Anyone had Shingles on their face/head?

I would go back to the GP and have them check it out. I think it might be normal, as I also have a few small lumps around my eyebrow, but having it checked wouldn't hurt.

Went to eye Dr yesterday and he says my optic nerve looks fine, but I have two new small blisters on the edge of eyelid and that is probably causing the new pain. So I stay on the anti viral for another week, and use the steroid eye drops. 

I am so, so tired of this. I feel like I could get depressed, but I just have to keep thinking it will continue to improve and eventually I will come out of this dark tunnel called shingles. Terrible stuff.

Thanks, Kerri. 

 

Did you get better? I'm a week in, two days on meds.

Dear Camden buck,

I'm so sorry for your suffering. How many days have you had the rash? Are you having any other symptoms such as fatigue, headache, earache? Are you having severe pain where the rash is?

Usually, where your rash is, Herpes Zoster-Shingles does not affect the eyes. Shingles starts with a preeruptive phase up to two weeks with includes the following symptoms: headache, fever, chills and sweating, aches and pains, malaise, and fatigue. Pain follows, usually severe, electric, lancinating, electric, burning, and/or itching.

The rash of vesicles-blisters comes in waves or crops at the site of the pain over a period of up to five days. The rash can take up to a month to heal. You are considered contagious to those who have never had chickenpox until all lesions have crusted over.

If you are in severe pain, I hope your clinician gave you a strong analgesic for the pain.

I have had recurrent Herpes Zoster-Shingles for the past 20 years in my right ear and twice in my right eye.

I am also a Nurse Practitioner in the States.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you

Best Wishes,

Merry Juliana

Merry-

Why is the fatigue so bad with this?

Hi Alward,

When you have Herpes Zoster-Shingles, you actually have a viremia, or virus circulating in your blood stream similar to influenza. This is a total body disease. The viruses are attached to the nervous system. Although no research has been done on this facet of shingles, some clinicians now realize that Herpes Zoster-Shingles is much more than pain and a rash for a month.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Merry Juliana

This exhaustion is crazy. This morning I am actually feeling better overall, but still so amazingly tired. 

A lightbulb went off over my head and this extreme fatigue reminds me of when I had mono as a kid. It is exactly like that!!

Hi Merry19451.  Thank you for reading my post. I felt the tingle when I was working on my car on Saturday, saw the rash on Sunday, and went to the urgent care clinic on Monday morning.  Valacyclovir 1000 but no pain meds but sharp every now and then, there is a rather sharp nerve impulse just below my jaw line when I move the wrong way or get "stressed."  Friends say the stress brought it on by weakening my immune system.  Hope I caught it in time with the meds...  How have you managed recurrent incidences for so long?

Hi,

The pain I have is so severe, the first time I seriously felt like cutting out my inner ear. It took three ENTs to diagnose me. The first two thought I was narcotic seeking. It took three weeks before the rash appeared on the ear canal.

Now, with the onset of loss of balance, headache, I start the antiviral Famvir. I also take an Opioid for 3-5 days, take Topamax daily which decreases the neurogenic pain and has helped prevent my getting Post Herpetic Neuralgia PHN. I also use Auralgon ear drops, which contain Benzocain, a numbing agent. This multi- faceted approach allows me to control my life, instead of Zoster-Shingles controlling me.

I started getting Herpes Zoster-Shingles when I was 44 years old. I was highly stressed.

Best wishes

Merry Juliana

Kerri

Both Mononucleosis (or Epstein Barr Virus) and Shingles are Herpes Viruses. EBV is Herpes-4 and Shingles is Herpes-3. You are very perceptive. Both are DNA viruses. There are Simplex for Herpes 1 and 2.

I wish you feLtd better.

Merry Juliana

You are way tougher than I.  That is quite a regimen.  I will take imspiration from your statement about controlling life and not the other way around.

So, Camden buck, do you live in Camden?

I am seriously asking the question...and are you a buck...male?

You find out in life you are way stronger than you ever imagined. The Herpes Zoster-Shingles is nothing, not to minimize what people go through with the disease, but there are always worse things that can happen. It's how you respond to the difficult challenges, and live your life in spite of these blips in the radar, that count. My family and friends are wonderful, and I am very fortunate to have them.

Outlook is everything, and my father named me "Merry" for a reason.

