Shingles and anxiety

Hi Victoria,

I'm sorry you're suffering with shingles, the dreadful disease. I can only tell you my story about my battle with this illness. I got shingles on my upper left back and front and across my left breast, Nov 2016. I had the typical pattern of blisters then after four weeks they dried up. But, during this process and continuing for almost a year, I felt intense burning, itching pain, chronic tiredness, sensitivities to foods, achy pain throughout my body, headaches and numbness, tingling in my feet as well as a racing heart.  I had constant, debilitating anxiety; I cried almost non-stop for four months. I was off work for seven months. Even though I am much better now, the illness has forever negatively affected my health. Although I have regained strength and energy, I still have less stamina then I did before my illness. I have to be diligent about getting a lot of sleep, eating only healthy food, practicing relaxation techniques and avoiding all stress whenever possible. I see shingles as forever illness, a life-altering disease that changes a person's entire world. Unfortunately, you cannot count on most doctors to help you because they know so little about shingles except outdated information they may have learned as residents in training programs years ago. For one, shingles affects everyone differently. You may have a mild case, an average case or a severe case. Your symptoms may be similar to others but entirely unique. You must be proactive and listen to your body. There are general rules to follow that I have mentioned above but you must adapt your treatment plan to your own needs. Because I am sensitive to drugs and didn't want the side effects of narcotics, I opted to treat my pain with just over the counter medication. I altered my diet and eat mostly protein, fruits and vegetables. I rest and sleep a lot. I saw a counselor for nine months. I finally was able to go back to work and my pain has gone from almost unbearable to mild. I now have a social life and go for long walks everyday. When I first got shingles, I couldn't even walk half a block or go up the stairs in my house. A lot of doctors will tell you that your symptoms cannot be related to shingles, but believe me, they are wrong because shingles can affect the entire body. I would like to tell you that after four or six months you will feel completely healed, but for many of us, returning to more normal lives takes longer. It is now a year and three months since I got shingles and I am still feeling some PHN pain and still have occasional physical relapses when I feel extremely tired for a week. But, the good news is, my pain has lessened so much that sometimes I don't even notice it and my strength has returned so that I can live an almost normal life. If you can try to slowly resume communication with other people and fun activities, that will help your pain and your anxiety. Try not to isolate yourself. Good luck on this tedious journey to recovery. 

The shingles vaccine is a game changer. Once this breakout has passed u can seek out information about the new shingles vaccine. I had the old one after my first break out . It's  proven in studies that the vaccine reduces the number of breakouts and coverage area. It's really helps or reducing future PHN pain and rashes. 

 

Hi victoria

I have been a Post Herpetic Neuralgia sufferer now for three years, so I have developed a way to deal with this never ending problem.

Some people overcome Shingles quickly by getting anti viral treatment early, but my treatment was delayed and I progressed to PHN when my Shingles rash healed.

I use a topical cream to overcome most of the pain, so I now do not need analgesics.

My topical cream mixture is as follows :

250 grams of Invite Vitamin E Cream.

Two 5 gram tubes of Aciclovir Cream.

65 grams of Dencorub Heat Gel.

Mix thoroughly and apply sparingly to the affected area as required for pain relief.

The Invite Vitamin E Cream is oil based and it does not form a skin with continued use.

The Aciclovir Cream prevents a recurrence of the virus. Often very irritating pimples appear from nowhere, so the Aciclovir Cream is there to remove this problem. These pimples turn into boils and another Shingles outbreak if left untreated.

The Dencorub Heat Gel is a very effective pain reliever, and offers long term relief.

Try this topical mixture if you want to avoid taking analgesics, which have long term harmful affects.

This quantity lasts for two to four months, so it is quite economical to use.

I hope you find this information useful.

Regards Ray.

 

Yes, it’s not supposed to be contagious, but my sister who is a nurse told me about a doctor and nurse she works with who both caught it from a patient.  I really think the medical community needs to study shingles a little bit more.  They know virtually NOTHING about this horrible disease!