Anybody ever get shingles?

[5MilesBack]

It's a peach. I've been sweating my tail off the last couple weeks working outside in the high heat. At first I just thought it was some heat rash, especially since my shirts have been soaked with sweat most of the day every day. Then the itching and pain started. Fun stuff, especially since I have a bunch more work to get done. I guess heat and sweating is bad for it, and can make it even worse. Yay. Supposed to be 97 today, which I normally don't mind. But going to have to slow down a bit I think until it's gone.

Anybody know how long new spots keep erupting once it starts? Then how long it takes to clear? Internet searches say 2-6 weeks.....wow. 6 weeks puts me almost into elk season. I started meds yesterday.

 

[Crusader]

I did about 10 years ago, on my scalp and back of neck. Somewhat painful, definitely itchy. Mine went away in about 2-3 weeks. Not a real bad case, thankfully.

I wonder about getting the shingles vaxx, as supposedly once you've had shingles you are more likely to get them again than someone who hasn't had them.

 

[Forestryguy]

What sets shingles off can be different individually. It could just be stress or a combination of things. The time for them to go away is also individual. The constant rubbing on them with wet clothing would. be irritating.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I have and it was brutal, I didn't go in for a while because I thought I just had poison ivy really bad. Beings i waited so long to go in there was evidentially no medication they could prescribe me minus some numbing cream for the pain.

I'd say new spots showed up for about 2 weeks and in total lasted 4-5 weeks. Most painful thing I've experienced

 

[ODB]

I did about 10 years ago, on my scalp and back of neck. Somewhat painful, definitely itchy. Mine went away in about 2-3 weeks. Not a real bad case, thankfully.

I wonder about getting the shingles vaxx, as supposedly once you've had shingles you are more likely to get them again than someone who hasn't had them.

If I understand it right, the virus never really leaves your body, but goes inactive and stays resident in your spinal column and can re-emerge later.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

MOST cases 2 weeks but can last 3-4 weeks. Immune status and other variables play a role.
New lesions can pop up, on average up to day 10, and every new lesion will take up to 2 weeks to run it's course (scab falls off).

 

[Mule3006Elk]

If I understand it right, the virus never really leaves your body, but goes inactive and stays resident in your spinal column and can re-emerge later.

100% correct. Very similar to herpes simplex virus. Some will have varicella virus (chicken pox) yet never have a case of shingles in their lifetime.

 

[PVHunter]

I had it in my twenties. It wrapped around under my right rib cage. I thought that I had a nasty case of folliculitis from a wetsuit. I rode it out a few days treating it as a skin infection before seeing the doc. I did not enjoy my shingles experience.

Hang in there. "Nerve pain" hurts like hell. If memory serves, it was mostly gone after two or three weeks (or at least it wasn't keeping me awake at night).

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

It's a peach. I've been sweating my tail off the last couple weeks working outside in the high heat. At first I just thought it was some heat rash, especially since my shirts have been soaked with sweat most of the day every day. Then the itching and pain started. Fun stuff, especially since I have a bunch more work to get done. I guess heat and sweating is bad for it, and can make it even worse. Yay. Supposed to be 97 today, which I normally don't mind. But going to have to slow down a bit I think until it's gone.

Anybody know how long new spots keep erupting once it starts? Then how long it takes to clear? Internet searches say 2-6 weeks.....wow. 6 weeks puts me almost into elk season. I started meds yesterday.

I had it about a month ago. I was fortunate and only had itching. I remember my mother in law having it and she was in excruciating pain.

I thought it was poison ivy since it showed up a day after I was in the woods and hanging trail cams. Went to see the doctor and she said nope and gave me a prescription for it. She said I could get it again and recommend getting the vaccine for it but not until at least 6 months and she said a year would be better because apparently if you get the vaccine too close to when you had shingles you can get chicken pox again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Billy Goat]

I had it a few years ago. Once I realized it was something more than just a bad rash and got treatment it wasn't bad. The antiviral cleared up up pretty quick, the Pregabalin they gave me to treat the nerves really messed with me. Had to quit taking it. My temper was through the roof with it.

