Shingles nerve damage?

Shingles in the area of the head/face/eye can be the most difficult. Did you see an eye doctor and get treatment for it? There are those who specialize in the eye area and I hope that's what occurred. But your information about PHN is inaccurate. It may last, to some degree, the rest of your life. Many people do see gradual improvement over-time. But even those who have almost a complete recovery may at times still feel an odd feeling in the area affected. It's often just a twinge brought on either due to a lot of physical or emotional stress. However some have very little reduction in their pain. I'm lucky, three years later my PHN in my torso is much better, but it took months to see even a tiny bit of improvement.

So congratulate yourself on having an almost complete recovery, but realize that there may still be an odd sensation every so often. As far as the eye, if you haven't seen someone who's more familiar with ophthalmic shingles, you may want to find someone just for their advice.

Have you taken the new drug Shingrix (2 separate doses). Shingrix has a 90+% of preventing shingles or the return of shingles. Talk with your medical provider.

I had ophthalmic shingles, the worst type of shingles, in July 2013 and have PHN today. Although it is today a mild case of PHN, I periodically take valacyclovir.

I have an ophthalmologist who has extensive experience in the treatment of ophthalmic shingles. PHN can last for weeks, months, years or life.

Hopefully, you will take the new drug shingrix in consultation with your doctor if you have not done already.

Best wishes and best of success.

Unfortunately, PHN can actually last forever - there is no time limit. BUT, according to one of the many pain management doctors I have seen, one can wake up one day and suddenly the PHN has disappeared!

I had a severe case of Shingles in March 2011. It was internal - in the S3 Pudendal nerve system - excruciatingly painful and apparently very unusual to have it in the vaginal and surrounding area. Eight years later, I still experience PHN daily. It worsens after 3:00 pm - I suppose it must be exacerbated by fatigue. The only relief I can get is to take an ice cold sitz bath, apply Rx. Lidocaine with Prilocaine and try to rest for half-an-hour. The relief is only temporary, but it renews my energy somewhat. Since I'm working, it's not a regimen I can use every day.

Wishing you well and hoping that you are one of the lucky patients who awakens to NO pain whatsoever.

Hi Debra,

Shingles certainly causes the Post Herpetic Neuropathy PHN, that you are experiencing. It can cause numbness, tingling, excruciating lancinating pain,etc. The PHN often can be exacerbated by increased activity, exercise, stress, fatigue, and exhaustion. Often, at the end of the day, it is worse. The nerves that have been damaged can repair themselves, in time, but it can take years. For some people, the sensations never improve. Your Herpes Zoster-Shingles occurred on more than one dermatome, which tells me you are highly stressed or immunocompromised.

I would suggest you consider Shingrex, a killed virus vaccine.It has reduced the frequency and severity of my Herpes Zoster-Shingles. I have had Herpes Zoster-Shingles every three weeks in my right ear, mouth, throat, and scalp for the past 23 years and twice in my right eye.

I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States.

Best Wishes

Merry Juliana

Thank you to everyone for your replies. Maybe one day i might wake up to a normal feeling face and eye. Thats good to know it is possible. My GP sent me immediately to hospital and to see an eye specialist when the shingles first broke out. I was given the vaccine and treatment for my eye so i feel everything that could be done was done. Further along i was offered the strong painkillers that others mentioned..Gabapentin etc, but declined them as I felt by then i was managing the pain and i didnt want to deal with the side effects. I will be speaking to my GP tomorrow about something else but think i will ask about the Shingrix. Good luck to everyone with their health & thank you.

Hi Debra--

My bout with shingles over 3 years ago was very similar to yours with scalp, right eye, right side of nose, face, lip and mouth affected and I, too, still deal with periodic days of nerve numbness, tingling and irritation. So I am that "anyone left with these sort of feelings long after shingles" person you refer to. On rough days, I revert to using ice because that is still my go to solution for calming the aggravated nerves. I am still under an opthalmalogist's care with a steroid eye drop daily. Every time we try to cut the drop down to less than once a day, it flares a bit. My fingers are crossed I will get past that hurdle early in 2020 as being on a steroid eye drop for the rest of my life may have negative effects too. At my doctor's advice, I took both doses of Shingrix this year. Wishing you continued improvement and positive vibes!

