Posted , 28 users are following.
I had a burning etc left had side roof of mouth and had operation for cataract recently and it was also aching left hand side went to doctor examined my mouth said I have shingles prescribed acroviral 5 times a day mouth is very sore inside bi
ut that's only symptoms will this now go away without rash etc occurring
3 likes, 65 replies
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Guest june54386
Posted
Shasta1 june54386
Posted
I was diagnosed with shingles and it was in my left side of stomach and but cheek. They started me on zovirax and steroids and wrote me pain medicine. The rash went away and then my mouth started hurting. I had a painful knot in roof of mouth and entire tongue swelled and had bumps and then my lips started burning and corners got sores. This is so incredibly painful. I don't know what to do.
Guest Shasta1
Posted
Shasta read my reply below...I hope you are feelin better. <3
yvonne_s june54386
Posted
Hi June I started with what I thought was an ulcer on the roof of my mouth 2 weeks ago. I went to the dentist about 4 days after as it wasn't healing. he prescribed a big dose of metrodiazole. but after two days the pain was going worse could hardly eat with it and also had pain going down the right side of my face and cheek bone.so that evening I went back to the dentist again as an emergency and he said straight away it was shingles of the mouth. he said it had changed since he had seen it n the tues. and was like someone had got a pen and played dot to dot on the mouth also my bottom lip was very swollen and also blistered as was my tongue and to get to a drs asap and get some anti virals as he could not prescribe them. my drs was shut but managed to get an apt with the out of hours.after some humming and arring the dr finally got an 2nd opinion as she had never seen it in the mouth before two drs both came in and said it was indeed shingles and started me on the anti virals. I finished the course yesterday but although I feel a lot better I know part of the ulcer is still there and still getting some pain down the right side of my face. so I don't know wheather I need to make another appt to the dr to get some more antivirals or how long it will last f0r what I don't want is it to come back with a vengeance again as the pain was awful.and still feel quite drained from it can anyone help me thank you.
Guest yvonne_s
Posted
Hi Yvonne, I would definitley go back to the doc. I'm not sure if they will have you do the antivirals again...see what they say. They do say you have to have them within I think 72 hours of the attack to be effective. I have found relief from pain, duration and severity by taking high strength echinacea capsules, calcium ascorbate and zinc frequently while under attack. I get attacks of varying severity in varying intervals since I first got it after a chickenpox wave at my sons school. I was told then it is a response to the chicken pox virus...also that it would never re occur- that proved to be totally wrong. Stress, tiredness and sometimes food additives make it break out..some canned foods - which I hardly ever eat and mostly avoid will make it happen...its a weird syndrome, and like you i had an 'ulcer' on the roof of my mouth that wouldnt heal...that first outbreak was the worst, as i recall. I can still recall the pain, and it was like a crater suddenly in the roof of my mouth. It really is a nasty mofo of a thing! I hope someone here can help. But do see the Dr again...try my remedies- they help the immune system. Best of luck, tell me how you go!
yvonne_s Guest
Posted
Ok hun thank you very much that sounds like really good advice. I just don't want it to come back with a vengeance.il do all that .many thanks again Yvonne.x
Guest yvonne_s
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I hope it doesnt! I think, as I recall, the 'first was the worst' ...but they are all really debilitating. Wishing you good health and happiness
julia38117 june54386
Posted
Hi,
?I have been reading all your emails, they have been so helpful.
?I got shingles about 4 weeks ago, it started on my left side just on my torso under my left breast and then on my left breast. It was so painful it was like someone was putting out cigarettes on me, it was so hot and painful. I also got some on my face around my nose area going quite close to the left eye. My doctor gave me a seven day course of one of the shingles meds and it did quite quickly deal with the ones on my body.
?I then got a blister like one in my mouth, it was so so painful, and then down the left hand side of my tongue became painful and swollen and felt really strange. I told my doctor who said you cant get shingles in your mouth they must be ulcers or was my tongue white as it could be thrush, (which by the way was not white). I now have them all along my gum line and in my mouth, the corner of my mouth is also sore and has a sore that can be seen. The pain is unbearable, I can't sleep, I can only eat jelly and ice-cream. I have a craving for coffee but I have to let it go cold before I drink it.
?It is such a relief to hear you can get it in your mouth, as I thought I was going mad.