If I remember it was only a few days it was too bad, it was on my lower back and I was bouncing around in a tractor seat most of the time. Don't remember any new spots coming up after I started the antiviral.

 

[ClearCreek]

My sister-in-law got singles in her eyes within the last month. Her eyes were light sensitive and "itchy", it lasted about a week to ten days.

When she went to the doctor she was told there is an increased occurrence of people getting shingles in their eyes due to getting the covid shot and boosters.

Edit/additional info: My SIL had received her two-part singles shots prior to getting the shingles in her eyes.

ClearCreek

 

[SuperDUECE22]

My sister-in-law got singles in her eyes within the last month. Her eyes were light sensitive and "itchy", it lasted about a week to ten days.

When she went to the doctor she was told there is an increased occurrence of people getting shingles in their eyes due to getting the covid shot and boosters.

ClearCreek

For some reason I thought shingles could only be on one side of the body at a time.

 

[Wingnutty]

Wanna hear my story?…buckle up.

Started getting a burning pain on my inner thigh. Felt like if your thighs rub together in some uncomfortable pants after a long day or something, never experienced any like it. Got worse over the course of 3-5 days. Then I noticed a rash on my balls. “Hmm, that’s strange “. Went in to dr. They ran all kinds of tests, thought maybe shingles but could be lots of things. They took a sample from the pustules or whatever on my balls, came back shingles. Started meds. The next day the nerve pain came…except it wasn’t in my thigh, it was in my wiener! Y’all can complain about any painful issues you’ve experienced and you have good reason but none of you have had pain like this, if that I am sure.

Horrible. Terrible. Put a bullet in my head bad. All day, 24/7. Dr’s we’re stumped and shocked. All they could say was “hopefully it will resolve”. Finally got in to see a neurologist after about 2-3 months. He was shocked. Had never heard of it happening in a dudes wiener. He literally was like “omg dude, I don’t know what to say”. Problem with shingles is it can cause permanent nerve damage, as in the pain doesn’t resolve.

I couldn’t have sex with my wife, couldn’t get aroused, etc because doing so would cause a flare up. Get that into your heads: pain that is nearly unbearable and your unable to gain any sexual pleasure with a great increase in pain for the next 3-4 days. After 6 months it wasn’t so much the pain as it was the mind**** of it all. Fortunately I’d dealt with some long term back pain and sciatica which hardened me a bit, made me more mentally strong. Quite honestly I think a lot of men would have strongly considered suicide. It was just unbearable for a lotta months. Give me pain anywhere else, fine, I can probably deal with it, but in your junk???? That’s another ball game fellas.

Neurologist prescribed me some meds. Anti-depressants actually that help with peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain) in some cases. Slowly they began working! Took another 3-4 months to be past the worst of it. 18 months later I was back to 70%. Now, 3-4 years later I’m about 80% better. I have to be careful, limit certain activities a bit but I’m pretty normal and my wife and I are very grateful. Not sure I’ll ever be 100% but that’s ok because it beats where I was. Dr was a bit surprised, happily so, that the meds worked because some never find relief.

F shingles. Get your vaccine. I was 39 when I got um. Now I’m fully vaccinated amd y’all should be too if you are old enough.

 

[307]

Wanna hear my story?…buckle up.

Started getting a burning pain on my inner thigh. Felt like if your thighs rub together in some uncomfortable pants after a long day or something, never experienced any like it. Got worse over the course of 3-5 days. Then I noticed a rash on my balls. “Hmm, that’s strange “. Went in to dr. They ran all kinds of tests, thought maybe shingles but could be lots of things. They took a sample from the pustules or whatever on my balls, came back shingles. Started meds. The next day the nerve pain came…except it wasn’t in my thigh, it was in my wiener! Y’all can complain about any painful issues you’ve experienced and you have good reason but none of you have had pain like this, if that I am sure.