Wishing you were wrong but yes, it does sound like PHN and for many, like myself too, it's looking permanent. I'm so sorry friend.

Before getting into the PHN, i wanted to say first, be especially watchful for pustule fire red breakouts on the tip of your nose. Ophthalmic Shingles (eye) is about as bad as shingles can get and it typically manifests itself first on the tip of the nose, always on the same side. That's your warning shot and most often can't be treated at home but often requires hospital admission because it can and will damage your eyesight.

As for PHN....if you are still in the numb phase, i would consider a dr appt ASAP to see if some medication or something can be done to slow down the process. I only say this because it was delay in my own treatment that left me with the permanent damage of PHN and then Trigeminal Neuralgia. If the doctors had known sooner what they were dealing with, my damage could have been suppressed. So i would check, just in case. You're worth it.

As for relief, i've had everything from Morphine to Dilaudid, Amitriptyline and everything in between. I was on 3000 mg antiviral EVERYDAY for over FIVE years...365 days a year and STILL had recurring shingles. The meds didn't stop the pain. The antivirals didn't stop the outbreaks. After 8 long years, it caused my Trigeminal Neuralgia. Over the years, it has been commonly referred to as the "Suicide Disease" because NO opioid drug will relieve the TN pain. Sooooooo, enough of my depressing stuff. I only told you that to say this to you...I DID GET MY LIFE BACK : )

I've been blessed with a wonderful supporting family. I made my primary doctor my ONLY doctor and it's best thing i ever did and he can do everything the Neurologists can do and can prescribe the same meds. Shingles is debilitating and because it often attacks your pride, shingles is also very personal and it needs a personal touch by a doctor who knows YOU on a personal level. One who knows your character and knows when you say you hurt...it's urgent. You often can't find that relationship, bouncing between doctors and specialists. I have been blessed to have a wonderful doctor who made a point to learn about my conditions and because he understands, we have his personal cell to call for emergencies and he knows we would not call otherwise.

Despite having a wonderful doctor, who did everything he could, the reality was no prescription he could ever write me would stop the pain, no opioid would work and i was often medically sedated to give me relief and let my body rest. I was thankful for the relief but between the hospital bills and missing so many precious life moments, for weeks and months at a time, was not a life.

So me.....the conservative, calm, level thinker, did the unbelievable and shocked everyone who knows me. I tried "Medical Cannabis" and it is working. My doctor supports it. There's alot of misinformation out there so to anyone wondering, "Medical Cannibis" or "Medical Marijuana" DOES NOT make you high. It's like taking Tylenol instead of a pain pill. You just get pain relief and NO high or drunk feeling. The CBD oil in it blocks the high...so NO buzz taking it.

Everyone needs to consult with their own doctor and i'm advocating for the stuff. Only saying it worked for me. One important fact to remember though is if you can order it or buy it without an active prescription, then it's NOT medical cannabis. You do need a credible doctor, filling out an official application on your behalf and you are issued a legal card that directs you to sanititary, licensed, FDA regulated and trusted source for your meds. Trust no one else but the real deal.

Hope you find relief, friend. You are among friends here. Always one of us around. Take care.

~Rhonda

I had it in Feb. 2018 and I am still suffering. It damaged my nerves and muscles in my eye so my right eye sticks to the right when it should be looking ahead so I cannot see depth or focus like I used to or even think as clearly as I used to. I am also numb in all those areas, eyelid, forehead, and scalp, too. And I just figured out last night that I think I am having it flare up again as that whole area has been feeling weird(er) lately and I've been fatiqued though not nearly as bad as the first time, so far. This has been a life-changing illness and I am sick of it.