Well I have shingles.

[TomDaisy]

I feel so very stupid for not getting vaccinated. I am a little under the age recommended for vaccination but I still should have gotten it because I have seen that damn commercial so many times.

And yes. It is very painful. Like an insect is biting me. And there is a secondary infection at the site of the outbreak.

I did have severe chicken pox as a child.

I have had all my COVID vaccinations. I guess that gave me a false sense of health security.

Started on antibiotics and an anti-viral and it is helping.

But please - avoid this for yourself if you can. The worst is when the pain is so bad you can't sleep.

[Tetrachloride]

1. Side effects of that vaccine were minimal for me.

go for it everyone over 55.

sorry for your troubles, tomdaisy

[Rorey]

19. Thanks for that

When I got my first shot of Shingrix, I also got a COVID booster and a flu shot, and the side effects were rough. I've been putting off getting that second shot, but I do need to get it within the next two months, so I guess I better just get it over with.

[TomDaisy]

32. I procrastinated about it too. Rolled the dice. Did not work out so great!

[TomDaisy]

31. yes my SO went and got vaccinated today

[walkingman]

2. I also have avoided taking the vaccine - for no reason just

didn't think I would ever need it. I plan on getting the shot is the next few weeks.

I never had chicken pox but don't want to take a chance now aftr reading your post. Not sure why my GP has never mentioned it to me?

edited to add: Have you been under stress lately (other than the dystopian world we now live in)? I've heard that stress can result in an outbreak.

[TNNurse]

7. I did not THINK I had chicken pox

never broke out. When I was working as a nurse we had a patient with shingles and several of my coworkers were pregnant and could go in the room. So I got tested and I was positive for the varicella virus which means I had chicken pox.

Shingles is awful. Get the vaccine.

[Auggie]

3. So sorry, TomDaisy

Wish you well, and a treatment for the pain.

[TomDaisy]

33. thank you I am feeling better now after an afternoon of sleeping

[appalachiablue]

4. Thanks for the reminder. Take care and all the best.

[central scrutinizer]

5. I've had both vaxx series

Got the first series before Shingrix was developed then got the Shingrix series. Felt like shit for 2-3 days after each dose, far worse than after any of my 5 Covid shots. Glad I did though, especially after hearing your story.

Hope you’re feeling better soon.

[Fla Dem]

16. I also had both series and luckily little or no reactions.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. I got the first

vaccine, one shot, which was only 50% effective. Then I developed Herpes Zoster (shingles) a month before the two shot vaccine became available which is 95% effective. The pain is "nerve" pain, and it is not helped by normal pain meds, even opioids. There is some "new" drug they give for shingles pain, but it doesn't work on most people........

GET THE TWO SHOT VACCINE, PEOPLE.........Shingles is not a lot of fun and can take weeks or months to resolve.

My experience with the two shot, and many others I have talked to, is that the first shot is no big deal, but that second shot has many side effects. But STILL a whole lot better than getting shingles.......

[TomDaisy]

34. yes I was hoping we would be able to encourage getting the vaccinations

even though it is just another inconvenient hassle with all else we are dealing with in life right now

[DENVERPOPS]

41. No kidding

shingles is nothing in the grand scale of things that we have ahead of us in the future, sadly.....

[Grokenstein]

6. Seems to be a lot of cases lately!

Dianne Feinstein was hospitalized with it.

I've been putting it off for a long time but I think I'll get my shot ASAP.

[femmedem]

45. Studies have shown an elevated risk of shingles after a covid infection.

Different studies show that covid weakens the immune system, causing a 15-50% higher rate of shingles post-infection in adults over 50. (The range is due to the different studies' results.)

https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/covid-19/covid-and-shingles

[yonder]

8. Exactly what post #5 said.

Each vax laid me low a few days, far worse than the Covid shots. I'd do it again in a heartbeat though to avoid the misery you're dealing with.

Hang in there.

[AllyCat]

9. Oh rats, I'm sorry! Valtrex. Do the Valtrex and REST.

[TomDaisy]

35. I have an anti-viral that was prescribed to me with 2 forms of antibiotics

topical and oral. Yes gross things are happening. But this is what needs to happen to get better.

[moreland01]

10. My doc gave me

the antiviral and a pain pill that helped me sleep. I felt a ton better about 48 hours after starting the meds.

Feel better soon

[sdfernando]

11. So sorry you are going through this

I actually had the chicked pox twice as a child. Somewhat unusual....I did get the Shigrix vaccine and am so glad I did. I didn't experience any reall effects from the vaccine shots. Nothing worse then any other vax I get. Hope this passes soon for you. I've know several people that have had it and it is certainly no picnic.

Wishing you the best and a speedy recovery.

[TomDaisy]

36. thank you!

[ancianita]

12. So sorry for your pain, Tom. You've convinced me to get the shot.

Hope you heal soon.

[TomDaisy]

42. be well, friend!