Horrible. Terrible. Put a bullet in my head bad. All day, 24/7. Dr’s we’re stumped and shocked. All they could say was “hopefully it will resolve”. Finally got in to see a neurologist after about 2-3 months. He was shocked. Had never heard of it happening in a dudes wiener. He literally was like “omg dude, I don’t know what to say”. Problem with shingles is it can cause permanent nerve damage, as in the pain doesn’t resolve.

I couldn’t have sex with my wife, couldn’t get aroused, etc because doing so would cause a flare up. Get that into your heads: pain that is nearly unbearable and your unable to gain any sexual pleasure with a great increase in pain for the next 3-4 days. After 6 months it wasn’t so much the pain as it was the mind**** of it all. Fortunately I’d dealt with some long term back pain and sciatica which hardened me a bit, made me more mentally strong. Quite honestly I think a lot of men would have strongly considered suicide. It was just unbearable for a lotta months. Give me pain anywhere else, fine, I can probably deal with it, but in your junk???? That’s another ball game fellas.

Neurologist prescribed me some meds. Anti-depressants actually that help with peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain) in some cases. Slowly they began working! Took another 3-4 months to be past the worst of it. 18 months later I was back to 70%. Now, 3-4 years later I’m about 80% better. I have to be careful, limit certain activities a bit but I’m pretty normal and my wife and I are very grateful. Not sure I’ll ever be 100% but that’s ok because it beats where I was. Dr was a bit surprised, happily so, that the meds worked because some never find relief.

F shingles. Get your vaccine. I was 39 when I got um. Now I’m fully vaccinated amd y’all should be too if you are old enough.

You win.

User name seems appropriate...

 

[Runningwater]

I got vaccinated after several older friends and co-workers assuring me they wouldn't wish the shingles they had gotten on their worst enemy. FWIW the worst reaction I've had from any vaccine has been from each of my 2 shingles shots. Both times had to take the following day off sick and was punky for several days afterwards.

 

[Conroy]

After seeing some of the responses, my experience seems kind of pleasant. I had it start about midway up my back and it went around to my chest. I thought it was from the sun since it happened in summer. It felt like a bad sunburn that wouldn't go away. I went to the doctor after almost 2 weeks and as soon as I took my shirt off, she told me to put it back on. She knew right away what it was. Because it was already getting somewhat better, I just rode it out. All in all, it was about 3 weeks before it was gone. That was about 10 years ago.

 

[S.Clancy]

My GF had it last October after we moved, apparently I was stressing her out.....Anyway, lasted 7-10 days. It was really sensitive, she could barely wear clothes. No scarring tho, which was good.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

No, thank god.

 

[eddielasvegas]

My Dad (Marine, DI, KW combat vet and tougher than nails) had shingles years ago and he was, at times, a whimpering little boy because of them.

This was all I needed to see to motivate to get the vaccine when I could.


Eddie

 

[5MilesBack]

Mine started with really sensitive skin on my right side (especially right side of pec, and around my under arm), but no rash or anything. I thought that sensitivity was weird, but again......with a wet shirt on all day......who knows.

Then I got a rash right on my sternum, the bottom of my right armpit, and on my back between the backbone and the shoulder blade. All three seem to be merging towards each other now with new bumps showing up. So far, with all my neck and back pain from my herniated discs and ensuing muscle spasms and such, this pain is nothing in comparison. But the pain is mostly deep in my pec muscle and also deep in my back muscle. Feels like a constant charley horse.

The Doc told me that only 1/3 of adults will get shingles, and of those that do, only 10% of those will get it again. I'm OK with having it where it is......as opposed to on my face or neck.......or balls, LOL. Hoping for the 2 week recovery option here. Doc gave me Valtrex and prednisone.