Shingles without the rash
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Hi, I will try and keep this as brief as possible. On Christmas Day 2014 I was really unwell, couldn't eat, was practically comatose and had such a pain in the right mid-back area just where your bra would sit. In the end I rang 111 and they told me to go to A and E which was manned by a nurse. She asked for a urine sample and told me I had a water infection and gave me some antibiotics. When I asked her about the pain in my back she said it was just a red herring. To cut a very long story short, with a different antibiotic prescribed by a doctor the general malaise subsided but the pain persisted. I could no longer wear a bra because of the pain and when I leant back against a chair it was agonising. I have now had a whole body bone scan, a thoracic MRI scan, X-rays, I have been seen by a diabetic medicine consultant? and latterly by a rheumatologist and they have all come to the same conclusion that it is neuropathic pain. I have been prescribed Co-coda mol, amatryptyline, gabapentin and now morphine patches which I haven't yet tried (I am sick to death of all this medication). I have been to see a physiotherapist, deep tissue massage person, acupuncturist and a bio resonance practitioner all without success. I saw a chiropractor on Thursday for an initial examination but have been in excruciating pain ever since. I have made two appointments to see him next week but I really don't know what to do now. I am trying to be brave and continue to work hard around the home and garden (I retired at the end of last year with a head full of plans). Up until November last year I went to the gym and considered myself very lucky to be slim, active 62 year old then WHAM. I used to wear tailored clothes for work and like to take a pride in my appearance but I am struggling to wear even a fitted vest because of the constant pain and sensitivity. At times I cry because I can't find an answer and I am not a wimp in any shape or form! I am now wondering if I have had shingles without the rash as the pain is still so acute seven months on. I do not have pain when I am in my night clothes and lying on my side in bed - but I simply can't go down that road and lay about all day. Is there a blood test that can tell me even after all this time if I have had shingles? My initial blood test when I went to the doctors following the Christmas holiday showed an inflammation level in my blood of 123 and the doctor said it should have been around 4 and then told me I had been really poorly!! Is this what one expect in a case of shingles?
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joyce12429
Posted
Just to keep you updated. Kept my appointment with my doctor last week and told him I thought I'd had shingles without the rash and that I now had PHN. He said that because the pain was now felt on both sides of my back that that could not be the case. I reiterated that when I went to AandE on Christmas Day the pain was only on my right hand side (where the bra-line is) and remained on one side for several months. I also told him I did not want to use the morphine patches but would like to have some lidocaine patches and a referral to the pain clinic, both of which were suggested by the Consultant. He said he would refer me to the pain clinic eventually but that it would have to be after all avenues of pain relief had been tried. He then prescribed 0.075% w/w capsaicin creams hitch does hardly anything to relieve this horrendous pain. I have upped my dose of Gabapentin to three a day today in the hope that this might bring some relief and am still taking co-coda mol every four hours. The very worst thing (even as bad as the gruelling pain) is not being able to wear a bra. It makes me so depressed because I am only small but have a 38D cup size and the lack of support without a bra, coupled with never feeling neat, makes me so sad. Just thought I would keep you updated and hope you are all feeling a little better.