About the Shingles?

Does anyone know where it coming from >>> catch the Shingles???
My mom has so bad painful from her stomach to back that is bother her whole lot so anyone know what to help her less pain and she has the pain medicine for it help some but it comes back with painful so tough for her sleep at nights.

Shingles is from the same virus that causes chickenpox. It takes a long time for it to wear itself out. I can relate, I've been battling the side effects of it since March. I had it in my eye, on my forehead and up into my scalp. There are other meds that can make her more comfortable. If her Dr cannot come across, I highly recommend she see a neurologist. This mainly affects the nerves, which is why it is so painful and so irritating.

Was at the painting studio on Sunday registering for class and a friend of mine came in, she's had shingles in the eyes if you can believe it and they told her it was something she'd always have..they could just make her comfortable...her eyes looked so very sore...

Hope your mom finds some type of medication to ease her pain...

I heard that if you had chicken pox the virus to cause shingles remains in your body and for some it actualizes. My DH is lucky, never had the pox and then was vaccinated for it as an adult. I wasn't so blessed.

Redrose, I'm sorry to hear your Mom has shingles and is in pain. I really don't know much about shingles. I've known a few folks that have had it, and I do know it can be very, very painful....and exhausting.

Since I don't know much about it, I looked it up on the web. I found some info at WebMD and I also looked for home remedies. I'm including these two sites for you to look them over. Maybe there's some info on them that could help comfort your Mom (and you're worrying about her). If nothing else, maybe the WebMD page will help give your Mom some ideas of what to ask her Dr. about.

Now, before you go to these sites I want to caution you about something. They list EVERY complication that can be linked to shingles. I mean EVERYTHING! Please don't let that scare you. It doesn't mean your Mom will get these things or go through them. I don't want you worrying about all of that. I'm sure her Dr. is aware of these things and is treating her....it's just that sometimes doctors don't realize how much pain a person is really in.

Ok, here are the sites....

Home remedies for shingles....
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/47/115.cfm

WebMD page on shingles....
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-treatment-overview

I'm going to continue to look around the web for a bit and if I find any other good info I'll post a link to it too.

Good luck sweety, I hope your Mom feels better soon and that you can rest soon too.

I just read a bit more about shingles. It's actually a viral infection of a nerve, caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. It stays in your system, and doctors guess, that when your immune system gets low for some reason, it comes to the surface and makes you sick again.

I also read about using a TENS unit for the pain. You can ask your Mom's Dr. about this. I used one for my back pain for a little while. It never really worked for me, but there could have been many reasons why. It may work wonders for your Mom.

What a TENS unit is.....well, it looks like a personal cassette player. It's about that big. Your Mom would clip it on her waistband or put it in her pocket. It has wires coming out of it, and those wires hook to sticky patches that are placed on the area of the nerve that is causing your Mom pain. They are the same type of sticky patches they use for EKGs and etc.

The TENS unit will emit a little "shock" to those patches. It doesn't hurt at all. NO PAIN. It's hard to describe how it feels exactly, but just kind of like a buzz. I promise there's no pain.

The idea behind it....or how it was explained to me by my therapist....is that nerves can only register one feeling at a time. Hot OR cold, pain OR pressure....not hot AND cold, it's one or the other. So, if they give your nerve a little "shock" that's all it will be able to feel....it can't feel pain then. Kind of a neat idea.

The TENS unit has about 100 settings, so your Mom could find just the right setting....and the doctors help with that.

It didn't work for me, but it may not have been on the right nerve for me....plus I had other things going on that caused back pain that weren't from nerves. This may be a very good idea for your Mom....it's at least worth asking her doctor about.

Oh, and they should be able to let her try one without her purchasing one. No sense in buying it if it won't work.

I had shingles twice, a year apart, covering my rib cage area. Neither time did a rash develop so it wasn't diagnosed early enough for some treatments. The pain was relentless, 24/7. Acupuncture helped slightly but only for a day. What ultimately helped miraculously were Lidoderm patches prescribed by my doctor. Instant pain relief allowed me to sleep and function. They cost the earth, but my health insurance covered much of the expense.

You cannot pass shingles on to another person, UNLESS that person has never had chicken pox.

BTW, my doctor attributed my two bouts of shingles to stress which can trigger many ailments. Learned my lesson and put an end to stressing out over anything, stopped feeling obligated to be on every committe, or to leap up to take on responsibilities for every church event.

