1. Community
  2. Infections
  3. Shingles

Shingles of the eye and recovery

Posted , 6 users are following.

Lorco
Lorco

I was diagnosed with shingles almost a month ago. I was hospitalized with it for 6 days before they realized what it was. They thought I had cluster headaches and then they thought it was a more serious condition called hemicrania continua. The virus attacked my left eye. The blisters showed up on my nose, forehead and in my scalp by day 6. I was put on Lyrica and other medications to manage the pain in addition to antibiotics. I am still recovering at home. Luckily it did not effect the vision however the eye is extremely sensitive to the light, it tears up constantly and the eye lid feels paralyzed. It doesn't want to open. It feels frozen like being at the dentist. My skin on my forehead feels numb. Has anyone experienced eye shingles? How long does it take to calm the nerves down? Did you where an eye patch? Did you ice the eye? Is there anything I should be doing to help in my recovery? I am still off work, it's been a month now. Feeling helpless and guilty. 

1 like, 20 replies

20 Replies

Next
  • donna76405
    donna76405 Lorco

    Posted

    My heart goes out to you Lorco!  I wish I could pass along some good advice.  I'm sure someone will give you some good info to deal with this.  Praying you will have relief soon!

    • Lorco
      Lorco donna76405

      Posted

      Thank you Donna. I guess I need to be patient with my recovery. 
  • jodi48815
    jodi48815 Lorco

    Posted

    Please go to the eye dr if you haven't already. Sensitivity to light is a sign it has gone into your eye, which can be serious. 

    I have it on my eye as well. It really stinks. Just started over the weekend. I've heard cold compresses help, but it didn't seem to help for me. 

    • Lorco
      Lorco jodi48815

      Posted

      Hi Jodi, I saw an eye specialist when I was in the hospital and have since seen my optometrist as well. Luckily the shingles have not effected the sight so far, thank goodness but it has been a month and the eye will still not open. I feel like a vampire...cannot handle any light at all. I where sunglasses in the house and a baseball hat. There has been no improvement to the eye in terms of the nerves. I guess I need to be patient with it. 
  • ihavenonickname
    ihavenonickname Lorco

    Posted

    Yes, I have...damnable sores took out the entire left half of my head and neck!!! I was hospitalized a month.

    Very dark glasses will help...you can remove the lens in front of the good eye.

    Under no circumstanc feel guilty...they are not your fault.

    After you heal see the doc and get the shingles vaccination.

    Cool showers...better yet, cool baths

    Be kind to yourself...i have had them five times!

    kind regards

    judith

    • Lorco
      Lorco ihavenonickname

      Posted

      Hi Judith, 

      This has been the most horrific experience and most painful thing I have ever been through. I have 3 kids and would go through labour any day of the week! I could not imagine having this five times! I am so sorry to hear of your horrible ordeal! Shingles has been a wake up call for me. I was so stressed with work and life and not taking care of myself. This hit me because my body was screaming at me to slow down. I am dosing up on my vitamins and building my immune system so that I never get this again. I will get the vaccine for sure. My doctor said that within 2-3 years there is an immunity so chances are a person won't contract it again during this timeframe. is this the case? When did you get it again? 

  • joseph34465
    joseph34465 Lorco

    Posted

    I've had shingles for two months. I have my left side around my eye my forehead to my hair. The headaches are unbearable I take Lyrica And Percocet. I'm also taking Vicodin and dilaudid. Nothing seems to take away the pain in my Head. The pain never go Away my left eye.I was told some last a month And sometimes it last 4 years.I was told that they will get it under control sometimes it just takes a while.Good luck I hope yours is not near as bad as mine

    • Lorco
      Lorco joseph34465

      Posted

      Hi Joseph,

      They gave me Lyrica when I was in the Hospital and they also treated me with Acyclovir as well. I believe, before they knew what it was, they gave me Dilaudid and it didn't help with the pain. My issue now is the blurred vision and hypersensitivity to the light 2 months into the virus. I fear damage to the retina. I have seen an eye surgeon twice and went to my Eye Dr. As well. I would think that they would tell me that there is permanent damage if they could see it???They just tell me to keep icing the eye. AND, like you said...it could take a few weeks, to a few months or longer. Every case is different and each person will heal at their own pace. 

      I hope you you are feeling better and have your pain under control. 

      Laura

  • ihavenonickname
    ihavenonickname Lorco

    Posted

    Hi Lorco.

    1962 age 11...early nineties....2011....2012 and ny memory fails me for the fifth.

    I have autoimmune disease (since 1962) and I am on infusion therapy (since 2012) which suppresses the immune system.

    So it is not like my body is a full playing deck.

    hugs

    judith

    • Lorco
      Lorco ihavenonickname

      Posted

      sorry for for the delayed response Judith. There is such a misconception about shingles and how rare it is for reoccurrence. Even my family Doctor said to me that the chances of it coming back is slim.... She needs to read these blogs!!!

      I hope you are doing well and feeling better 😀

      Laura

  • Merry19451
    Merry19451 Lorco

    Posted

    Hi Lorco,

    I am sorry I didn't respond earlier to your post. I have been moving, had no Internet connection, and been busy and exhausted.

    Obviously, as you have already experienced, Herpes Zoster-Shingles in the eye and/or head is agonizing. As the eye is such a complex organ, it takes longer to recover from Herpes Zoster-Shingles than when it attacks the dermatome area of the skin.

