Ohhh This Shingles!!

dear friend i know how it can be painful and itchy and swollen. living with this disease is awful. i suffer from reocurring facial shingles. the swelling is due to the inflamation or you could have a secondary infection of the skin where you should need antibiotics for that as it happend to me. if thr cream isnt working i would ask your Gp for something else. a cold compress will ease the redness and help the swelling but like i said it could be infection under the skin causing this. i had to take coamoxoclav antibiotics as well as the antivirals to cure the redness. my advice would be to go to GP just to make sure.

Hello Downey Girl

I literally feel your pain. Mine is on my scalp...back occipital area. Started out with very, very, very severe earache that felt like knives being stabbed into ear. of course, could not get into ENT for three weeks. Finally did go to ED and diagnosed. Fortunately did not get any on face or near eye. Think I do have some mild hearing loss. Do have appointment this Friday and will find out. My main problem is sleeping or anykind of pressure on that area such as pillow. Been mainly sleeping in power recliner which I recently bought. It also has the power headrest so between the foot and head I can semi position it with the least pressure there. Of course any kind of touch there hurts...I am 75 and it will soon be four weeks. I take one Vicodin before bed/chair and one when I wake up. I am hoping I do not develop PHN and also that I dont lose hair in that area which is very possible...not to mention the hearing loss. I am wondering about the CBD too as know with the current opioid hysteria I doubt I will be unable to continue the pain meds. The other interesting thing is I am exhausted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I live alone and could do bare minimum if need to. Wishing you find some comfort soon...for all of us.

Hi Downy!

I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States. I also have had breast cancer and Herpes Zoster-Shingles in my right ear, mouth, throat, and now scalp every 3 weeks for the past 22 years.

I am so sorry you are going through this! Are you having the problems in the same breast you had the cancer. Shingles often occurs in the site of previous trauma or surgery.

Which pain killers did you try, and did you take them every four hours? Otherwise, you are chasing the pain. You need to build up a steady blood level of the analgesic to help. Of course, the pain pill might not be strong enough to do any good.

This is what I recommend for severe pain.

1. Oxycodone
2. Neurontin for the neuropathic pain of shingles. It needs to be titrated up by a specialist, ie a neurologist who knows what he is doing.
3. Either Cymbalta or Venlafaxine SNRIs

   This would be added if/when the Neurontin (gabapentin ). isn't helping with the pain. Avoid Lyrica

Continued...Pain Management

4. Cool Compresses

5. I use Flonase and Bactine , ie corticosteroid and Lidocaine topically on my scalp to help with the burning.

The different modalities of treatment do help to lessen the pain.

You also need to rest and sleep as Shingles exhausting. It can cause fatigue, exhaustion, and malaise for months, which can exacerbate your pain.

You were at higher risk of shingles due to RA. You are eligible for the Shingrex Vaccine if you are in the States. It may help prevent a recurrent episode.

Best Regards,

Merry Juliana

HELLO downy

Welcome to our world of pain and shingles! Here i am 65 and had shingles for a

year or so! I get a bout every 4-5 months! Watch yiur diet abd

dont eat

peanuts because it triggers it!!

I got it on my head, from one side to the other, like a handband!

Those would be the

lucky ones! Take pain killers and be

away from sick oeople as well because the immune system does go down!

pain is terrible but there is no cure fir this and shingles usually go away but like I said we and so many here have had it for years! Take care,

Myrna