It sucks growing old

[AndyinPA]

I recognized my husband's case very early, and he got started on the drugs the next day, but, yeah, I remember he still had a few somewhat miserable weeks. Best wishes.

[MsDaisy 2]

Hubby has been suffering from shingles for the past 2 weeks. He had all the necessary vaccinations. The pain in his left rib ebbs and flows with flulike “being stove up”. Luckily he has reprieves.

Poor baby, I had shingles and it was awful. They gave me pain pills but my body doesn’t tolerate those kinds of drugs. I read somewhere that Capzasin - HP ointment could mask the pain so I got some. It burned like hell getting rubbed in but within a couple minutes it literally had masked most of the pain and I was able to function just fine. Warning: Do NOT get that shit in your eye, wear gloves to apply.

[John Thomas8]

My NPD mutt had shingles. I spent way too much money getting it to shut up about it. I steadfastly hope it hammers her once a year for weeks on end.

Uninvolved revenge is Ok in my book.

I wouldn't wish it on any decent human, though, that shit sucks.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Thanks, all. I'll let Hubby know.

[bill_g]

To get that after being vaxed sucks. Could they not give him an anti-viral when it first appeared?

He thought the pain was from a snowboarding fall until the rash appeared. He is on gabapentin and an antiviral which have reduced but not gotten rid of all the pain. It sucks.

Gabapentin helped my shingles tingles, but I had to double up the amount for a couple days to get it under control.

Mine was on my chest, back, and armpits. I smeared Aspercreme w Lidocaine on the affected areas, and then wrapped up in kitchen plastic wrap to prevent aggrevation. I topped that with a spandex tee shirt (aka long underwear, UnderArmor, PolarTec, etc) to hold it all in place.

The open wounds healed within a week, and the visible areas cleared in a month. My left nipple stayed extremely sensitive for a half year after.

From my experience with Mrs wound care I learned about triamcinolone acetonide. It comes in a prescription as a gel, spray, or liquid. It also comes in a OTC strength under the brand name Nasacort. The pump is intended to send a shot vertically up your nose. But if you prime it first, you can get at least one shot horizontally to a skin wound. Or you can pump into a QTip until it's saturated, and dab with that which I've done. You'll know within a day how well the wound will respond, and whether you can continue usage.

Sometimes these wounds develope a secondary yeast infection. It may be hard to distinguish from the shingles. Yeast infections look like small red dots that are flat on the skin while shingles red dots raise up a bit before they erupt. Look at the periphery of the wound for signs of a yeast infection. Something with miconazole like Desenex foot powder will combat the yeast infection. Tap some lightly over the affected area, dust it around to fill crevises, and then sweep the excess off. You don't want to leave heaps. You want a light coating. A makeup brush is a great way to apply it. Tap some Desenex into the palm of your gloved hand, and then load the brush with that.

I hope he get feeling better.

[Rolodex]

I'm married to a dermatologist. Shingles is the worst; I hear about those patients a lot, and so I ran to get my vaccinations as soon as I could. Fortunately I didn't have any reaction to them at all (2 step Shingrex).

[Estiveo]

I had shingles in my 40s. At the time I was getting acupuncture monthly for migraine prevention.

I called my acupuncturist to cancel because of the shingles, and he told me to come in anyway because he could help with the pain. He stressed that this wasn't a cure and to keep taking the antivirals, this was just to make me more comfortable until the antivirals did the job.

So, I went through a slightly painful combination of cupping & acupuncture and sonofabitch if that didn't bring the pain down from a 9 to a 2.

Actual help or placebo effect or some combination? I dunno, but it worked for me.

[Maybenaut]

Here’s my shingles story - it was crazy!

I went to the dermatologist for treatment of these little zit-like eruptions on my nose. She diagnosed rosacea, prescribed a cream to put on it, and it cleared right up. She said it’ll come and go, so when it happens again, just use the cream. it came and went like she said, always on my nose.

Then I got little eruptions on my scalp right along the hairline. They looked and felt like rosacea so I used the cream but it kept spreading (no pain ever, thankfully). I tried to get in to my regular dermo but she was out of town and had to go somewhere else. By this time I had a dark scab the size of a quarter with little pustules all around it. New dermo diagnosed a staph infection, prescribed bactrim.

I took it at around 2:30 pm. At about 8:00 pm we were watching a movie and I was like, why does it feel funny to blink? I went and looked in the mirror and saw my whole head was swollen. I had my husband jab me with the epipen and we went off to the ER. They gave me Benadryl by IV and a prednisone shot, and the swelling went down but didn’t go away and by the next am I looked like a Klingon again.

I went back to the ER the next am, and the prescribed prednisone pills - ER doc said it lasts longer but is slower to work. I asked the ER doc to also look at the thing on my head since the bactrim wasn’t going to work for me, and he was like, huh, that’s classic shingles and it’s odd that a dermatologist would misdiagnose it. He prescribed Valtrex and it cleared up in a couple of weeks but now I have a dent in my forehead.

It came back in the same place but this time I went right to urgent care and got Valtrex, and after that cleared up I finally got the Shingrix vax.

