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It was last weekend i started noticing the pain in my le...

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It was last weekend i started noticing the pain in my left arm, every day got a little worse. It was extremely sensative to the touch and it felt like i had 3rd degree burns all over my forearm... but nothing was on my skin. Finally on Monday i noticed 3 little red dots on my forearm. My first thought was maybe it was an insect bite then the next day i noticed a couple more patches of these red dots on my arm... all my friends told me it must be poison ivy. so i started putting Calamine lotion on it and hoping it would clear up soon on it's own. But it didn't itch like poison ivy and it still hurt really bad. Finally on Friday i noticed the rash and pain had moved up my arm in my armpit and on my chest. Thats when I decided to see the doctor and i found out I had Shingles. It was too late he said to give me any medication and he said it would get better on it's own and that i should just take Advil for the pain.

it's now 5:34 am on monday and this is the second night i havn't slept because of the pain... i spent the entire night looking up anyway to relieve my pain so i can sleep tonight... but all i found was a bunch of homeopathic remedies that i can only get online. I've been very depressed and exsausted and i have class and work in the morning. i don't even know if it's a good idea that i go to class or work because i may be contagious. All I know is I'm miserable and i just wanna chop my left arm off and go to sleep. I feel so sorry for anyone who has to go through this while also struggling with classes, a job, and college life in general. Life is too stressful as it is for a college kid, I don't need this extra burden. :headhurts::ill::yikes::shock::roll: If anyone has any advice whatsoever i would very much appreciate it.

[i:b682b64167]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:b682b64167]

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi there,

    Sorry to hear you are feeling so unwell and are struggling. You should really wait until the rash has cleared before you go back to class / work as it's possible you will be contagious. I suffer with recurring shingles and get it so often I was just carrying on going into work until I had a fright when a colleague unbeknown to us was in the early stages of pregnancy - shingles could have been a big risk to her so please bear this sort of hidden risk to other people in mind when deciding whether to go to college / work / social events. Of course the immediate problem there is that if you keep taking time off then there are pressures from your employer etc which causes stress which can lead to being run down and susceptible to shingles again, it really is a very difficult situation. I also suffer with sleep pattern problems which are always worse when I have shingles. It is tricky but try to accept that you may not sleep at night and, assuming you must stay off college, try to rest but do not sleep in the day. I get through a lot of books when I get shingles attacks, mostly read at night! Also, you sound as if you are being very harsh on yourself, probably getting quite down as you are tired as well as the pain and discomfort. Every day that goes by now means you are one day closer to getting rid of shingles, so even though it is hard try and focus on that thought. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    [i:925f23472d]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:925f23472d]

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Sorry to hear about your condition. I would check with your doctor about the possibility of spreading shingles because I think it is rather low, esp after several days. My grandmother, who is 85, presently has shingles and she is in misery. She is taking morphine for the pain, so if your pain does not improve I would talk to you doctor and request a stronger medication than Advil for relief. Granny is also very depressed and frustrated with the lack of treatment. This is very common for anyone suffering with chronic pain. Try to stay positive. Best wishes.

    [i:993b3a6948]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:993b3a6948]

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    If you are in this much pain, don't mess about go back to your doctor now and tell him how much pain you are in. I had shingles feb this year, took 5 weeks for rash to go, I was in excruciating pain and couldn't sleep either. Doctor prescribed Co-codamol 30/500 caplets you take two every four hours, take them regular and it will help you sleep. They do make you very tired but sleeping was a blessing to be away from the pain for a couple of hours at a time. Give in and stay off college/work, rest.

    If that still isn't enough, go back and get Amitriptyline to take at night which will knock you out. It's an antidepressant which is not great but it's not treating depression, it's a much lower dose which will sedate you to make your body rest.

    I totally did everything right, rested, stayed off work and I am still in intense pain from PHN and it's now October! Been sent to pain clinic now for help. I really hope you get better soon, college will wait for you, get your mates to bring you round notes from class but rest, I really hope you don't go onto suffer with PHN. Take care of yourself.

    [i:50398a068a]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:50398a068a]

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