No, not the kind on your roof (well, I do have those ones too) but I'm talking about adult shingles (herpes zolster) or adult chickenpox. WOW, does this crap hurt. I have this stuff on my right eyebrow, with intense radial pain shooting outward up to my hairline and over to my ear. My glands are swollen and I'm not overly happy to be awake most of the time.

The web thingy has the typical rundown of cause, treatment, prevention stuff like always. Just thought I'd throw it out there and see/hear what you fine people have to say about this crap. Have you ever had it? Any tricks in pain management?

One trip to family doctor and another to the ER and now I'm taking two antibiotics; Sulfamethoxazole and Valacyclovir, and Oxycodone has replaced the ineffective Tylenol III Cod pills.

Good grief...

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2009 DL650 'Prime Mover'

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I'm sorry to hear this. I had a friend who had it and didn't hear of any really effective treatment. I opted for a vaccination recently but it only has some prevention effects and does nothing for active cases. Vaccines: VPD-VAC/Shingles/Shingles (Herpes zoster) Vaccination: What You Need to Know

Those over 60 should consider it. I hope your case is shorter and milder than average.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
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My wife had that and said it was one of the most painful things she's ever had.
i think you're doing what would be considered standard treatment for it. I might that Valacyclovir is not an antibiotic but rather an antiviral. The fact that you are dealing with a virus is what makes it so difficult to treat effectively. If it could be treated with antibiotics it would be a comparatively simple matter.
Hope that your course of treatment is successful in a short time.

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Joe S.
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Sucks to get old, especially when it interferes with riding!

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-Tom (DL650AL2) (KA1TOX) (E-I-E-I-O)

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Prime asked a couple of questions... Let me add one: has anyone ever known of a person to have autoimmune disease, and also have shingles?

By way of explanation, I have a form of Lupus (discoid, well-controlled and not too debilitating) and don't seem to acquire viral diseases. I'm not sure I've ever had "the flu". Autoimmune sometimes seems to mean also hyper-immune. It doesn't mean I recommend going to get a dose of lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. In blood and plasma testing, I also usually show a first false positive for syphilis and sometimes Hep-C (a flaw in the testing method). I can't donate blood, plasma, or organs.

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DL1000K6 Red I believe in ... gravity!
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My wife tried acupuncture for her shingles and it helped a lot for the nerve pain. Hope this helps

Got a shingles shot last month. $210 from the Safeway pharmacist. The people I know that have gotten shingles all say what a miserable, painful experience it is. The shot is said to reduce the chance of getting shingles and reduce the severity if you do get it. My insurance does not pay for shots, but does pay for prescriptions. I should have asked my doc for the 'scrip, then paid for just the poke. Oh, well. (Some Medicare Part D programs and some Medicare Advantage programs do pay, as well as some other insurance...but not mine.)

We gray muzzles also need the pneumonia shot. Check with your gut plumber.

About autoimmune...my wife has RA, and her rheumatologist always recommends that she get an influenza shot, as do I. She also gets the occasional cold, so viruses can infect her. By the way, she did very well using Humera for years, then it stopped working. Enbrel is now doing a good job for her. She had to give up bicycle riding due to the stress on her hands and shoulders, but she just got a high performance recumbent trike (TerraTrike)' and she's riding it all over town and loving it. A 15 mile ride at a good pace is an every day ride for her now. I had to get a new, light, responsive road bike so I could keep up with her. Nashbar had a flat handlebar road bike, $400 end of season deal, light aluminum frame, 700/28c tires, 27 speed deraileur, in the shipping carton with just the front wheel, pedals, handlebar, and seat to install, derailers already adjusted. FUN!

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2007 DL650A Whee! (SV cam transplant)

Manage the unavoidable.
Avoid the unmanageable.

I got shingles at the ripe old age of 28. I once was hit by a semi truck in my car at 50mph. I'd rather get hit by the truck again vs. getting shingles. Vicodin is your friend. Good luck

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I had shingles last January which lasted for about 2 weeks. Two weeks of painful burning blisters from the middle of my chest going round my left armpit and then almost to the middle of my back. Since it is viral, no antibiotics were prescribed but only painkillers which I did not take coz the sideffects of headaches were probably worse. With blisters on my back, sleeping was a challenge. Antiviral drug will only work when shingles is diagnosed early. To minimize any possible nerve damage I was prescribed large doses of Vitamin B.

Since shingles is really a reactivation of dormant chicken pox viruses, it is advised to have a diet that will boost your immune system.

In severe cases, the pain may linger for much longer even though the blisters are gone. Hopefully, your case will be similar to mine where the pain was completely gone in 2 months.

Good luck.

.
Very bad luck, Prime.

I guess you have been told to keep away from young children & anyone else who hasn't had chicken pox, or is [for whatever reason] at higher vulnerability to it.

I gather the pain comes from deep inside the line of nerves ~ so creams and gels and local anaesthetics are at the "wrong end of the problem".

Jumping on the Vala (or similar) as soon as possible is the best bet ~ but that's a bit "retrospective" at this stage. Rather like the cheery advice to use your fire extinguisher "in the early stage" of the fire.

Some people have found partial benefit against pain by using Gaba or other, newer, anti epilepsy drugs . . . but cost and side effects may hamper that a bit.
Can your doc get some freebie samples from his back cupboard ?

? Diet for boosting immune system . . . sounds a very unproven concept (even though some people have been talking about it for decades).
? Hypnotherapy for pain ~ can help some, if they're in the lucky minority who are able to take to that like a duck to water.

The pain at present seems to be forever . . . but eventually will be gone (even though your heart has difficulty believing that, right now).
And the odds are excellent that you will never get shingles again ~ in other words, this attack will boost your shingles immunity for the rest of your [lengthy, I hope] life.
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