techgirl

Good to know! Make sure he never hears you call him a "GP" - most family medicine specialists I know consider that to be an extreme insult as the old (now obsolete) GP training program is inferior (in type/years of training) to a traditional residency.

Glad to hear Hunki is doing better!

Punki

The rash never did develop blisters, just as my brother-in-law predicted. Today it is faded to the point where the casual observer would probably not notice. Whew, what a relief.

Hunki says he is still taking two Aleve twice a day for the pain, but he is funtioning normally.

Despite the ease with which he whizzed through shingles, I think I will still get the vaccination. I would be devastated if I got them at a time that conflicted with a wonderful around-the-world flight or cruise.

kukukajoo

I feel for anyone who gets this very painful condition!

Sufferers please, please be considerate of others- it can be devastating to someone who is immunocompromised or a preganant woman and her unborn child.

A funny story to share. My brother is 11 mos older than me (Irish twins) and when we were about 4 & 5 were a bundle of mischief and into EVERYTHING! Partners in crime- what one wouldnt think of, the other would!

Well the roofers came and dropped a couple pallets of shingles on our front lawn to reroof the house. Great! An instant jungle gym! My dad must have told us a million times not to climb on the suckers but of course we could not resist this temptation by any means and had tons of fun for a few days when they were not looking!!

Then my poor bro- who had already had chicken pox twice, developed a very painful rash on the side of belly wrapping around to the back. Doc diagnosed SHINGLES of all things!!!

We had no idea about anything medical and automatically connected it to the pile we were playing on despite the warnings from pops! I can tell you that for the rest of the time those shingles were there, not only did we not climb on them, but walked WAY around them, giving a wide berth between us and them! It wasn't until many years later we learned it was just a total coincidence and we laugh about it to this day!

cme2c

Just came across this thread on the front page, sorry but I whole-heartedly disagree with your assessment. Shingles is not just a skin disorder it is a serious medical condition that affects nerves deep within the body too. Your regular medical doctor is in a much better position than a dermatologist to understand your other conditions and medications which will impact the shingles. There are not "better" drugs than Zovirax (acyclovir). They just have more convenient dosing schedules. To my knowledge there is not a single study showing superiority of efficacy at the recommended dosages. Valtrex (valacyclovir) is one of your so called "better drugs" and is converted to acyclovir in the GI tract. Acyclovir is still the gold standard and is hundreds of dollars cheaper. When I diagnose a case I contact their PCP and call to let them know and get their guidance on therapy. I can't recall a single patient out of nearly a hundred that ended up seeing a dermatologist.

kukukajoo

I second this. Just because a med is newer, does not mean it is any better. There are tons of examples of this with almost any condition.

jmsoros

Sorry you have to experience them. My sister has had them along with my dad and many of my cousins. They are very painful and unfortunately, they can last a very long time. Get as much rest as you can and take whatever a doctor will give you for their pain. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Punki

That is interesting, jmsoros. I have only recently heard that there is a heredity factor involved with shingles, and it would appear that that is the case in your family.

Hunki continues to improve dramatically every day and now is looking and acting totally normal. I still have not taken the vaccine, but will e-mail my Doc right now and ask him to order it for me. I am afraid I would not b so ludky as Hunki, if I ever had the shingles.

baglady

I had my first case of shingles my freshman year of college and have several outbreaks a year - always stress related. Since I have outbreaks when I'm traveling or away from home, it's basically impossible for me to ensure I am not going to become in contact with someone who may get Chicken pox. I don't go out of my way to be around people when I have Shingles but with outbreaks several times a year - how do I prevent this without becoming a hermit? I'm too young for the vaccine and I think my biggest help would be better stress management

cme2c

It would be highly unlikely to have that many recurrences of shingles. You need to discuss it with your doctor to make sure it really is shingles and not something else. If it really is shingles, it's possible taking a low dose of antiviral daily would help, but to be honest it won't be studied well because multiple recurrences of shingles is extremely rare. If it is shingles they need to look very hard at your immune system to make sure you don't have some other problem. In ophthalmology, we have good, large studies that show that a low daily dose of antiviral will reduce recurrences of the HSV (herpes simplex) virus which is a close cousin of the shingles virus. (herpes zoster) The vaccine does not help in an active episode, but might be useful to prevent recurrences for you. Again, this will not be well studied due to the rarity of patients with recurrent shingles attacks.

baglady

It may be rare, but I'm a rare person I've been able to confound the docs since my first outbreak over 20 years ago.

Yes, it really is Shingles all those times. I've seen doctors for it multiple times and the times when I've been overseas and gotten it, I can tell exactly what it is. The symptoms are almost always the same and nothing I know of mimics it (I have broken out in hives and rashes but those are completely different). I will check with my dr. about the low daily dose of antiviral and appreciate the suggestion.

2travelfar

I've had 3 documented outbreaks of shingles over the last 10 years (nearly lost my eyesight on round #2)...obviously not a candidate for the vaccine; but I'd strongly encourage any one and everyone to get vaccinated that's eligible. Post-shingles pain (aka post herpetic neuralgia) can and is a life-changing condition that lingers, sometimes forever (in my case, my face) and I truly would not wish either condition on anyone. I still fail to understand why children don't get vaccinated...chicken pox should be extinct by now ...much like polio. Obviously that was off-topic. But, if you think you've got shingles don't waste one minute getting to someone with medical credentials...I woke up with #3 episode and was at dr's office (foreign country) in 10 minutes...gulped down antivirals as I was walking out of pharmacy...time is truly critical. Episode #3 for me resolved OK within 10 days, with no pain in the area affected.

cme2c

Have they actually biopsied the lesions? Several times a year is a reportable case without a preexisting immune deficiency. Frankly if your doctors have confirmed it's shingles and not suggested long-term antivirals, you need new doctors.

cme2c

Why not?
"
– The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a federal panel of immunization experts, has recommended people age 60 and older receive a new vaccine to prevent herpes zoster, or shingles, a condition that often leads to debilitating chronic pain.

The ACIP to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted Wednesday, October 25, 2006, to recommend a newly licensed zoster vaccine, Zostavax manufactured by Merck, to protect against shingles be given to all people age 60 and older, including those who have had a previous episode of shingles. "

baglady

Actually, my doctors are excellent - I don't think I need new doctors - I don't go in every time I get it. Like I said, I've been having shingles for over 20 years - other than the first doctor I saw who was near retirement age and said I was the youngest case he'd seen (guess he hadn't seen too many) - my doctors haven't gotten overly concerned. Honestly, I just figured it was something I needed to live with. I've spoken to my primary care physician about it exactly once in the past year - my allergy doctor twice (because I had a breakout when I was there) so perhaps it's me not making a big deal out of because the doctors I had previously didn't make it seem that big of deal (and those doctors were near you - I'm not knocking OMA or the medical community there which I feel is excellent- the medical care I've had in Houston has been exceptional) other than giving me medicine and getting over it.

The only time I was concerned about was when I was pregnant but I only had one outbreak during that time. That's why threads like these are great - I can learn more - be better educated and in turn give my doctor more information. Never once have I been biopsied for shingles.

While shingles can be horrific, I've managed to deal with it the best I thought I could - now I know there are some things I can do to make it better and I truly do appreciate your suggestions.

cme2c

That is scary. I don't care how much a patient minimizes that, it's a big deal. The only rationalization I can come up with is they think you are nuts and are blowing you off.