June

you have my sympathies; my mom dealt with it two years ago. It is very difficult, but eventually it will get better, and she is fine now. I hope some of the above helps.

tThank you all very so much to tell me about this Shingles and the Hyperlink too thanks again, I appreciate.
Mom has lot of pain terrible this morning and she took the pain medicine it go down pain .

June, that is not correct. Shingles is a virus that belongs to the same family as the chicken pox virus. If you are running a temperature while having shingles, you are contagious and can share! Actually, what I found rather startling as that those who have had the chicken pox vaccine seem to be more susceptible to contacting shingles than those of us who have had the chicken pox. That was weird. I've still battling the neuropathy associated with having had them in my eye on my forehead and scalp. I have a referral to see a neurologist. Since I seem to have hit a plateau and it's not getting any better. It's not painful, but itches fiercely 24/7, so I'm not sleeping well among other things. My dr changed my meds yesterday and we'll see how that works. I can certainly relate to your poor mom's pain. This stuff takes "forever" to heal and for heaven sake tell her not to hesitate to get another opinion if he regular dr doesn't seem to get it.

Please be aware that there is a relatively new shot that can be given to prevent shingles. It is pricy but after having been through the shingles mess I have authorized the doctor to make arrangements for me to get that shot. Some insurances do not pay for that shot. The cost is about $125.00. One shot does the job.

Interesting, doccat. I was just going by what my doctor told me because DH didn't remember ever having chicken pox as a child or being vaccinated.

Truly, my heart goes out to those who experience shingles. You cannot even describe the pain to anyone except that even air hurts. Having it in your eye and on your forehead and scalp must be miserable and all that helps is knowing that eventually it will heal.

Wishing you well.
June

Yeah, my dr mentioned the shot, docgipe, but we have to get this mess healed up first. He's concerned the shot could trigger it to go active again. I'll pass, this is not fun!
You're certainly right about stress acting as a trigger, June. My ophthalmologist is participating in a study thru John Hopkins on why that seems to be a factor and the fact that shingles is more prevalent in adults in their 60s who have had chicken pox. He had been treating me for a stubborn case of irritis, which he thinks triggered the shingles. I've had that off and on for years and they have never been able to figure out what was acting as the trigger for the iritis. It makes your own autoimmune system turn on you. Hurts like the devil and I usually end up wearing an eye patch, because the eye is so light sensitive. I look like a pirate.......now if I could arrange for Johnny Depp to help me get around, that might not be so bad. evil grin! LOL

Just as general info- the chicken pox vaccine is relatively new and now a standard for kids, and recently changed to now require a booster.

And parents are taking on FDA and the drug company for some side effects that are showing up with booster. Not a good deal.

Doccat5, My stepdad had the shingles on his forehead and eye and has been bothered ever since. Been about 3 years. He has lost a lot of the vision in that eye and it is really sensitive. Another friend of mine had it in her eye also about the same time and the doctor was puzzled at what to do about the sensitivity and pain so she put a contact lens in. It helped immediately, seemed to protect that eye. When SD goes back to see the doctor, he is going to see if the contact will help him. I had never heard of anyone having shingles in the eye before SD had it and now I personally know 3 more people with the problem. A lot of the time if a person is under a lot of stress or undergoing chemo, that is when it hits. When you are at your lowest immunity and the worst timing. If treatment is started early enough, the length and severity is usually better. Laverne

a shot for shingles! thank you for mentioning that!

I was very fortunate, my vision was not affected except for being very light sensitive. Unfortunately, I also suffer from an eye condition called iritis......another autoimmune system related disease and have for many years. I had an acute case going in that eye and the shingles were the frosting on the cake. Because of it, I cannot wear contacts, it would be introducing a foreign body into my eye and probably trigger the iritis. After 20+ years and multiple tests of all kinds, they still don't know what is triggering the iritis. It is intermittent, thank God! The danger with it is scaring of the macula in the back of the eye itself which can lead to blindness.

Whew...........shingles suck! I was lucky in getting into the doctor's office within two days when the first visable breakout occured. The doc took one look and headed for his free-be drugs. We started the medicine right then and there. The two week pill series ended the active part of my shingles. The after pain continued for four months. I still am aware of them. Boy was I lucky. Each week and month the after illness awareness seems to be a little less.

Like some of the reports in this thread I have become aware of the fact that many people have had a far worse situation than I went through. My doc said it was mostly because we caught it quickly and medicated early. My doc told me about the shot to prevent reoccurance. I must wait awhile but rest assured I will get that shot. My wife has already been given that shot. I highly suggest all look into the possiblity of getting the preventive shot.

