Flareup

hi Beverly, I am experiencing the worst back pain right now. i have a shingles flare on my waist. never had this deep severe back pain before. hard to even walk. feels like it does when i go to chiropractor but 100 times worse going from one side to another. is that the kind of back pain you have had? not just skin pain but like you threw your back out of place?

You need to get the antiviral for shingles right away if you haven't already! The pain I had in my back is hard to explain as I'd never had it before or since. It felt deep in my lower back and there wasn't a position I could get into to relieve it. I was fortunate in that it was a "mild" case.

Had you had the old or the new vaccine? I just got the first of the new one that comes in 2 parts and I had quite a few uncomfortable reactions to it. To make matters worse I had to pay $167 for the misery! I have to ask my GP if I should get the 2nd one. I thought I had gotten shingles in my arm, but the pharmacist said it was an allergic reaction to something in the shot.

Dear Cynthia - so so sorry. and I feel the same as you about he vaccine - esp since another woman here said it GAVE her the pain.

One thing I learned while resaerching nutrition for autoimmune disease a over a year ago was about Lycine or L-lycine and amino acid that is required by our bodies that we don't make... and oddly enough is often left out of formulations. Ever since I ran across an science article that lycine helps not only regular skin diseases it has shown help for shingles. I have put that in my list of "take until your dead" supplements. smiles. maybe it will help you now? hugs... Nancy

The original shingles vaccine was live; the current one is not. I had no reaction to the first, but it was only 50% effective. I think people are having reactions (as I recently did) to the newer one. Apparently I should have taken benadryl to tamp down what was an allergic reaction, but I thought I was having a mini shingles event in my arm until I went back to the pharmacy a week later.

I just had the latest flu shot which I started getting about 20 years due to my job at the time. Never had a reaction till this last one. The shot itself actually hurt. Asked the nurse if it was a larger needle being used; she said maybe I was tensed up (don't think I was..after all have had many of them). Short while after I went to do yard work and my arm was very stiff inhibiting my motion. Work had to be done so I just kept using it. Three hours later arm was OK.

The nurse did refer to it as the "super flu shot". I asked what that meant and she said it's stronger for seniors who are more affected by the flu.

I'm wondering if there's any connection between having LS (an AI disease) and having over the top reactions to these shots. I did have a flu shot last year though with no problem, so maybe this is coincidence (?)

Thanks so much for sharing in detail Beverly.

THe nurses response to you is absolutely flabbergasting. To my understanding the point of any vaccine is to "attack" our immune systems so that they presumably more strongly recognize an "invader" and therefore up their game. Yeah... uh huh. That's okay IF we had a medical system that First and foremost taught us how to "up our NUTRITION immune building game".

But we don't. So, to tell an older patient that the SUPERFlu shot is 'stronger' because we are presumably more feable and our immune systems more feable is to not understand the concept at all. Vaccines don't protect the body they attack it. That's an okay concept IF you are young and you have excellent health.

BUT when people with autoimmune diseases are "attacked" by a vaccine the actual result is going to be the opposite of forcing our immune systems to "straighten up girl and fly right" it's going to get us into the thankfully short term pain you got. For others it could have been far worse. Beverly, I hope you are taking a bunch of immune strengthening nutrition like Vitamin D3 magnesium, MSM, Selenium etc etc. You can check out the articles I researched over a year ago to help strengthen my own immune system when I fond out about this dastardly LS. They are in my discussions column when you click on my name. I currently take 28 supplements a day and I am not in pain - knock on wood - smiles. THanks again for taking the time to write about your experience. It helps us all!

Nancy, it is my understanding that vaccines help us build a defense by exposing us to a small amount of the virus. What the nurse meant by "superflu shot" I have no idea, but she did say it was different (from what presumably younger people get). It was the 1st I'd heard of this. She said it was "new".

I have always had over the top reactions to insect bites & stings so there is some overproduction of histamine going on, but my reaction to the new shingles shot was very uncomfortable and long lasting (a week). I called the FDA as instructed and returned to report it to the pharmacy. Was then told I need to get the 2nd shot at my dr's office. Not so sure I will get it; I see him next week and will discuss it.

I do take many supplements (not even close to what you take)but to be honest have little faith in their efficacy. I (hopefully) have an appointment coming up with an FM doc (after searching for half a year). As he has specialized in sports medicine I am assuming he will have knowledge re PRP injections which I am very interested in. As an FM dr he will, I assume, have input re supplements. Up till now I take 10 supplements based on a modified list of what Raymond Francis (wrote great american medical hoax) said he took.

My LS is not at all extreme, but progresses in its own stealthy way. Some women here have mentioned experiencing it this way rather than flare ups or pain. I have no idea what this means, if anything re immune systems.

Will post what supplements the FM doc recommends and any info given re PRP. Also what GP says about Shingles vaccine reaction. My gyn who was a specialist in gyn skin problems is now MIA so I have no one to consult with specifically re LS which is unnerving.