ButtercreamCakeArtist

Last month I had a sinus infection. Yuck. Anyone who has ever had one knows how yucky those things can make you feel. Then, about two weeks later I got bronchitis. My chest was on fire and I felt horrible. Not even a week later, something else begins.

I drove to my Aunt and Uncle's from my parents' house, a five minute drive, and by the time I got there, I had taken what I thought was stiff neck. I felt sick and like I was going to pass out. I had that feeling just the day before. I visited for a couple hours, and by the time I got home, I was in quite a bit of pain. My neck hurt, my shoulder, and even down into the top half of my right arm. My husband tried to get me to go to the ER. The next day, I was sore and hurting all the way up behind my ear. OK, so I'm thinking I've pulled a muscle or something. In the back of my mind, I'm hoping I'm not having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic or the steroids I was on for bronchitis. I had taken my last steroid on the same day the neck pain began. This began on Tuesday, the 7th.

Thursday, I'm convinced I need some Icy Hot, and I picked up some at CVS after the egg hunt at school. I used the Icy Hot Thursday night and Friday night. Saturday morning I woke up with a rash on my neck/shoulder area. So, I think I could be allergic to the Icy Hot. Why would I break out two days later and not the very next day? Also, why would it be confined to one area and not everywhere I put the Icy Hot?

I'm not sleeping, I'm in a lot of pain, and I decide I'm definatley going to the doctor on Monday because my shoulder, back, neck, and arm are hurting like crazy. Motrin, Tylenol, Aspirin do NOT help! I am up all night in pain....And the rash is odd, and I've begun to get a little worried.

Let it be known that when I was a little kid, I had a very minimal rash that the doctors didn't know what it was. They said if I never had chicken pox, that that was what it was. So, I never took chicken pox. While pregnant I was tested for an immunity to chicken pox, which I don't have, so we decided that meant the rash I'd had as a kid was NOT chicken pox. WHO KNOWS!? I've obviously had them at one time or another because I now have SHINGLES! You have to have chicken pox first. So, why I had no immunity to chicken pox is beyond me.

Before yesterday, I knew same as nothing about shingles. I wish I still knew nothing about them. I know too much! The rash itself really isn't painful, not yet. It itches some, and I think it may begin to itch more later. We'll hope not. However, the other pain is bad.

Yesterday, my doctor told me I had a pretty good case of shingles. She also told me that the rash would probably spread more, it would blister, itch, scab over in big, yellow crust, TURN BLACK, and probably scar. She also said that in some cases, the pain stays...forever.

I wonder what's next?
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We are building two rooms onto our house. The next to last thing hubby did was put on shingles..........so, you know the joke around here. I should've stayed away from his shingles. :roll: :roll:

reneebobby

Oh you poor thing. I hope you can find something for the pain at least.

Harmony

You poor thing! Both my husband and my best friend have shingles, and they both talk about how painful it is. There is a medication, Acyclovir (sp?) that you can take as soon as you start to get an outbreak. You may never get it again, but then again you may. Next time you'll know what to look for. You should see if your doctor will give a a prescription that you can take if another outbreak is imminent.

ButtercreamCakeArtist

Acyclovir is what I'm taking. In order for me to get it cheap enough at Wal-Mart through their $4 plan, I have to take 4 at a time, 5 times a day. The only ones they had on their plan were the 200 mg pills, and I need 800mg at once...so that's 20 pills a day. It was going to cost $350 without going to WM and without taking 4 at a time. They are capsules and not too big.
So, what is it, Shingle season?

ButtercreamCakeArtist

I did get some meds for that, too, but it doesn't go away. It helps, but it is still there.

ButtercreamCakeArtist

Also, they gave me a shot yesterday to get the meds in me sooner. Boy, that is sore!

PamH

Take care of your self and don't let the stress get to you. My mom had shingles around her eyes. She just looked like she had chicken pox.

My boss had them in her eyes the doctor said it was do to stress, the itching just about drove her nuts.

ButtercreamCakeArtist

Probably stress caused me to get them. :cry:

I had a nuclear stress test done in November because I'd had an abnormal ekg...I was having a lot of chest pain. The test showed it wasn't my heart.

Ducky

I'm very sorry to hear you are going through this. My mother had shingles and she was in a lot of pain. She, also, thought maybe she had pulled a muscle, but it kept getting worse and worse. Take care of yourself! Seems to me that shingles was something we never heard about much a few years back, but now it's all over the place!

sewhappy57

Oh Miranda you poor thing, I know how painful they are. Hoping for a speedy recovery. Take care!