Best Wishes

Merry Juliana

I do not live in Camden but I am male.  I like your approach and attitude and wish I could be less "punky."  Today, a retired nurse looked at a picture and told me it was chicken pox.  She said the treatment would be almost the same.  I don't know any more.  How can she tell?

So.  Fair is fair.  Where does the Juliana originate?

OK Camden,

How old are you? Have you had chickenpox before. The retired nurse did not ask you if you had pain or itching. Chickenpox itches, and Herpes Zoster-Shingles is painful. If you fall into a certain age group, you almost certainly had chickenpox, as everyone had it.

My feeling is, if the rash one-sided and painful, it is Herpes Zoster-Shingles. Otherwise, I would need more information. I did not see the picture.

Juliana...my father was named Julian...after my divorce and his death, I changed my middle name to honor him. I detested the original middle name.

Merry Juliana

Merry.  I am in my 40's and never recall having chickenpox as a child.  Both the clinic personnel and the retired nurse are working under the assumption that I must have had chicken pox but just don't remember it.  The rash is mainly on the left side and is becoming itchy over time.  The painis now dull but shows up every now and then running down the left side of my face and under my chin like an electrical current.  I have a picture but I am not sure about the posting rules here.  Thank you for being a great listener and supportive.  I'm up late with an awesome headache. 

Cheers!

 

Hi Camden,

At your age, I would assume that you had chickenpox. Before vaccinations, everyone had the usual childhood diseases and that includes the most infectious one, chickenpox. Sometimes, if you had only one or two vesicles-blisters, your mother would not have known you were sick. If you were young, you certainly would not have remembered it, even if you were extremely ill. I was covered with vesicles-blisters and extremely ill with chickenpox, but I was three. My mother told me how sick I was, much sicker than the older four sisters she had to care for at the same time. It still sounds like Herpes Zoster-Shingles to me. Ignore opinionated retired nurses. She didn't know your entire clinical history, presenting symptoms, etc. Herpes Zoster-Shingles begins to itch as it heals. The chickenpox vaccine was not available until ~1996-8. You would have had chickenpox before then. My son was very ill at age 5, in 1994.

You are on the correct treatment.

By the way, there is a new, more efficacious shingles vaccine that should be approved and available by 2017. It is 97% effective in all age groups. It is called Shingrex, by GlaxoSmithKline, and although you are in your 40s, you might consider getting it.

Your insurance probably won't cover it.

I doubt if they have done studies yet regarding recurrent shingles, but Zostavax was only about 37-55% efficacious, depending on the age group.

Best wishes.

Keep me posted

Merry Juliana

Merry:  Thank you for sharing.  It is nice to have someone who has this depth of knowledege.  I guess the headache and stiffness are standard issue according to the aftercare sheet.  Is it because of the virus or the pills?  Maybe a combination?  Oh, the mind wanders... I will be out of the Valacyclovir by Monday morning.  It has been 7 days at TID.  No new blisters seem to be showing up an a few are turning black.  Should I still make a follow up appointment?

Btw, I looked up that vaccine that GSK will offer in 2017.  All these trials...

Thanks for all of your support.

Camdenbuck

Camden,

The headache and stiffness, or is it joint pain? can be due to the valcyclovir, or more likely the Herpes Zoster-Shingles. As the blisters are turning black, you are on the road to recovery!

All the best!

Merry Juliana

Merry:

Joints are fine but shoulders are stiff with a knot on each side.  Maybe just tension and anxiety about this condition.  Aftercare sheets are scary!  Guess I have to blame it on something.  They are turning black in waves.  I hope this is it!

Thank you again for your support.  You have no idea of how much you have helped me in just a few short messages.

Camdenbuck

Camden,

You are having the shoulder tightness probably due to the Herpes Zoster-Shingles that is affecting your head and neck area. Your headache is also due to the Herpes Zoster-Shingles. As I get it in my ear, I know the headache can be a monster.

The Herpes Zoster-Shingles is not affecting your eyes or vision, is it?

If so, you need to see an ophthalmologist immediately.

Let me know how you are doing!

Merry Juliana

Merry:

Not affecting my eyes.  Just have a stiff neck and a mild headache.  Guess the high pitched ringing sound in my ears is also part of the deal.

Just hoping for the best.  Thanks for your reply.

Camdenbuck

Camden,

Where do you live?

Merry Juliana?

I am in NC.  And you?