I really don't mean to alarm anyone, but my Mother had shingles in 2003. She was almost ninety years old. She lived alone, but 3 of her 6 children live within sight of her home. My Sister stopped by to check on her and realized something was wrong. She called me and our Brother and we went right over. From the way she talked, she thought I was her Sister and my Brother was HER Brother. She didn't seem to know who the other Sister was, but was scolding her about something.

I asked her if she had taken too much of the shingles medication and she looked me in the eye and said "I have never had shingles, why would I take the medication?"

We called an ambulance and she was admitted to the hospital that night. By the time they had diagnosed that she had encephalitis, she could no longer speak. I asked her if she could hear me, and if she could to squeeze my hand. She squeezed my hand. The next morning I was in the waiting room while the nurse was tending to her and I heard the speaker call a "code blue" and it was her room number. I ran to the room, but they wouldn't let me in. She started breathing again on her own, but she never regained consciousness. She died two weeks later.

The doctor said that the virus had entered her spinal fluid and gone to her brain.

Needless to say, I got the shingles vaccination last year as soon as it was available.

When you talk to her, make sure she knows who you are and what day it is, or other questions that she can't guess at. I don't know if it would have helped in our case, but we don't know how many hours she was not lucid. Maybe quicker action on our part would have helped.

Pat



This message was edited Jan 20, 2008 7:16 PM

Oh my goodness that scare me to think about my mom oh man and she had new medicine few days agin for to stop hurt the nerve does not help at all just only hlp her sleepy and dizzy so she will have to call tuesday because of the doctor office closed for LMK oh boy she is not feeling to good hurting all over.

June is correct. Doccat5 is incorrect ! Shingles is a herpes virus same as chickenpox. You are only contagious to peope who are not immuned to chickenpox--never had them.
The pain is more severe in some than others. It is determined by the nerve affected and the age of the person. People seldom die from shingles but because the pain is so severe with some this might affect other systems. Their are drugs on the market (Rx only) that your physician can prescribe to ease the pain from the neuropathy. Listen to your physian and follow his advise.

This message was edited Jan 20, 2008 9:40 PM

Percocet was prescribed for my mom but she didn't like it and I have taken it once and it made me feel horrible. I hated it. The next best thing they offered was tylenol. They stressed she needed to take a sufficient dose and on time.
I am so sorry for her suffering. I am sure she will get better in time, but just do what you can to keep her comfortable, eating and drinking some.

My SIL has been fighting Shingles for about 8 months now. She is 68. She had them on the inside. At one point the doctors didn't know if she was going to make it or not, they were that bad. They effected her liver. They had her on so much meds, she would get the pain prescription filled and before it was due to be filled again she was calling the doctor for more. The doctor told her no more pain medication until time and she was going to have to start taking it like he prescribed it. He also told her she was going to have to learn to live with the pain, cause chances are she would be having them for a long time maybe the rest of her life. She is starting to come around but still having the pain but not like it was the first 6 months.

It scared me so bad that I started searching the web reading everything that I could. I did call my insurance company to see if they covered the shot that was available. TG they did, but I had to be over 60 for them to cover it. I got the shot the same day that I got my flu shot, so I hope I am covered.

BSD, you are incorrect. If you have shingles and are running a fever you are contagious. This is straight from my MD. You can not only pass on chicken pox, its possible for you to trigger shingles in another person. They still aren't sure why, but this stuff is nasty and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Hmm, maybe I would but I'd like to pick the spot (evil grin).
Now I find out they have a shot to help you avoid it. One of those "best kept secrets" I guess. I chewed my Dr a new one on this. They just had a news info on TV on the fact that a lot of adults are not up to date on their shots. I'll pass on the whooping cough one, but the others were going to start using to bring both my DH and I up to date. I just had a pneumonia shot which lasts 5 years, much like tetanus. I certainly hope that shot works for you 2pugdogs. And I hope your mother feels better soon. I can certainly relate, it just wears you down. I don't want to take the heavy hitter meds unless I absolutely have too, because I zone out when I'm on them. And it's too easy to hooked on them. That has got to be even more difficult since hers is on the inside of her body. Poor honey. My doctor put me on lycria which really helps the irritation. Mine is not so painful but will itch like made or feels like it's itching, that never goes away and about drives me nuts. I sleep with socks on my hands because I will scratch myself in the night. Miserable stuff. Give your Mom a hug from me, please. :)

I never cease to be amazed at the vast differences people have had when dealing with shingles. None of the stories are nice. My four or five months with them including the afterpain which is nearly gone within six months was but a drop in the bucket compaired to what many have gone through.

