Anyone had the shingles?

[scratchy]

Never had them but you can bet your sweet butt I'll be talking to the doc about the shingles vaccine lickety split.

[Skywalker]

I'm with you on the internal. I had this on the brain left side deep burning. I have permanent nerve damage from it. Still hurt, pretty much all the time.

I got shingles internally in my right ear and throat. Pretty weird, huh? Felt like someone jamming an icepick into my ear. It affected the nerves on the right side of my face causing Bells Palsy. Now that was a real motherfucker. Two courses of Prednisone. Anti virals. Over six months later and I'm still not 100% I, seriously would not wish that shit on anyone.

[wctriumph]

Yeah. About the worst thing ever happened to me. I would not wish this on anyone. Seriously, this is bad news, catch it early and it can be handled pretty easily, wait and you are so screwed.

[DEAGLER]

I had shingles on the top of my head when I was in sixth grade. My parents had gotten me the chicken pox vaccine almost specifically to try to make me immune to shingles. Never had CP, no, it just went straight to shingles.

Hmm that's odd. I thought shingles is the dormant virus of chicken pox.

[TFOGGER]

I've had 2 episodes (or 1 with a remission and relapse)across my sternum and down the axial nerve complex in my right side. hurt like a muddy trucker. 2 courses of Acyclovir (possibly the best appetite suppressant known to man), lost 14 pounds, and about 4 weeks of being unable to lift anything heavy or push bikes around in the shop. I never want to go through that again.

[RblDiver]

Hmm that's odd. I thought shingles is the dormant virus of chicken pox.

Something like that. I was apparently one of those low-probability people (don't remember the number, but at least 1 in 10,000 or something) who got the vaccine, but I guess the virus evolved to the shingles variant instead of my immune system detecting/destroying it.

[generalmeow]

How does it compare to a kidney stone? I've never had shingles, but have heard people say that kidney stones are the most pain they've ever been in. I wonder which wins out.

[RblDiver]

Well, tbh I don't remember much pain from mine (granted this WAS about 16 years ago, and I was only 12 or so, memory wasn't so good then) (not saying it's good now :P), mostly soreness when it was touched and the like (harsh soreness, but not agonizing)(also very itchy so I touched it a lot...and got sore a lot). Also, I think the scalp has fewer nerves generally speaking, so that may have contributed to it. I imagine a kidney stone'd be tougher than what I went through.

[tmckay2]

If the .gov declared war on virus's and spent as much money on eradicating these diseases as they have on Iraq & Afghanistan ($3.1 trillion) we WOULD NOT have this problem!

actually if people went to the doc or to pharmacies and got the shingles shot, we WOULD NOT have this problem. its a once in a life time shot. do it once and you're done.

[tmckay2]

Hmm that's odd. I thought shingles is the dormant virus of chicken pox.

it is. you get the chicken pox and the virus goes dormant in your nerve cells. you don't break out in shingles til 50's and 60's usually because your immune system still recognizes it and can suppress it. once you get to a higher age your immune system doesn't "remember" it like it used to and it can come out and cause shingles. the singles vaccine basically reorients your immune system to the virus so it continues to recognize and attack it. its about 70-80% effective. there is still a chance of getting it but it is much lower. if in your 50's talk to your doc. if in your 60's just go to a local pharmacy and ask if they give it. most do.