1. Community
  2. Infections
  3. Shingles

Hmm... maybe this isn't a coincidence

Posted , 5 users are following.

karen81086
karen81086

Had my first outbreak of shingles about May 1, 2017. Effected L5 dermamode ..down left leg. Horrible experience.. spent about two weeks inn bed. Slowly re covered..fatigue being the worst lingering symptom. Just three days ago I was really pumped that I seemed you be back to myself again when wham...a,new patch sprung up same area..same side and now leg and hip pain. So back on antiviral.

But here is weird thing.. about a week ago I started having severe buttock hip pain on my right side. I was pretty sure it was piriformis muscle so was doing massage and stretching. Is it possible since it is same area as shingles it could be related even though other side?

1 like, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Merry19451
    Merry19451 karen81086

    Posted

    Dear Karen,

    There is no such thing as coincidence in crime or medicine.

    Herpes Zoster Shingles can cross the midline and reoccur. You need to get another course of antivirals. I would suggest Famciclovir, or at least Valcyclovir as they are more efficacious than Acyclovir. Acyclovir is the oldest drug with five times daily dosing. The virus has more resistance to Acyclovir than the other two. Valcyclovir is based on the the same molecular structure as Acyclovir. Famciclovir is the newest of the three.

    I am so sorry for your suffering with this disease. The pain and subsequently the fatigue and exhaustion certainly are part of the symptoms that occur with shingles. Hopefully, you are given excellent analgesics for the excruciating pain that often comes with this disease.

    I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States and have had Herpes Zoster Shingles in my right ear every three to five weeks for the past twentyone years and twice in my right eye.

    Best Wishes

    Merry Juliana

    • karen81086
      karen81086 Merry19451

      Posted

      I was on Famciclovir first time .. already ran to dr yesterday and this time got

      Valcyclovir.

      It doesn't seem to be hitting me as hard.. so far. I started the Valcyclovir yesterday and it looks like rash is already fading.

      Thank you for your reply!

    • iladaleswife
      iladaleswife Merry19451

      Posted

      So can using famciclovir be used everything you think your having a flare up. I tried after the fact ( took three months for a doctor to suggest my chest pain might be shingles) I never got the rash but I have a sternum/left chest burning, my left side of my face burns. My pain is daily , now an achy deep pain in my upper left side of back. I got the shingles shot three and 3 weeks later came down with this. Had every test done, all with negative results. My titer for for shingles is over 2,000
  • babs99203
    babs99203 karen81086

    Posted

    Anything that Merry says, is good advice. I didn't have quite the same situation, mine was my left side of my back and chest, but constantly I had pain on the right side, like a mirror image. I kept asking my husband to make sure he didn't see any vessicles. However, those were intermittent, so those nasty nerves must just get all the other ones riled up in some cases. Yours does sound different. I'm starting to think there's only about 65% of information and/or symptoms that cover all of us. There are many variations but similarities, that's why I find this forum so helpful. A lot of doctors have limited experiences with shingles and what one person gets with facial shingles will be different from the leg or back.

    The only thing certain is that this will have you confounded constantly. Take care.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.