My wife, I and the doc got on the shingles case very early. I had the medications in time apparently before major damages were done.

We are patiently awaiting the day when my doc determines it will be OK to get the prevent shot. He wanted me to be reasonably over the problem before giving the shot. I'm 71 and not sure I could live through many of the cases I have heard about. I have a dear friend who lost sight in one eye and still has afterpain three years after the active illness was cured.

I hate fear and doom peddlers but in this case I stongly suggest again that all should be aware of the preventive shot by self education so that you may discuss this with your doctor.

Redrose, I hope your Mom is doing better and that the docs have found some meds to help her. If the story here about Pat's Mom passing is causing you great concern I would just ask your Mom's doc about it....to make sure that you know what you are up against and so the doc can be reminded that there can be complications.

Pat, I'm so sorry that happened to your Mom and that your whole family had to go through all of that.

I have a doc's appt. in a couple of weeks and I'm going to ask for the shingles vaccine. When I was about 6 months old my Mom thought I had the chicken pox....she said I had one little bump....my DBs and DS were covered in them. I was lucky enough to get full blown chicken pox when I was 16. I was taken out of school, but my English teacher tutored me. He had had chicken pox twice and the shingles three times. He said he knew all about it and wasn't afraid of me. Brave man! He must have had some kind of low immunity to it. But, in any case I'm not chancing anything, from what all of you are saying this is horrible. Redrose, maybe you should look into getting the vaccine too, but make sure your doc knows you've been exposed to the shingles before they give you the shot.

And about those vaccinations needing boosters. Why didn't anyone ever tell us that? I never knew anything about that....until last summer I needed to get a tetanus shot. The whooping cough and tetanus was a combo shot, so I got them both at once. Wow, was that a sore arm for a week!

All of you who are suffering will be in my thoughts and prayers, I really feel for you.

I would encourage everyone over 60 to get the shingles vaccine. You may save yourself and your loved ones a lot of pain and suffering.

I read that if you make it to 80 years old, one out of every two people will get shingles. It seems to be worse the older you get and may have something to do with your immune system becoming weaker.

Pat

Wow, Pat, that is a shocking number! Thank you for sharing that. I'm going to share that info with all of my friends and family. Since this is such a big deal you would think the docs would really start pushing the vaccines....but maybe they don't just because there's so much controversy over vacs right now. I'll be asking my doc about it very soon. Thank again.

Heather

Some insurances do not cover this shot.............$125.00 was the cost given to me. I am waiting to get fully well to get the shot. I think but am not sure my insurance will cover it.

My doc said...."If I write a prescription for you to get it at the hospital there is a very good chance insurance will cover it". "If I give it in my office it has been rejected by some companies". This does not make sense to me but then little about our medicine situation does make sense. The only thing I see is the insurance company thinking they need to protect themselves from crooked doctors. However going to the hospital here runs the cost up dramatically that they have to pay for. In office shots are $89.00 and cost of shot added. Leave that office and walk accross the street to the hospital the cost sky-rockets. However if I were just a little crooked it could be all free on one of those poor boy's cards. Amazing! Some of those folks eat better than I do. That's a bigger illness than my shingles effecting another part of my body. :)

I got the amount that was paid for my shot after I got it in November, and I think it was around $135.00. I e-mailed my insurance company first to see if they would pay for mine before I made plans on getting it. They e-mailed me back stating it would be covered providing it was given to me by my designated doctor and I was over 60 years old. I made sure I kept the e-mail in case there was some questions about it latter.

LOL! Thanks for that info, I'll have to call our insurance and see if it's covered. We're lucky to have pretty good insurance. It did change a bit this year though so I have to double check everything. Even if it is the $125 I think it's well worth it...this vac in particular anyway. I hate to even think about it, but I'm one of those folks who seems to have a slightly low immune system sometimes. I'm a carrier of Epstein Bar (Chronic Fatigue) and Mono, add in some back problems (with the meds that go along with it) and then maybe throw in a cold virus and the immunity can plummet. So, I think I'll take my vitamins, get this vac and be on my merry way!