    Hopefully, you were seen immediately by the ophthalmologist and started on antivirals once they diagnosed you with shingles. It is difficult to get the pain under control, especially when the sensitive eye or ear is involved. Believe me, I know. If the pain is not controlled by the end of the first month, it turns into chronic pain, and the dreaded complication of Post Herpetic Neuralgia PHN ensues. If you are in severe pain still, I suggest you seek a consultation with a neurologist known for experience in pain management.

    Usually, with Herpes Zoster-Shingles of the eye, you are followed by an ophthalmologist weekly.

    Usually, the weakness of the facial muscles and numbness of the facial skin returns very slowly. The fatigue, exhaustion, malaise, headache etc can take months to fade ever so gradually. Please know that you just don't bounce back from this disease.

    It is a process. Be patient with yourself. Allow others to help you. Do not go back to work full-time. Take teeny steps at first in the recovery process. Usually, and we all have done this, we tend to think we should rush back into normalcy, whatever that means, and we overdo it, and pay for it with increased pain, exhaustion, or a recurrence.

    I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States. I have recurrent Herpes Zoster-Shingles in my right ear every three to five weeks for the past twenty years and twice in my right eye. I have autoimmune diseases. Please also Google stress and triggers of Shingles, the high Lysine-low Arginine diet to read to avoid more episodes of shingles.

    The more you know, the more you can control what happens to your body for a healthy outcome.

    Please let me know how you are feeling and doing....Again, my humblest apologies for not responding sooner. I know how scary and excruciating this is.

    Best Wishes,

    Merry Juliana

    • Lorco
      Lorco Merry19451

      Posted

      Hi Merry Juliana,

      My apologies for the delayed response. I don't get on here much because of the eye strain. It took them 5 days when I was hospitalized to understand what it was that I had. They at first treated me for cluster headaches, and pumped me full of narcotics, none of which I responded to and then on day 5 the blisters appeared. They treated me with Lyrica and Acyclovir. They have not done anything for the eye. I have seen an eye specialist twice now, going again Dec 15th and they don't say much other than to ice it. It is still hypersensitive to the light. I cannot drive, even with sunglasses on, it clamps shut. The eye lid and forehead are also sore and sensitive to touch and every night I scratch my scalp, now 2 months into the virus. The insurance co, and my Doctor are working on a plan to get me back to work before Christmas (I think they are tired of the paperwork to be honest) which sucks because I don't feel ready to go back at all 😔 I am terrified this will trigger another bought of the virus. I am also concerned that after 2 months, my vision is still blurry in the left eye and light sensitive. Is this normal for zoster Opth.? You have so much knowledge about this awful disease. I can't believe you have been afflicted by this multiple times. Let's hope once the new vaccine is available, it nips it in the bud once and for all! 

      Laura

    • Merry19451
      Merry19451 Lorco

      Posted

      Hi Laura,

      I am so sorry you are still suffering, but it doesn't surprise me that you are. I firmly believe that your severe painful spasms of your eye, the lancinating, boring eye pain needs to be gone, and the fatigue needs to be diminished before you return to work part-time. What is your occupation? The physician can refer you to a neurologist for better pain management.

      Did the ophthalmologist place you on antiviral ophthalmic drops? Corticosteroids?

      The neurologist could prescribe medications such as Cymbalta and Neurontin for the neuropathic pain if the Lyrica isn't helping. The physician can taper the dose up. I will post more later.

      Best wishes

      Merry Juliana

    • Lorco
      Lorco Merry19451

      Posted

      Hi Merry Juliana,

      Oddly enough, I was not given anything for my eye other than comfort drops..no prescription eye drops. I was only given Lyrica for 4 days and Acyclovir for 2 weeks. I haven't been on any medications for weeks now. I take extra strength Tylenol for pain. My Doctor prescribed Mar-Amitriptyline to help me sleep at night (also used for Fibromyalgia) because I still scratch my forehead and scalp every night. However, it just made me feel drugged up and sluggish all day. I went to a Naturopathic Dr. Last week and I am on vitamin B shots, I am taking Adrenal Pro and some homeopathy and it seems to be helping. I really want off of the meds.

      I work as a consultant for multiple clients in HR and recruitment so my job is very high stress. I work from home which is actually a curse because it is so accessible. I will need to show restraint and not pull the 12 hour days I was before. I will be gradually returning to work starting next week. So I will stick to just a few hours a day.

      I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and stress free!!

      Thanks for your great feedback and advice

      Hugs

      Laura

    • joseph34465
      joseph34465 Lorco

      Posted

      Good afternoon, I'm over 3 month with Shingles. I've been taking 150 Milligrams of Lyrica 3 timed a day, taking 10 milligram of Percocet 3 times a day, I'm taking 30 milligrams of Cymbalta once a day. Yesterday I didn't take anything until about 7 o'clock I took one Lyrica because I felt so bad. Today I've been taking my Lyrica and my Cymbalta and I feel better. I think it might be the Percocet making me so tired. I can't seem to get off the sofa. I'm thinking about going to it another doctor I hear that vitamin B shots may help?

    • ihavenonickname
      ihavenonickname Lorco

      Posted

      4 days of Lyrica for shingles that typically last a month....duh
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.