?I am sure I have them up my nose too as it is so painful. If I breathe air in through my nose is like an electric shock.
?My doctor is due to ring me today, last time she told me to gargle with salt water, it has made no difference and is very painful to do and is getting worse. I am going to tell her today that I have been looking online and now have seen you can get shingles in your mouth, but she always makes me feel like I'm talking myself into something and that I shouldn't look on line.
?Please can you help advise me on anything I can take for these blessed things as I feel so, so low and in so much pain and I can not go much longer without any sleep.
My doctor did also put me on 20mg of Amitriptyline to help with the pain.
I would be most grateful for any advice....
Merry19451 julia38117
Posted
I am so sorry you are dealing with both this and an arrogant condescending Physician who is abysmally ignorant.
Tell her as chickenpox can go in any orifice, so can the Shingles.
It is a continuation of the same disease that has gone into hibernation, only to appear years later when your immunity has dwindled. It is on your Trigeminal Nerve. I would change Physicians.
I would ask for Magic Mouthwash. I will close, look up my favorite recipe, then post again.
How many days since the onset of the lesions in your mouth?
Best Wishes
Merry Juliana
Merry19451
Posted
Need Prescription
Viscous lidocaine 2% 80 mL Mylanta 80 mL Diphenhydramine 12.5 mg/5 mL 80 mL
Prednisolone 15 mg/5 mL 80 mL
Distilled water 80 mL
Swish, gargle, and spit 5 mL to 10 mL Q6H PRN.
Merry19451
Posted
You can use the Magic Mouthwash more often, as the effects are temporary. The physician could also prescribe prednisolone for you. Just do not swallow, as it contains a numbing medication that would deaden your protective
gag and cough reflex!
Please keep me posted!
Merry Juliana
geoff81985 julia38117
Posted
Hi Julia,
?I'm very sorry to hear of your painful experiences with shingles, and I can fully sympathise. My two outbreaks were confirmed through swabs taken by the doctor and sent to pathology. Has your doctor done this, as she can't then argue with these results?
?It's now 18 months since I had mine, and, I'm sorry to say, I'm beginning to feel that I'll be 'stuck' with the effects.
?My visit to a dietician, to try to regain weight lost through not being bale to eat from extreme pain and nausea resulted in my taking 'hospital-grade Sustagen (as opposed to supermarket grade) as it contains much more essential nutrients etc. That helped. I was also intolerant of water, a sip would come straight back up, and the dietician indicated that water is the hardest thing to swallow, as it's very thin. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice allowed me to drink water. She also said that nectar-type drinks would have assisted.
?I have stopped the anti-histamine medication, at the suggestion of a speech pathologist, and now have two teaspoons of honey daily, as this is thought to build up immunity to allergies etc. However it must be local honey (produced within 20 km). My cough is still very persistent and tiring and now I'm going to try acupuncture....I'm willing to try anything that might help. I'm still very tired. Despite what your doctor says, shingles can occur in the mouth, they are very debilitating, and the effects can be long lasting. I hope you get some relief very soon.
teresa37825 geoff81985
Posted
On Thursday I was in the middle of teaching a lesson and got a thumping migraine, this lasted for the rest of the day. On Friday I started feeling my jaw somewhere in my mouth really painful. I went to the doctors and he thought it may be a sinus infection so on antibiotics. On Saturday the pain was the most excruciating pain I have ever experieced and would only ease with ice in my mouth. I ended up in A@E where they thought I may have Trigeminal Neuralgia. All my reel at that stage felt fine. Sunday I was sore and drugged up. Monday I thought I would go to the dentist. All seemed fine. Since then one of my teeth feels sore and the inside of my mouth feels sore and bruised. Reading these post makes me wonder about shingles. We currently have 4 teachers away with it. I was going to head back to the dentist tomorrow to check my tooth again but not so sure now
geoff81985 teresa37825
Posted
Hi Teresa, I'm sorry to hear about the problems with your jaw and mouth. The positive way to ascertain if you have shingles is for s swab to be taken for pathology investigation. if you have shingles, there is a 72 hour period for anti-viral medication to be effective.
My two sites came back positive. The shingles in my mouth manifested as white spots, which seemed to increase in number quite rapidly. The pain certainly was terrible.