Well I am going to get the shot and then I will find out who pays. Either way that shot is going down on me. My wife has had the shot but not near long enough for billing to do what billing does. Our companies are two months behind.

The shot is worth its weight in gold for the prevention of the shingles virus. I have heard of people getting it in there eye and going blind. That's not for me.

Hey everyone, I finally got to ask my doc about the shingles vac and thought I'd share her input with everyone. First, most insurances won't pay for the vac unless you're 60+. Doc made it sound like because the vac is still so new (introduced in 2006) they aren't just handing them out yet, but she said to keep an eye on this because she expects that to change....that insurance should start covering them for younger folks in the next few years. For me to pay for the shot myself would be $152.50 (LOL at the $0.50). The nurse told me that this is a live vac, so when the vac is picked up at the pharmacy you have 20 minutes to have it injected....no fooling around. Doc also said that shingles in the eye isn't common but can cause some very serious problems, including blindness....so take care of yourself please. The name of the vac my Doc uses is Zostavax.

I guess another reason for insurance not covering these yet is because even if you do have shingles you're not contagious. Someone can catch chickenpox from you if they've never had it, but no one can catch shingles.

Some info from the papers the nurse gave me about the vac...
90% of all American adults have had chickenpox.
The risk for shingles increases as we get older.
Shingles can cause loss of vision and/or hearing.
About 1 million cases of shingles occur in the US each year, out of those about 1/2 of them are folks over age 60.
1 out of 2 people who live to age 85 will have shingles. (Holy Cows!!!!)
The older we get, the longer the shingles rash may last.
The older we get, the more we're at risk for long-term nerve damage.
Women should not become pregnant until at least 3 months after getting the shingles vac.

First signs/symptoms of shingles are....
First sign are often felt and may not be seen, including itching, tingling and burning. A few days later a rash of fluid-filled blisters appears (usually on one side of the body or face). The blisters may take 2 to 4 weeks to heal. Its main symptom is pain. Other symptoms can include fever, headache, chills and upset stomach.


and that's about that. My doc said for me not to pay for the vac now but to wait a while and see if it's covered by insurance. She seemed to think it's a good idea for anyone/everyone to get the vac....and so do I. Actually, if insurance doesn't pay for the shot in the next 5 or so years I may just pay for it myself. If a little shot can prevent all the hellacious things y'all are going through then I'm more than willing to pay. Shoot, some women pay way more than that for a handbag or pair of shoes!

Hope this info helps,
Heather

Heather...........Thanks. That is what I have come to believe is largely correct. I am way over sixty so I shall get the shot just as soon as my doc thinks I am recovered enough. I think I am but another few weeks into my next doctor's appointment is no big deal.

Insurance or no insurance I shall have that shot. It costs me more than that to fish or hunt a week. If I get them again I suspect my fun afield will be all in and done if in fact I should live through another dose of the shingles. If I have die I would rather be eaten by a bear or shot by someone that thinks I look like a bear than to have another dose of shingles. :)

The insurance companies may decide to pay for the vaccine in the next few years, after they've had time to figure the cost into the years premiums- at least, this is what my doc indicated when we discussed another new vaccine.

Web MD has an interesting video clip on the possibility that Tai Chi can help prevent shingles. When I had them (twice in two years) my doctor believed stress was an underlying factor. I did cut way back on over-committing to too many projects and began meditating daily. It certainly helped. Tai Chi is one of those things I think about, but perhaps it's time to go do it.

http://www.webmd.com/video/preventing-shingles

Well... I think the medical community doesn't know all the answers. Treatments are experimental because our individual makeups are all different and THAT is why they call it "practicing medicine".

I have heard time and again from the medical community that one cannot "catch" shingles and I am here to strongly disagree. It is the same virus that delivers chicken pox. When ones' immune system is weakened, the virus can invade the system. DH was in the emergency room for cardiac care and there was an ill 2 YO. They were there to find out what was wrong. What was wrong turned out to be chickenpox. Within 10 days of that hospital exposure, what was wrong with DH was shingles.

Granted his resistance was weakened but NO one, NO where will ever convince me that exposure to this virus will not trigger the shingles response. Parents with children with chicken pox need to be more responsible and keep their children quarantined at home. This exposure was purely incidental but as we are older, I cringe when someone has an infected child out in public around us!

All this information is so interesting to me. When I was in the 6th grade, I had shingles in my eye, forehead and in my hair. I've never had chicken pox. (didn't even get them when my son had them)