My wife had a small rash and the beginning of some radial pain which she thought might be shingles and she headed off to a medical clinic right away (this was not the vaccine). There is a small window, something like 48 hours where you can get a shot that can knock down the effects. This worked for her and the pain was gone in a couple of days. The rash on her belly remained small. I went out and got the shingles vaccine shortly after. For those of you who have had or do have shingles, I recommend getting the vaccine as you can catch shingles multiple times. The vaccine is not 100% effictive in prevention but is supposed to lessen the symptoms. In Canada it costs $185.00 and is not covered by our Ontario Government health plan. It was covered by my extended health. My daughter in law (age 30) also caught shingles although she only had a very minor case. They only recommend the vaccine for those 60 or over.

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1972 CB350 (gold)
1983 CB750 Nighthawk (black)
2012 DL650/EXP (orange)

Best thing for shingles is the Lidoderm patch.
Regarding the pneumonia (Pneumovax) vaccine, it's never been shown to be effective against pneumococcal pneumonia. They still push it by Federal decree. It does help with pneumococcal sepsis strangley enough (rare).
I've seen cases of shingles where the patient was out of control with pain. Maybe I should start thinking about the vaccine for myself. Thanks for the heads up.

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2009 DL650

Thanks guys for the replies. I am glad to hear I'm not "whimping out" over this and that it really is that painful of an event. I have an average threashold for pain (I suppose) but this shingles is really kicking my @ss something horrible. I did 20 hard years in the Military and have had my fair share of broken bones, rashes, medical situations, diseases, etc... but this stuff is unlike any of them. The nighttime is the worst. The radial pain receptors seem to extend way out to the tip of my hair and if my hair comes in contact with anything I get blinding head pain for about 6-8 seconds.

Out of frustration (and an internet tip) I used by wife's blow-dryer (set on low) and while sitting on the bathroom floor I gently circled my head a few times. Believe it or not this really helped the pain. The hair dryer was only set on low, not hot, and it really took the stinging sensation out of my head/hair.

Again, thanks for the replies, I find them useful. The wife and kids have me quarantined me to the basement. I have been dubbed "The Leper". Anyways, I got a big screen TV but my Cleveland Browns have a buy week today (go figure). Just my luck.

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2009 DL650 'Prime Mover'

"It is better to live alone in the desert than with a nagging wife" - Proverbs 21:19

Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners.
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water. - Jeff Buckley, 1994

http://photobucket.com/mid-life-crisis-tour

I had a doctor-diagnosed case of shingles last year (at age 66) but it was so mild as to be hardly worth noticing. Just one small, itchy pimple-like thing on my back that I originally thought might be a spider bite.

It developed a scab which fell off after a couple of weeks. That was it. My doc suggested that I get a vaccination to ensure against future episodes, but when I asked him how a generic killed vaccine could possibly stimulate my immune system more than an active case of exactly the same strain that might recur, the one which my immune system successfully squashed, he just kind of mumbled. (Have you noticed that doctors lapse into the passive voice -- "it is recommended" -- when they don't have a definitive answer? WHO recommends it? Big Pharma, I'll bet.)

I tried investigating this question online and the medical info sites I consulted mostly just mumbled, too.

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2007 DL650
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" -- Harry M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

I had a case at 27 (1985) and it was tough. It broke out in one of my eyes and damaged my cornea so don't take this stuff lightly. I remember watching TV at night with no lights on wearing sunglasses because I had a lesion on my eye that couldn't stand the light. Acyclovir was a new med at the time and probably save my eye. The good news is the doctors told me I would never have it again and if I did, they would write me up in the med journals.
Hang in there, it gets better.

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2012 Suzuki DL650AL2
1982 BMW R100RT
1985 Diamondback Ascent EX

I like your doctor better than mine. This is what I expected to hear.

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2007 DL650
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" -- Harry M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

my daughter came down with shingles at 8 yrs old,
she went thru hell at a young age due to the stress of me going thru
chemo for -waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.
back in 2000 pain meds and oat meal baths were the order of the day
hopefully she will not have to go there again-i pray..










09 dl650

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Buddy had it and said it was unbearable. Just wondering: I think most children get chicken pox vaccine now. Shouldn't that also reduce the chances of shingles as they get older? If so, even more reason to get their shots.

Hope you feel better soon.

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The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living

T Bone Burnett

Ive had at different times, broken leg, ankle, ribs, fingers, & the pain of any of them didnt blow wind up the time i had shingles. Good luck, a lot of us feel for you, but in the end all you can do is grin & bare it.

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I would figure that, if you have had the chicken pox vaccine first, then you won't be able to have shingles later . . . because there's no cache of virus stored in your nerves.

Trouble is, the vaccine may not be 100% effective right now in protecting you from the "real" virus . . . or with time your protection may fade to a lower level. Should you get regular shots of vaccine every 10 or 20 years, to improve your odds ?
Sorry, I don't know the answer to any of that.
It's not difficult to catch chicken pox at an early age, yet have it so mildly that it may not get diagnosed [yet the virus is still lurking inside you, after that].
Likewise possible to get an unrecognised ultra-mild chicken pox some years after your vaccine [and again, the virus lurks].
Blood tests "before and after" may be able to tell if you have or haven't had the infection then [or before] . . . but perhaps it's easier and cheaper just to have the vaccine shot and keep your fingers crossed.

As MikeB has said, it is possible to get a very small attack of shingles . . . in which case the future immunity would be nicely boosted [for free !!].
But it would not be easy for the doctor to be [by inspection] absolutely sure that that's what it was. Could have been something else, ranging from [yes!] spider bite, through to a mild case of yer average herpes which MikeB originally picked up in his journeys through . . . but let's not go there, Mike !
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