Husband has shingles on face and eye - need advice

Agree and thank you for your words of wisdom.  I try to tell him to appreciate the little things in life but he is very fixated on getting his life back.  He needs to come to terms that there will be a period of time for healing and he can't go back to the way things were for a bit.  I may seek psychological help for this.  Maybe he needs to speak with a third party person instead of me.

Lisa,

It might help if you both sought help, separately. There are times in my life when things became extremely tough, and I needed help. I am fortunate I received the help I did along with my family's support. It made me much more resilient.

Some people live a more charmed or protected life, but have difficulty handling illness or misfortune when it finally does strike. As we are all mortal beings, it is very hard to cope with it if you haven't had to deal with the severe pain and suffering in the past. Experience in misfortunes helps one build resiliency and therefore, be able to help others deal with it.

I strongly believe in counseling as mentally healthy for so many people. You have been the rock during your husband's illness, but no one is caring for you. People regress greatly when they are seriously ill, and cannot give to the capacity that they gave before. It is exceptionally taxing on you. I realize he is very dependent on you, is worried about his ability to return to work as a provider, the ramifications of a prolonged PHN, etc.....and more

ALL my love to you, dear Lisa

Merry Juliana

Hello Merry Juliana,

I wanted to give you an update on my husband.  We are at 9 weeks and it seems as if he has made a turn for the better.  Maybe all of his meds have kicked in too.  His pain level has subsided a bit so he is willing to leave the house a bit.  Nighttime symptoms come and go depending on the night.  He is relieved that he is seeing an improvement.  I pray it continues.  We see the eye neurologist this week.  His 4th cranial eye palsy is still causing double vision.  The doctor said it could take months so we are still waiting for some type of improvement.  I am taking your advice...baby steps.

Thank you for all you do on this forum.  I can't thank you enough for your knowledge, advice and understanding.

Lisa

Lisa

What fantastic news!!!!

Your telling me your husband is improving, albeit slowly, is thanks enough. It warms my heart to hear this..

Best regards

Merry Juliana

Joji,

When an individual has severe Herpes Zoster-Shingles, the varicella virus can damage the nerves innervating the tissues. Trigeminal Neuralgia caused by Herpes Zoster-Shingles is excruciating, obviously.

Your best solutions would be to consult with a

neuro-ophthalmologist, one who specializes in nerve and eye diseases. They are usually in large Medical Centers.

I had Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, Herpes Zoster-Shingles in my right ear, and while my allergist was excellent, he couldn't diagnose it. The first two ENTS thought I was narcotic seeking, although I just wanted a diagnosis. An neuro-otologist believed I had the agonizing pain and ran tests. I lost my VIIIth Cranial Nerve (hearing) . He diagnosed it as Shingles. The vesicle-blisters came out on my external ear canal 3-1/2

weeks after the severe pain started. My balance is terrible.

I had recurrent shingles every 3-5 weeks in my right ear for the past 21 years, as the first episode was not diagnosed in a timely fashion, nor was the pain treated.

What I am saying is sometimes a specialist really can help with the eye or ear problem.

I also have had scleritis in both eyes several times that a general opthalmologist couldn't diagnose. I finally saw an excellent corneal specialist who diagnosed and treated my eyes.

It made a huge difference.

Please let me know how you do.

Merry Juliana

Thank you for your most excellent information. I have been in the medical field for years, even spent five years working in neurology and neurosurgery, and yet find it amazing that health care professionals do not think outside the box.  Shingles can be devastating depending on the location and how quickly they can be diagnosed and treated appropriately. I was recently advised to take daily L-Lycine which I have taken periodically, but not routinely. I think I will start taking it every day. I am terrified to take the recommended vaccination, because I know that it will just stimulate the deadly varicella virus to come out of dormancy and I will end up with a fulminating case of shingles again. Mine was instigated by several weeks of severe stress. 

Drug-seeking is over-rated. It gives the HCP a reason or excuse to not dig deeper to find the root cause  of an acute but complex health issue. It is laziness and stupidity in my opinion. 

I am so sorry that your shingles case got that bad to where you lost your innervation to your ear. That sickens my heart to know that perhaps if they had diagnosed an atypical case of shingles, it could have been tempered by immediate treatment with antivirals, L Lycine, B Vitamins, and to the point where you did not have recurrences and such devastating damage to your ear. This is a painful disease. I can see where people want to end their lives because they cannot deal with the pain and sequelae.

May you find relief through HCP who really care about you and are knowledgeable about how to deal with this horrible disease. 

Sincerely, 

Joji

 

Joji,

I was under severe stress when I first had Shingles. A dear member of this forum enlightened me regarding high Lysine low Arginine diet. I also had my Vitamin D level tested. It was 14. I now take Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily. I strongly feel the high Lysine low Arginine diet and D3 supplements have helped in stopping the severe frequent episodes of Herpes Zoster-Shingles for the past 9 months.

I could tell you were in the medical field by the use of your medical jargon.

I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States, BTW.

I had the Zostavax, and it did not help decrease the frequency of the episodes. I do plan to get the Shingrex, when it is offered.

Best wishes for the New Year.

Merry Juliana

I will certainly remember to add Vitamin D and avoid L-Arginine. If I hear of any new treatments, alternative or otherwise, I will come back here to post them. My very best to you as you navigate through this adversity and pain.

I  recently stepped down as chairman of the Free Clinic where I live, and NPs are my favorite practitioner bc they are thorough, look at the whole body and all it's systems, and are the wave of the future of medicine. I am sure you are at the top of your profession. Your concern for the suffering of humanity is telling! 

Warmest regards, and Happy New Year!

Joji

Joji,

Thank you for your kind note. May I ask where you live? Sometimes, the neuro-ophthalmologists are at the top of their game in this country. While I don't have any personal connections, I am great at research in finding medical centers near individuals willing to invest their time for treatment.

I am glad you stepped down from your position as Chairman of the Free Clinic. Having worked at clinics for the underserved populations, I loved my patients, but the politics among certain staff and lack of funding could be brutal.

Your health comes first.

Best Wishes for the New Year

Merry Juliana

Thank you so very much for all the information you shared in this discussion.  Invaluable to me today as diagnosed with shingles as I already have sores in the left side of my nose and at the bottom as well and in my throat.  My concern today for running immediately to NP were the pains on left side of head, ear and eye.  Have small amount of blurriness in eye and that is very concerning after reading the posts here and will make appointment with ophthalmologist tomorrow.  Also have some dizziness and resulting loss of balance.  Anyway, NP was very very concerned today but said she would refer me to ophthalmologist  if outbreak continued into eye area but now I’m thinking I should not wait but make appointment immediately.  Started on antiviral and prednisone today.  And all this after a stressful week at hospital, followed by 5day flu bout.  

Thank you you again.