[sugar magnolia]

I got shingles in the 5th grade. About all I remember about it was bathing in calamine lotion, screaming in pain, and being absolutely terrified that the shingles would meet at my stomach and I would die. (I had it around my waist and about a million people told me I'd die if the ends met. They didn't,)

[keith]

SWMBO and I went to GP for flu and shingles vaccine. Doc recommended we get 'new' shingles vaccine that requires 2 doses at 300$ a pop instead of old one that is one shot and free. We said we'll think about it and come back next week.

Two days later SWMBO comes down with shingles on her forehead. It damaged a nerve near the eye, but did NOT affect her vision. Two years later and she is still dripping prednisilone into her eye daily and she gets irritating 'tingles' once or twice a day.

She saw the quack yesterday (after driving me home from cataract surgery) and she says it is improving. But it's slow.

CORRECTION shingles did NOT affect her vision!

[AndyinPA]

I had the original. I need the new ones. Hopefully, soon, after reading the last few posts.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Thank you, all. I shall pass along the info. He is doing better, but still is fatigued and experiencing some pain. He got out of the house today cuz he read that movement and distraction help.

This is quite similar to my experience with fibromyalgia - fatigue, extreme pain in various locales, movement encouraged, and oddly, seborrheic dermatitis.

[jcolvin2]

Gregg is improving! Parvati posted the following update from Gregg's family on Quatloos:

Hi everyone. I know it has been a while since I posted an update but that was because there wasn't much to tell. He was moved to (the) Care Center on December 28 and his condition was much of the same. He could follow some commands but still no verbal communication except saying Ayeee. He almost seemed depressed at times. I was worried that he was giving up. About a week ago, he became irritated with the therapy staff and told them this was stupid when they were trying to get him to do something. He also used the F word. We were overjoyed for any words!

And then last Wednesday, it was like a switch was turned on in his brain. He was trying to get things out but not all of the words were there. But he was communicating with us. And more has been coming everyday. He is able to tell staff if he is uncomfortable or if he needs anything. Therapy has him walking the halls and getting him stronger after being bedridden for so long. He's asking questions and able to answer things we ask him. Sometimes he gets frustrated as he can't always find the words he wants and somethings come out as words that don't make sense in the context.

And then today was a big day. He has had an ng tube for feeding since he was admitted to the hospital. But it was not a long term solution so there was a surgery scheduled for the end of this month to switch to a g-tube. In his previous state, being able to feed himself was not possible. But to move forward, he needed to pass a barium swallow test. If you have never had to have a barium test, it is not fun. The solution looks and has the consistency of paint or elmers glue. They had given him one in the hospital and he was unable to do it. Well they gave him one today and he passed with flying colors, so the ng tube is gone! He had some applesauce, turkey and a cookie for lunch. I was there tonight when they brought him dinner. He grabbed the jello and cleaned the bowl. He ate about a third of the chili and half of the hash browns and half of his corn muffin. I think he drank the lemonade in 2 swallows. He declared himself full. It was so wonderful to have him enjoy food again after living on liquid nutrition for so long.

So that's the latest. I hope to have many new updates to add in the next few weeks. He still has a long way to go before we can get him home and reunited with Root Beer and Biscuit.

[much ado]

That is such great news!!

[bill_g]

Right on Gregg! Raise the flags and light some fireworks. That's good news.

[bill_g]

Thank you, all. I shall pass along the info. He is doing better, but still is fatigued and experiencing some pain. He got out of the house today cuz he read that movement and distraction help.

This is quite similar to my experience with fibromyalgia - fatigue, extreme pain in various locales, movement encouraged, and oddly, seborrheic dermatitis.

Hey - I noticed I forgot to mention Orajel for pain. Yes - the same stuff people use for their teeth. Get the type with 20% benzocaine in it. It's a topical anesthetic that can be dabbed on with a QTip to get it precisely where you want it.

If you need to cover a larger area, get spray benzocaine. It's a bit harder to find. I can only get it at McCann's Pharmacy around here. They specialize in disability, senior care, and wound care. They have duo-derm and silver alginate on the shelf. You can even get large sheets of mepiform for big wounds.

Spray benzocaine comes in a small rattle can like spray paint. Spray some into a paper towel first to clear the tube and get it primed with anesthetic. You'll see it get milky. Then paint the wound area quickly back and forth. They will gasp in shock because it will feel cold and sting a bit, and then they give a big smile. You'll have about a half hour to do your thing. Clean the wound(s) and change the dressing. This is when you can apply the Orajel directly to a wound, and then apply the fresh dressing.

Yeah, I know. I learned too GD much in the last couple years, and now it's stuck in my head. But, it's some handy stuff.

[Uninformed]

Wonderful news about Gregg.

[jemcanada2]

That’s such great news about Gregg!!

Keep fighting, Gregg. We need the 699th back together completing their secret missions.

[Slim Cognito]

[Foggy]

OMG. OMG, OMG, OMG. Is he going to be okay?

[Foggy]

Speaking of growing old, I am now 4 days from my next major surgery and I am not capable of thinking or communicating coherently, because I'm terrified and I'm not sure I'm doing everything right to get ready. I have a job this week, and my job is to get ready for the Grand Opening of my right leg. My leg works great, I walked 2 miles yesterday, why am I letting them ruin it? Oh, wait.

But I'm just making excuses for why I can't make plans for a Meetup later this year, and now I want to know more about Gregg's recovery before I take any decisions.

[bill_g]

@foggy

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

GREGG!!!!!!!!!!!

[jemcanada2]

@foggy

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

@foggy