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No always. My DH got Shingles 3.5 years ago. He got the antiviral day 1. He still suffers from post herpetic neuralgia. The neurologist has said there’s no way to when or even if it will go away.
I’d encourage everyone to get the vaccine. If your arm hurts for a few days, that’s better than years of pain.
Perhaps, but I’ve had shingles about 3 times, with 2 different doctors, over 15 years, and neither one has prescribed the shingles vaccine. The first time, my doctor thought it was too new. Subsequently, the horse was out of the barn, I guess.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
13,060 posts, read 7,493,946 times
Reputation: 9787
Just for fun, FYI:
1 of 3 Americans will get shingles in their lifetime.
only about 1million cases in the USA/yr
just 200 will die, mostly very old and/or very sick people.
10-18% will have post pain (PHN). Rare to have PHN in <40yo
Acyclovir and related antivirals not have much affect when rash appears.
Mine, age 39, 1989. Felt like a kidney stone. Saturday, I thought I had shaken a stone down , when I stood up on the tractor to look at the disc farm implement. I was able to see a temp doctor at my clinic, and was told to take acetaminophens and check back if it gets worse. Monday driving to my day job, got another stab of pain. I was in the fast lane and had to pull over to the left shoulder quickly. Got to work and able to get an appointment . Got to regular doctor at clinic and felt perfectly fine-I should have been feeling a little nauseous with a kidney stone, Wait and watch. Wednesday a rash appeared and a little itchy, saw the reg doctor first off-says maybe poison oak? Recommends the common remedies for poison oak. Friday, the pain and itch becomes severe-new doctor at clinic, she immediately diagnoses Shingles and offers vicodin and acyclovir but warns that the antiviral will be of little use once the rash appears. I decline the opiate (gives me severe nausea).
YSMV
Just for fun, FYI:
1 of 3 Americans will get shingles in their lifetime.
only about 1million cases in the USA/yr
just 200 will die, mostly very old and/or very sick people.
10-18% will have post pain (PHN). Rare to have PHN in <40yo
Acyclovir and related antivirals not have much affect when rash appears.
Mine, age 39, 1989. Felt like a kidney stone. Saturday, I thought I had shaken a stone down , when I stood up on the tractor to look at the disc farm implement. I was able to see a temp doctor at my clinic, and was told to take acetaminophens and check back if it gets worse. Monday driving to my day job, got another stab of pain. I was in the fast lane and had to pull over to the left shoulder quickly. Got to work and able to get an appointment . Got to regular doctor at clinic and felt perfectly fine-I should have been feeling a little nauseous with a kidney stone, Wait and watch. Wednesday a rash appeared and a little itchy, saw the reg doctor first off-says maybe poison oak? Recommends the common remedies for poison oak. Friday, the pain and itch becomes severe-new doctor at clinic, she immediately diagnoses Shingles and offers vicodin and acyclovir but warns that the antiviral will be of little use once the rash appears. I decline the opiate (gives me severe nausea).
YSMV
Shingles has been increasing in incidence since the 1950s
Quote:
Results. Of the 8017 patients with HZ, 58.7% were females and 6.6% were immunocompromised. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of HZ increased from 0.76 per 1000 person-years (PY) (95% confidence interval [CI], .63–.89) in 1945–1949 to 3.15 per 1000 PY (95% CI, 3.04–3.26) in 2000–2007
Just for fun, FYI:
1 of 3 Americans will get shingles in their lifetime.
only about 1million cases in the USA/yr
just 200 will die, mostly very old and/or very sick people.
10-18% will have post pain (PHN). Rare to have PHN in <40yo
Acyclovir and related antivirals not have much affect when rash appears.
Mine, age 39, 1989. Felt like a kidney stone. Saturday, I thought I had shaken a stone down , when I stood up on the tractor to look at the disc farm implement. I was able to see a temp doctor at my clinic, and was told to take acetaminophens and check back if it gets worse. Monday driving to my day job, got another stab of pain. I was in the fast lane and had to pull over to the left shoulder quickly. Got to work and able to get an appointment . Got to regular doctor at clinic and felt perfectly fine-I should have been feeling a little nauseous with a kidney stone, Wait and watch. Wednesday a rash appeared and a little itchy, saw the reg doctor first off-says maybe poison oak? Recommends the common remedies for poison oak. Friday, the pain and itch becomes severe-new doctor at clinic, she immediately diagnoses Shingles and offers vicodin and acyclovir but warns that the antiviral will be of little use once the rash appears. I decline the opiate (gives me severe nausea).
YSMV
Interesting. My dr wanted to tell me the rash I had was shingles, except it wasnt, it was poison oak.
Shingles was the single most painful experience I have ever experienced. Because it is a nerve pain not much you can take to relieve it sorry to say. I tried everything, nothing touched it!
Gabapenton has helped some, but didn't help me (I don't think).
I feel for you and hope you have a mild case.
It never hurts to look at natural remedies to supplement, "do no harm" is always my preference, and this article is very informative on everything shingles:
We also added L-Lysine - I suspect Vitamin C, B-12, and Vitamin D would also help
Good advice.
Lysine and arginine are amino acids that have to be consumed in the proper ratio. Arginine stimulates the virus to replicate; and lysine with vit. C inhibit replication. Vit D increases the immune response to the virus. A diet too high in arginine (such as grains, processed foods, nuts, seeds, etc.) and too low in lysine can prolong shingles infection and put you at higher risk for postherpetic neuralgia, future outbreaks and poorer overall health.
B12 and B6 help with managing nerve pain, protect and promote healing of nerves, and can be consumed instead of gabapentin which can have unwanted side effects. I would add zinc to also help with pain and prevent spreading. All of these nutritional requirements can be achieved with dietary changes and supplements if necessary. These changes going forward help to prevent postherpetic neuralgia and future outbreaks, and promote better overall health.
Stress management is important too. You will have stress but how one manages it matters,
Someone mentioned gut health. If you make balanced, nutrient-rich dietary changes, your gut health (and immune system) will improve also.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
13,060 posts, read 7,493,946 times
Reputation: 9787
Quote:
Originally Posted by Williepaws
Interesting. My dr wanted to tell me the rash I had was shingles, except it wasnt, it was poison oak.
... but I was no where near the wooded area with the PO
Without a better solution, I assumed something I ate or some contact irritant.
Oddly, I really don't know remember why I didn't see my Dad who was a GP with long experience. He would've been 69 yo, But he retired at 82; Lived to 99.5yo
ymmv
Interesting. My dr wanted to tell me the rash I had was shingles, except it wasnt, it was poison oak.
I had a rash that looked like Poison Oak a few weeks ago but it wasn't. I had climbed through some vegetation along a creek to get a picture of these weird caterpillars that were swimming upstream. They were all over the bushes. About 12 hours later I had hives & welts all down my left arm.
Turns out they were Douglas Fir Tussock Moth caterpillars. And their little fuzzy hairs can cause reactions in some people.
Didn't bother with the doctor, Calamine Lotion made it bearable.
I don't have any advice for shingles but this post reminds me that I really need to get a non-vaccine immune system "booster" by exposing myself to an unvaccinated kid who has chickenpox. Easier said than done, now that 90% of kids have had at least one chickenpox vaccine. Last time was in 2007.
The chickenpox vaccine was made available in 1995 & between 2008 to 2016, the percentage of adults over the age of 60 who have had shingles went from 7% to 30%.
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