.

People may be eligible for the program if all three of the following conditions apply:

– They reside in the United States.

– They have no health insurance coverage.

– They have an annual household income less than $44,680 for individuals, $60,520 for couples or $82,200 for a family of four.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in three people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime. Anyone who has had chickenpox may get shingles, though the risk of disease increases as a person gets older. About half of all cases occur among men and women 60 or older. Those with weak immune systems are also more susceptible to shingles.

Shingles usually starts as a painful rash on one side of the face or body, according to the CDC. The rash forms blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and clear up within two to four weeks.

The Zostavax vaccine lowers the chances a person will get shingles, shortens and lessens the severity if shingles is contracted and prevents long-term pain that can occur after shingles.

The Daily Dot - Worst bachelor party prank ever ends with <b>shingles</b>

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One groom’s friends planned to kidnap him as part of his bachelor party. What they didn’t expect was for the groom to get shingles and almost miss the wedding as a result.

The friends stopped Ollie McAninch and his fiancée Clair Hart as they drove down a country lane. Wearing ski masks and armed with bats and smoke grenades, the friends grabbed McAninch out of the car. They took him into a nearby van where he was bound, gagged, and dressed in a jumpsuit.

Hart was in on the prank, so she screamed and watched from the car as her fiancé was taken away.

McAninch was under the impression that the stunt was real as he was driven to Devon over 100 miles away. Once he was let in on the joke, he was forced to bike the last 10 miles to his own bachelor party wearing nothing but a green mankini, similar to the one Sacha Baron Cohen donned in Borat.

“For more than two hours I was in that van,” he told the Sun. “I’ve never been so scared.”

As a result of the stunt, McAninch developed a case of shingles, which can sometimes be brought on by stress.

Since sometimes one can pass on symptoms of shingles to someone who has never had chickenpox, McAninch was advised by doctors to avoid contact with Hart for at least a month.

The couple married as scheduled, but the groom has logged the incident “for future vengeance.”

You may want to exclude him from planning the next bachelor party.

H/T Gawker | Photo via jonmillsswns/YouTube

Ollie McAninch: Groom develops <b>shingles</b> after 'kidnap' stag do <b>...</b>

A petrified groom almost didn’t make it to his wedding after being kidnapped by a masked gang as part of an epic stag do prank.

Ollie McAninch, 33, was left so traumatised by the staged abduction that he developed shingles, leaving his big day in doubt.

A groom is kidnapped as part of a stag do prank (Picture: YouTube / jonmillsswns)

The Somerset man was driving along a country lane with his fiancée Clair Hart, who was in on the joke, when 16 of his friends wearing ski masks jumped out of a van.

With smoke grenades adding to the drama, the gang then pulled him out of the car and forced him to wear a Guantanamo Bay-style jumpsuit.

The masked men drove the groom over 100 miles away (Picture: YouTube / jonmillsswns)

They tied his hands and threw him in the back of a van before driving him over 100 miles away to Devon where they let him in on the prank.

‘For more than two hours I was in that van. I’ve never been so scared,’ he told The Sun.

Best stag do prank ever? The group surround Ollie (Picture: YouTube / jonmillsswns)

He was then told to cycle ten miles to his real stag do dressed in a Borat-style green mankini.

The marketing consultant later developed a painful rash as a result of the ordeal and was advised by doctors to stay away from his bride-to-be for a month.

Ollie developed shingles after his ordeal (Picture: YouTube / jonmillsswns)

‘I was really worried I would miss the big day,’ he said.

The wedding went ahead as planned earlier this week, with the groom vowing to get revenge on his prankster mates.

MORE: Groom tricked by friends into stag party ‘bungee jump’

Vaccination against <b>shingles</b> for adults: Q&As for healthcare <b>...</b>

Shingles is a common disease that can cause long-lasting, severe pain. It can cause permanent disability, and it occurs more frequently in those over 70 years old, who are also more likely to have worse symptoms

It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox – varicella zoster.

A universal routine herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination programme for adults aged over 70 years will start in September 2013. The aim of the universal vaccination programme is to reduce the incidence and severity of shingles disease in older people.

<b>Shingles</b> vaccination: training slideset for healthcare professionals <b>...</b>

[unable to retrieve full-text content]This slideset contains an update for healthcare practitioners on the shingles vaccination programme.