My understanding is that you can 'catch' shingles from the infected skin of another person, but they are also caused by something triggering them in the chicken pox virus that you carry in you after contracting chicken pox. Stress, a weakened immune system etc are thought to cause that to happen. I also believe you can't get shingles if you haven't had chicken pox previously, but you can catch chicken pox, if you haven't had them before, from someone with shingles....sorry of that sounds confusing, but that's the way it is (to my understanding). perhaps asking your doctor about a swab, to get a definitive diagnosis, might be useful? All the best!
Merry19451 teresa37825
Posted
Is the pain in your mouth and your headache one-sided? Do you see any blisters or actual sores? Herpes Zoster-Shingles certainly presents like this. I would ask to get on an antiviral, preferably Famciclovir, as it is the most efficacious and easiest to swallow. It is okay if it is after 3 days.
I am sorry you are going through this.
Let us know how you are doing. Salt water gargles may help, but not too hot. I have a recipe for Magic Mouthwash that can help soothe the pain if your mouth is still sore. It is by prescription.
I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States.
Best Wishes
Merry Juliana
teresa37825 Merry19451
Posted
Hi I was booked in to dentist but decided to go to the doctors again and he has just said shingles. Interesting that now 5 of us teachers at our school all have shingles.
Thanks for your helpful comments 👍
andrea43257 teresa37825
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teresa37825 andrea43257
Posted
geoff81985 teresa37825
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It seems that there is still much to learn about shingles, especially with conflicting information. My comments about the possibility of spreading shingles by touch was from our state government's health department's website
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/Chickenpox.aspx?. I Live in New South Wales, Australia.
?I'm wondering where the other people have their singles outbreaks? Teresa, yours is in the mouth, but the others? do you know?
?When I had my shingles, I heard there were quite a few others. This may have been a factor in the Federal government's decision to offer free anti-shingles vaccine to all people aged between 70 -79. This has been available since November 2016. The vaccine is also available for people aged over 50 years, at a cost.
Emis_Moderator geoff81985
Posted
Regarding shingles and whether it is contagious also see link below which explains it.
https://patient.info/health/shingles-herpes-zoster-leaflet#nav-2
Merry19451 teresa37825
Posted
Shingles is not passed from one person to another. Only people who have had chickenpox can get Shingles. The varicella virus lies dormant on the anterior horn of the spinal cord until the immunity decreases, and BAM!!! the varicella virus starts replicating and you get Shingles.
You are correct that the incidence of Shingles is increasing. The varicella (chickenpox) vaccine was distributed for use about 1994. The Zostavax for shingles is not an efficacious vaccine, 37-53%.
Best Wishes
Merry Juliana
teresa37825 geoff81985
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geoff81985 teresa37825
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Thanks for that interesting information.
?I repeat what I said earlier, that there is still much to learn about shingles. The advantage of this forum is that people with similar experiences can share those experiences.
?None of the links I have read mentions the possibility of having shingles in the mouth, throat, sinuses etc. They talk about wearing loose clothing etc but that doesn't help us.
Shingles in the mouth / throat / sinuses etc, I think, requires some different approaches to treatment, especially when it becomes almost impossible to eat or drink, and when the PNH lasts longer than a few weeks or months.
?I'll still have to make an appointment to try acupuncture, so I'll update you about that.
geoff81985 Emis_Moderator
Posted
Thank you for that information. What it says was what I understood about the likelihood of 'catching' shingles, but then our government health page says otherwise. Very confusing!
All I know is that they are very painful, and more awareness of them, and the need for quick medical attention, can only help our overall understanding.
teresa37825 geoff81985
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Merry19451 teresa37825
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How old are the people getting the rashes?
Chickenpox is highly contagious. It occurs on both sides of the spinal cord. It is usually very itchy, sometimes a little sore. You can feel quite well or a little sick.
Shingles usually does not cross the midline of the spinal cord. It is usually extremely agonizing and excruciatingly burning and lancinating painful disease. It is not contagious, except to those who never had chickenpox, and then those individuals can contract chickenpox, not Shingles. The varicella vaccine was not 100 % effective.
The mystery continues. Is it possible that some of these ladies have chickenpox, and not Shingles?
Merry Juliana
teresa37825 Merry19451
Posted