[zeusdogmom]

13. What a bummer!

Shingles are nasty!! Hope your meds work quickly and effectively

[Septua]

14. I had a friend who developed shingles and never got over it, so...

..I got the shot long ago. I'll take anything that's a preventative for something; shingles, pneumonia, flu, covid. I've had 5 covid shots and will take another if and when recommended.

[femmedem]

46. Did you have the old, single-dose Shingles vaccine or the newer, two-dose Shingrix vaccine?

The old version is 50% effective and the newer, two-dose series is 95% effective.

[Evolve Dammit]

15. Get the vaccine. It can be extremely debilitating as TomDaisy describes (and worse). Hope you're OK.

[CTyankee]

18. I had it before the vaccine was made available. The worst thing is the post-herpetic nerve pain that

has never left me. Fortunately, there is medication to remedy that but it causes weight gain.

[TomDaisy]

37. yikes. yes nerve pain is really a B. I should have taken all this much more seriously.

[FakeNoose]

20. Would you call it "itchy" or "painful"?

The reason I ask is that I've had an itchy rash-type thing for the last several weeks.

I hope it's not shingles and I don't think it is.

I had eczema as a child but that was many years ago. If this is eczema coming back in my early 70's ... well I'll be damned! I haven't seen a doctor yet, but I'm thinking this rash can't be ignored and it's not going away on its own.

Best of luck to you for a quick recovery, my friend.

[TomDaisy]

38. it is itchy, then with sudden pinches that feel like a bite or a sting

like nothing I have ever had before

thank you for the well-wishes

[3catwoman3]

21. One of the staff nurses at the peds office where I was the NP had such severe...

…nerve pain that she was put on an anti seizure med to try to calm down the irritated nerves.

Get the shot, everyone, unless it is medically contraindicated for you.

[mucifer]

43. Yes gabapentin works better for neuropathic pain

Than opioids in most cases.

I have a relative who got shingles so bad it attacked his vocal cords and he couldn’t swallow well and needed a feeding tube until he healed.

I got the vax when I heard. He had gabapentin for the pain. Worked better than morphine. He as hospitalized for a week.

[LoisB]

22. I wish you well. I don't know anything about it but I hope it goes away soon.

[kimbutgar]

23. My next door neighbor had shingles and I heard him screaming in pain all the time

His wife used to go out because she got tired of his screams.

I got my shingles shot because those screams freaked me out!

[peachpit24]

24. Shingles

I had shingles last fall and I was vaccinated last summer. On a Thursday I had my last covid booster and on Friday I had shingles. I sympathize with you. They left scars on my leg and lower back. I'm a pretty healthy senior and I have never felt so bad. The meds are rough also. I hope you are better soon.

[highplainsdem]

25. Tom, my mother had shingles decades ago, before there was any vaccine.

She recovered quickly taking a lot of l-lysine, vitamin C and pantothenic acid (a B vitamin), which is what I take for cold sores. (They're both caused by herpes viruses, herpes simplex for cold sores and herpes zoster for shingles.) Anyway, the pain went away within 24 hours and the blisters healed in a few days with no lingering pain, as can happen with shingles. It had been a very painful outbreak on the back of her neck, and she couldn't stand her hair or clothing touching the blisters.

This might not work for you. It is strictly anecdotal.

[TomDaisy]

39. I will give it a try. I'm already taking the vitamin C - can't hurt.

[LisaM]

26. Same thing happened to me.

I wasn't against the vaccine, it simply was not on my radar. Get it!

[Desert grandma]

27. I had it too.

I had what was considered a "mild case". It was over my right eye. The thing was however, I had BOTH of the Shingrix vaccinations. The vaccine claims to be 94% effective. I guess I was one of the unlucky 6 per-centers. My doctor did say that my case was mild most likely due to the fact that I did have the vaccine. I did start the Valtrex right away. I hope you recover quickly.

[Lonestarblue]

28. I'm so sorry. I hope you're feeling better soon.

A friend had very painful shingles a few years ago. I decided then to get the two-dose vaccination.

[MLAA]

29. I'm so sorry to hear this. Wishing you a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹

[MontanaMama]

30. I've been avoiding the shingles vax

because I don’t want to feel like crap afterwards. I had awful reactions to the Covid vaccines and didn’t want to sign up for feeling bad again…BUT, my husband just got his shingles shot two days ago…and he had no reaction…now I read your post and I feel like these are signs I need to get it. I had a terrible bout with chicken pox as a kid.

I’m sorry you got shingles. Thank you for reminding us to get the shot.

[TomDaisy]

40. thank you all so much for the well wishes!

[twodogsbarking]

44. Hang in there. I had them three years ago. Got them waiting for vaccine.

Symptoms differ by person. I still had nerve pain after the sores healed. Takes some time for all to pass.
Avoid clothes that rub if you can. I had them left side of crotch area. Numb but painful at the same time.
Unlike other pain except maybe for surgery. They get better slowly at first then not so bad.