Shingles!?!? Me?!?!

[Meadbh]

Get plenty of rest, follow doctors' orders, and above all take good care of your eye. Sounds like the first branch of the trigeminal nerve is involved, so be prepared to see an ophthalmologist if required, and take the antiviral religiously. I hope you are not left with any residual pain.

Good luck!

Shingles | Doctor | Patient UK

 

[flyfishnevada]

I got shingles right before I retired. I wanted out of there so bad and I was so anxious, it was enough to wake up the virus. I got a Tamilfu shot and it knocked it down. Good thing you caught it. I had it on the side of my head too. In some ways its a good place to get it. It stays withing the network of nerves it start in. When you get it on your torso, those networks are extensive. On your head, they are small. Mine got into my jaw and it hurt to chew for a couple of weeks. Got me out of a few meetings, but nothing like when I was exposed to H1N1 the year before. I was practically banished then.

 

[WestLake]

So if you have already had shingles, do you need the vaccine?

 

[Brdofpray]

I am no doctor, however mine did say you can get shingles twice, or even more times if you are unlucky. (That doesn't make sense to me either. Once you get something, I thought you had immunity. Perhaps this virus acts differently.) My doctor suggested that once my current flare up is over, I should consider the vaccine, to help prevent future out breaks. Perhaps you never really kill the virus, since after chicken pox it remains latent in your system. It waits to be triggered by stress, or some other trauma.

You would think being retired I would be stress free, however, all I have to do is remember back to the fall when my father passed away, and there you go. We all handle and process events differently.

Again, do not rely on this forum for the end all in medical advice. See your Doctor for expert opinions!

Oh and by the way, the anti virals I am taking for my current case, are really working well. My symptoms are diminishing each day, and I only started this past Thursday. Early detection is key.

 

[Buckeye]

I am no doctor, however mine did say you can get shingles twice, or even more times if you are unlucky. (That doesn't make sense to me either. Once you get something, I thought you had immunity. Perhaps this virus acts differently.) My doctor suggested that once my current flare up is over, I should consider the vaccine, to help prevent future out breaks. Perhaps you never really kill the virus, since after chicken pox it remains latent in your system. It waits to be triggered by stress, or some other trauma.

So I wonder how/why the immunization works?

 

[travelover]

So if you have already had shingles, do you need the vaccine?

My brother got shingles and was instructed by his doc to get the vaccine after the initial outbreak was treated.

 

[Nords]

Spouse has her shingles vaccine paperwork now and will be surrendering to Tripler Hospital later this week...

 

[braumeister]

So if you have already had shingles, do you need the vaccine?

It's highly recommended by the vaccine manufacturer.


More seriously, shingles can recur, and the vaccine is said to mitigate the problems if it does.

 

[Buckeye]

More seriously, shingles can recur, and the vaccine is said to mitigate the problems if it does.

But doesn't it seem strange that having the outbreak doesn't provide immunity? Wonder what the vaccine does to prevent a new outbreak versus actually having a shingles outbreak.

Can anyone think of another disease/outbreak that doesn't provide immunity and for which there is a vaccination that provides more protection than the real thing?

 

[meekie]

My brother, a friend and a co-worker all had shingles in their late 30's. Stress related, but it really makes me want to get the vaccine. I'll look into it, but I don't know how old you have to be.

 

[spncity]

Some scary things we were learning when DD had shingles - some people end up with ongoing pain even after the episode is over. Some say that taking steroid pills/cortisone during the outbreak would minimize the chances of this.

Not sure if the following information "from the Internets" (Shingles.com) is accurate:

What is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)?
PHN is the most common complication of shingles. It is a condition in which severe pain from shingles may last for months, and sometimes years, after the shingles rash has healed. PHN occurs from damage to the nerve fibers, caused by the varicella zoster virus. Nerve fibers send messages from the skin to the brain. When nerve fibers are damaged during an outbreak of shingles, they are not able to send messages as they normally do. The body may perceive these "mixed messages" as pain.

What is ophthalmic zoster?
Ophthalmic zoster is the involvement of any part of the fifth cranial nerve (trigeminal) with the varicella zoster virus. The symptoms include a zoster rash that extends from the eye to the vertex of the scalp. If left untreated, ophthalmic zoster can lead to inflammation, corneal ulcers/scarring, impaired vision, and even blindness.

What is the incidence of ophthalmic zoster?
Of the 1,000,000 herpes zoster outbreaks every year in the U.S., an estimated 10 percent are ophthalmic zoster patients.

There seems to be conflicting information about getting Shingles a second time (some articles say 4% get it again, some say a second outbreak is usually in a different place).

But then, you gotta do your own homework - as one Internet source also recommended additional reading by pointing to "this" article.... Architectural Shingles Vs. Regular Shingles | eHow.com

 

[frank]

anyone know the actual name of the vaccine or what you would ask the pharmacist for?

 

[REWahoo]

anyone know the actual name of the vaccine or what you would ask the pharmacist for?

Zostavax

 

[braumeister]

But doesn't it seem strange that having the outbreak doesn't provide immunity?

In most cases, I agree completely.
Bt this one is different. Remember that you only get shingles if you were infected with the virus from chicken pox earlier in your life (same virus).
So that didn't give you any immunity. The virus takes up permanent residence, and flares up when it wants to.

