Shingles vaccine

Gosh that's terrible. This is my first experience and it's 4 am which tells you I am miserable. Pain meds only help for a brief period. It's feels like my insides are being twisted in my lower left abdomen, now more lower back pain with spasms. Even though I started Valtrex at the first sign of the rash, it continues to spread along my left hip, thigh, across upper pubic area and low back. Holiday weekend has prevented me from seeing my gp. I have only seen ER Doctor, urgent care and my gastro doc since I have diverticulitis as well. I can't imagine what you must be going through. I am so sorry for your suffering

Hi D

I had the Zostavax, after I developed Herpes Zoster-Shingles, and it did not help at all.

Merry Juliana

I am not sure about tge current vaccine necause since i am only 42 nobody will give me the shot. I wouod try anything at this point. I wish i couod find another state that would let me get it would be worth the drive. I read that you ahould atkll get the shot its supposed to stop the shingles from reoccurring but only after your current outbreak is over.

My insurance co would cover it even tho I am 47. I have had shingles for 19 years so it's on my medical record which prevents the insurance co from not covering it. Hopefully you too could get it covered if you push the issue. I too have been up since 4. I can't lay on my right hip. God this case just won't go away. I would love for these Drs to learn more to help us. I finally found a dr who let me try the famir but I ran out before the full outbreak again and she wouldn't refill it. I have an appt with her next week and I am switching Drs afterwards since she doesn't understand the importance of anti virals or else she wouldn't hold this script hostage. Just sad. It's sad what we go thru on a daily basis without much help from our own Drs.

Yes I have had the vaccine. I am not old enough to qualify for the insurance to pay for it. So I just paid for it myself. I had relief for about nine months then it was back to having shingles. I have read stories about people on this forum having the vaccine and they still have recurrent shingles.  Most the people that have had the vaccine say that their doctors informed them that it would be worse without the vaccine. I also read about one person like me who had the vaccine and had relief for about nine months then it was back again exactly like me. It is important to remember that everybody is different and unique so what happens to one person may not happen to the other. For me since I've had the vaccine the pain involved in shingles has gotten much worse. However maybe it's because I've gotten older but, no one really knows what causes the shingles to reactivate. I posted some information on this forum to another person yesterday. I will just put this information out there again for you to see in case you haven't seen it. The information is long (I just wanted to warn you) and I won't be offended if you don't read it all.  Information from yesterday and about my history in case you're interested....For decades, medical wisdom about shingles has been that it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The commonly-held belief is that patients are protected from a recurrence of the herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles, after one episode. But according to recent research and/or studies about shingles they have found that this is not true. For example, a study published in the February 2011 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that recurrences of shingles may be significantly more common than doctors have suspected. New Medical Studies have found and prove that recurrences of shingles are prevalent in the immunocompetent population.   "It's been thought that recurrences were limited to people with compromised immune systems, for instance from chemotherapy or bloodborne malignancies, but this is not the case," "Recurrence was prevalent in the immunocompetent population. We were very surprised by the results." Unfortunately, alot of doctors are not up-to-date on the most recent research about shingles. There is still so much that the medical community needs to learn about shingles. "Shingles has a mind of its own and does what it wants to do".

The bottom line is No One Knows exactly what causes a reactivation of the virus! If they knew exactly what caused it there probably wouldn't be this forum. You could have a good immune system and get it. You may also have a poor immune system and get it. Some of the other speculations / research published in medical journals suggest these things may contribute to reactivation of the virus but like I said before they do not know for sure.  1). Having experienced injuries or nerve damage also seems to raise the risk for shingles, since within the nerves is where the virus lays dormant. 2). Some research suggests that traumatic stimulation of the nerves in the dorsal root ganglion can trigger the virus to reactive. 3). Some people also seem to be genetically predisposed to the development of herpes zoster to some extent, with research showing that changes in the gene for interleukin-10 (an immune-system mediator) are associated with an increased incidence of herpes zoster, as is a family history of the virus. 4).  Finally, the impact of high amounts of stress and poor gut health shouldn’t be overlooked. Psychological stress, chronic stress, or dramatic life events seem to contribute to VZV reactivation, with studies showing an association between physical, emotional and sexual abuse and higher incidence of shingles. According to a report published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, contributing psychological factors for shingles development include financial stress, inability to work, decreased independence and an inadequate social-support environment.

I have reoccurring shingles otherwise I am very healthy!  I get a physical every year and pass with flying colors. My cholesterol is excellent, my heart rate is low and my blood pressure is low. I get my mammograms regularly and I've been tested for colon cancer. My doctor said my colon was great one of the best that she had seen.  I am a 54-year-old female. I have been getting reoccurring shingles since I was 12 years. I had it again when I was 23 years old. I also had shingles with both my pregnancies I was 39 and 41. I read an article that said it happens frequently during pregnancy. I am in excellent health I am very fit just last weekend I rode my bike in 2 days over 300 miles. I was a college gymnast and performing arts major in dance in undergraduate school. Performing arts is not a good way to make money so now I have a Phd. I have always been athletic and continue to maintain my fitness. However, since getting older the frequency of my recurrences seems to come quicker and are becoming more painful with each episode even though I've had the vaccine. The pain is more in my hip-flexor or back on the side I get it in on my back. Sometimes it's my left side sometimes it's my right side. I also get a neck ache if I get it at the base of my neck. I feel very frustrated because the pain can be quite debilitating  I usually get it on my back. When I get it at the base of my neck it causes my neck to be stiff and I have lots of headaches. It's also very frustrating because no one believes you. It's embarrassing to share with anyone that I have reoccurring shingles because they think there something wrong with me, or they do not believe me.

Doctors need to become more aware of the new information and research on shingles. A lot of Doctors still think that you can't get it more than once!  My very best friend of 35 years just moved to California and is an internal medicine Doctor at UCLA. She was even unaware of the new information and research. She's up-to-date now and tries to let other Doctors know about the new research when the subject comes up. It is difficult for them to stay up-to-date because there is always new information and research coming out everyday. NO one knows exactly what reactivates the virus for some people it could be as little as a small amount of stress but no one knows for sure. I wish you luck and I hope some of this information will help you. From Denver/Vail Co.- Thinsport

Hi dfortkiewicz, I was just checking the form to see if there was anything new in the discussion about "new information on shingles..." and the page is not there anymore longer.  I'm not sure why that happened do you have any idea?-Thinsport

I'm not old enough to get the vaccine 😢