Shingles

Anyone had it? I just got it for the first time 5 days ago. I had a virus which wouldn’t shift and I kept cycling/swimming etc when really I should have rested.

First I thought it was insect bites, so went to dr & she gave me Nervinex. I am on day 5 of 7 of this & the rash has gone down. Still itches though & I feel really tired so taking it easy.

I’ve been reading online re shingles & seems it’s quite widespread. I think I got off lightly as sought treatment straight away.

Anyone had it a few times? fellow sufferers post here…

Had it once, the itchy rash on my stomach was mothing compared to the excruciating pain it caused in my back.

Had it once after having a nasty flew/drinking way to much/generally working hard & run down over a few weeks. Like you I got off lucky and only got the blisters over a small area on my midriff.

Doctor just suggested chamomile lotion to al-leave itching.

Wasn’t really itchy but has left little scars. You’d struggle to see them though. Would hate to get a break out on my face.

Just took a day off work but only because it was Friday and because it was sunny.

Cheers PI, the dr was surprised I have no pain, just an itch. I do however have a strange feeling on my back – how long did your pain last? did you rest? I may get bed sores if I rest any more.

Healing vibes to anyone out there with it.

Yeah, years ago. Wife realised what it was as we were catching the plane to fly to Ibiza on hols! Remember it was very sore to wear clothes over, but don’t think it ruined the holiday. Went biking in the mountains on a hired rigid Giant mtb and also Manumission. Don’t remember the shingles interfering at all!

I think I got off lightly as sought treatment straight away.

Yep, it can have a devastating affect.

Cyclist Recycled![/url]

I know the guy in the link well and cycling was his life, as he mentions in the article he was still clocking up 7000 miles a year before being struck down by shingles.

He still goes to the cafe stops so that he can talk to other cyclists as his wife drives him there, and in the 2 years since the article was written he has improved further so she sometimes gets his bike out of the car and he can manage a anything up to 10 miles at no more than about 8mph, if there’s no serious hills. But he needs help getting on and off his bike.

I had no idea shingles could be so serious. Someone told me recently that part of the reason it became so serious in this case was that he initially ignored the early signs of illness and carried on pushing himself – cycling up hills that even I can’t manage. So yes, seeking treatment straight away and not pushing your immune system to its limits might have helped you greatly.

I had no idea shingles could be so serious

Me neither! Maybe my memory of it is playing up and I had treatment to take on holiday with me… otherwise don’t see how I could’ve gotten away with that.

I had them 20years ago. I think it typically follows a nerve…mine was from my ass down my leg….couldn’t wipe my ass for about 3 days (had to shower after every poo :-().

No fun whatsoever. Felt pretty ill too.

Ernie – that link is brilliant & what a fab cause. I really did get off lightly…please anyone, listen to your body, just rest & get attention promptly. I was not going to go to the doc but my partner forced me.

Had it once. I was warned about it after getting chicken pox for a second time as an adult. I had a fever for a day, then a prickly hot tender burn like rash appeared on one side of my lower back. Straight to the doc in the morning, strict course of pills for a week. It all went away without a bother. Always on the watch for it now.

Seems that early treatment and following the prescription to the letter is the key.

I had it as a teenager, on my face, I had some cream which made the blisters heal a little quicker – or in fact it just made them burst and ooze puss, then scab and heal. They gave me this to try and stop it spreading towards the eye. I think the cream was zovirax which is often used for cold sores, but could be wrong. I don’t remember feeling ill while I had it, I just looked a mess with an oozing scabby face. I still get the odd twitch from the nerve where the scars are which I assume is pretty standard, I say scars but just can’t really notice them, only I know they are there. Hope you recover quickly.

I had it in my late 20s – v small area but obviously following a nerve, which was good enough for a fairly confident diagnosis from GP (it’s rare to test for definitive confirmation). Minor itch and no pain that all went away without treatment, apart from a slighly bobbly area of skin.

I guess I was lucky but it’s less likely to be severe if you’re young and generally healthy.

It’s the same virus as chicken pox – lies latent in spinal nerve roots after you recover, which is why reactivation typically “follows a nerve”.

Done that….had a small patch on my chest. The pain of wearing a shirt has to be experienced to be believed. It did not last long but was I glad when it went?

My elderly uncle, formerly a fit chap, got this and it wasn’t diagnosed until very late. He is now very very sick indeed.

I had shingles a few years ago…

I had a pretty bad crash on my bike, went over the bars. Landed on (with) my head and tumbled down a hill.

Anyway a few days later, the pain in that part of my head was excruciating particularly at night (I recall the relief of actually waking up one morning). Eventually got to see the GP, expecting him to send me off for an X-ray. I was flabbergasted and almost relieved when he said it was Shingles.

It did properly hurt though, never mind the ooze down my forehead.

Edit: the GP insisted the shingles wasn’t linked to trauma. However a colleague was recently knocked off his bike, soonafter he developed shingles around the post-crash bruising.

Had it when I was 19.

You get it when run down as immune system can’t keep everything at bay. After having chicken pox when younger the herpes virus then lies dormant in your nervous system. Because your nervous system has ‘borders’ from one side of your body to the other, shingles will only ever be had on one side. Mine was in the middle of my back in a band from my side, but stopped in an abrupt line where it met my spine.

My girlfriend’s grandad had it 5-10 years ago on his face/head and is heavily scarred, but the scar stops down the middle of his forehead!

I had it quite mildly, it itched but nothing more. However, the 5x 800mg tablets for a week were massive!

I had singles in my early twenty.
Looked like an invisble arrow had gone through my chest, with rashes front and rear of one rib.
By the time I went to the doc he said “well, you’ve HAD shingles”, but its pretty much gone. It was a little itchy and that was about it.
I think I got off lightly!

my first ‘episode’ (?) was my worst, it felt like someone was trying to saw through my neck with a brick, that was about 8 years ago, while i was in my 20’s.

since then i’ve had a few more episodes (roughly, every 2 years or so), each one less ‘orrible than the last,

Have had it once, never knew you could get repeated episodes!

I think I got off lightly as sought treatment straight away.

think this I a very big plus … another had it years and years ago but lucky was staying with a relative who was a GP and said “you’ve got shingles” – me “what”

don’t think I’d ever heard of rest and recovery and was just doing too much

still can get itchy after flu type bugs (waist for me)

take it easy and take it easy again for a bit

johndoh – Member
Have had it once, never knew you could get repeated episodes!

Yep, once it’s in your nervous system it is there forever. You only need to be run down and it can flare up. The herpes family of viruses includes cold sores, which flare up just the same.