 

[mystang52]

Reminder - the shingles vaccine cannot be taken by anyone who has a compromised immune system.

 

[Buckeye]

In most cases, I agree completely.
Bt this one is different. Remember that you only get shingles if you were infected with the virus from chicken pox earlier in your life (same virus).
So that didn't give you any immunity. The virus takes up permanent residence, and flares up when it wants to.

Which makes me so curious as to why the shingles vaccine works!

 

[travelover]

My brother, a friend and a co-worker all had shingles in their late 30's. Stress related, but it really makes me want to get the vaccine. I'll look into it, but I don't know how old you have to be.

Currently approved for 50+

FDA: Shingles Vaccine OK at Age 50 and Up

 

[braumeister]

Which makes me so curious as to why the shingles vaccine works!

From a couple of online references:

How Does Zostavax Work?
Shingles is caused by a virus, the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The initial infection of varicella-zoster virus causes a case of chickenpox. After the case of chickenpox, the virus never goes away. It remains inactive in certain nerve cells of the body, waiting to become active again (which usually occurs as people age and their immune systems are less able to suppress the virus). Zostavax is a live (but weakened) version of the varicella-zoster virus. It causes the body to produce an immune system response to the virus, which helps prevent shingles.

The vaccine boosts immune system activity to eradicate the active virus and maintain the virus in its dormant state.

 

[Brdofpray]

Day 4
After four days of anti viral drugs. My lymph nodes no longer hurt. The rash is now confined to 5 red bumps on my left forehead. These bumps never really blistered and now seem to be drying up. I can touch my head and comb my hair without pain. I still have an occasional headache, but is completely manageable.

Things are looking good. Early diagnosis is key.

 

[Buckeye]

braumeister - So I guess after the initial case of chicken pox, the virus "hides" and is not "seen" by the immune system to cause it to create an immune response to protect against future outbreaks.

I guess we take the immunization to load our body with weakended virus the immune system can "see" to cause it to create an immune response.

I wonder what happened to the iimmune response that was created when we got the initial case of chicken pox? I guess it wears off and needs to be reactivated.

Brdofpray - Looks like your immune system is in pretty good shape. Maybe not strong enough to prevent the outbreak but strong enough to fight off the virus with a little assistance from anti-virals.

Wouldn't you think that having a recent outbreak would create the same immune response as getting the vaccine? Apparently that's not the case if your physician is recommending the vaccine. Things that make you go "hmmmmm."

 

[Brdofpray]

That is a good point. I will be following up with my physician next week after the anti virals are gone. I will review this thread, and ask him some additional questions. I will report back.

 

[Avalon]

Day 4
After four days of anti viral drugs. My lymph nodes no longer hurt. The rash is now confined to 5 red bumps on my left forehead. These bumps never really blistered and now seem to be drying up. I can touch my head and comb my hair without pain. I still have an occasional headache, but is completely manageable.

Things are looking good. Early diagnosis is key.

Sorry I'm late to this discussion. Glad to hear you're on the mend. Hope all continues well.

 

[Brdofpray]

Final Update:

Just finished the last of my anti viral meds. Since my shingles were primarily on my left temple, I went to the eye doctor today to check my left eye. My doctor wanted to make sure the cornea was not impacted in any way. (Shingles near the eye could lead to blindness in extreme cases, so watch out).

I was given a clean bill of health for the eye. The rash is a fading memory. I have five small red spots, that look like old mosquito bites, with no pain. When I furrow my forehead, I can feel some residual pain up into the scalp. Nothing bad at all. They say that may remain for another week or so.

From what I understand, once you get chicken pox, you are a candidate for shingles. You never get rid of the chicken pox virus, it lives in the nerve endings. (Where, apparently, your defenses can't get to it.) Over time, your defenses relax, stress or some other compromise to your immune system will allow the hiding virus to grow. This is when it expresses itself as shingles. Shingles is only contagious to those who have not had chicken pox. You can never pass shingles, however, you can pass chicken pox while the virus is active (open lesions).

The vaccine is recommended for people 50 and over. The vaccine is a weakened version of the chicken pox. This will raise your defenses and help prevent a shingles outbreak. (They say it decreases your risk of getting shingles by 51%) I am not sure if they recommend a second shot after a period of years. One would think your defenses would begin to diminish, once again, allowing the virus to grow. (Should of asked that question.)

Once you have had shingles, you can get it again. (1-5% will) However, once you have had shingles, and fought it off, your body's defenses are high. You won't need the vaccine for a few (indeterminate) years.

In my case I was very lucky. I have heard of many horror stories talking about disabling pain. Quick diagnosis is key! If you ever have the start of a rash, some pain associated with it, on just one side of your body, (Shingles will only be on the right or left side. It will never cross the midline.) go to the doctor and check it out. If he doesn't know for sure what you have, suggest shingles as an option. If caught in the first 72 hours, pain is significantly reduced! I can attest to that.

I hope my experience with shingles will benefit at least one other.

My work here is done.

 

[W2R]

So glad to read of this great outcome! Shingles can be so dreadful and it is nice to read your posts illustrating how that can be alleviated by early diagnosis and treatment.

 

[Buckeye]

Thank you for the follow-up. Good to know the information about the immune system being in high gear after an outbreak. The recommendation to get the vaccine soon after defeating an outbreak did not make sense.