do I have PHN?
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i had shingles about 6 weeks. felt a very deep pain around my back to my abdomen, circling up to my chest. the pain was so deep I thought it was a kidney infection. went to the e.r twice, and was misdiagnosed. I didnt recieve the anti viral until day 5. then at day 7 the pain went away. the rash was never that bad but the pain was severe. I didnt feel any itching, burning on my skin. rash cleared up at about 3 weeks. then I started feeling slight twinges here and there. then a few days ago, I started getting a burning pain where the rash was. the pain comes and goes in waves. its like a wave of burning on my skin. does it a few times and then goes away. I would say its mild compared to what ive been reading. I went to my primary care doctor and hes useless. gave me a second round of valtrex?? cant get into the neurologist for 5-6 months. if it stays like this, I will be fine. I can probably manage on my own. but can phn be mild? can the pain come and go? or will it eventually become constant and increase in severity ? I know that it has to do with damaged nerves. my shingles pain felt very painful. but I thought most outbreaks were painful. I was able to manage the pain with tylenol. problem was I was taking tylenol every 4-5 hours and nights 3-4 it wore off at night and the pain woke me. took another dose and it subsided. by the time I got the gabapentin the pain was subsiding. I guess im just concerned that this pain will become constant. I know its not technically phn until 3 months. but the rash is gone and I feel pain. does phn progress? or is this still part of the shingles? I find it curious that the pain went away and came back differently. please help. am I damaging my nerves now? or is this the effects of nerve damage? and if it is, will the pain become more severe? or just gradually get better?
0 likes, 2 replies
amie43845
Posted
update 1/10/24... i was just diagnosed with PHN. doctor prescribed me lidocaine patches, capsaicin cream and gabapentin. as of right now the pain is mild but it does seem to be a little more frequent today. at first it was a wave of burning that lasted a few seconds here and there. today there is a slight constant burn with waves of intense burning. weird thing is i can touch the area and it doesnt cause pain. seems like its only soft brushing thats causing it. the waves of burning seem to be happening more frequently today. doctor said phn typically starts off worse and gradually gets better. but it can rarely get worse. hopefully mine stays mild. my phn did not merge with the shingles pain so im not sure it that makes it unpredictable or not. right now, the pain sucks and its pretty uncomfortable, but I can still do my normal activities. I will keep updating,
amie43845
Posted
been about 2 weeks since the phn diagnosis. so what im learning is, it doesnt become chronic until about 3 months. only about 20% of people get it at all. and about 50% of cases get better before the 3 months. ive also learned that lack of allodynia in the beginning of the outbreak predicts pretty good recovery by 3 months. also, there are levels to phn. not all cases are severe and some are intermitten.. mine seems pretty mild compared to others in this forum. i am sharing this because i was a nervous wreck at the start of all this because of not getting the antivirals in time. drove myself mad reading about phn. and i promised myself to document my experience to help others that may have the same fears. ive talked to people who healed immediatly after the rash and didnt experience phn until months later. that freaked me out mentally as i felt i couldnt rest. but these incidents are very rare. mostly it merges with the pain of the rash. and most people get better with in 3 months. only about 5% experience phn for longer. so if you are a worry wart like me, try to relax. because as i said, there are levels. my pain is mostly gone now. i feel so aches when i over do it. but for the most part it is getting much better. i did change my diet, started taking lysine. the gabapentin does help me get through the work day. but mainly rest is what helps me the most. hopefully this thing is on its way out. prayers for everyone. you are all on my mind