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Shingles without the rash

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danielle999
danielle999

For about two weeks I was experiencing pain on my right side, around my rib area to under my breast bone. It was an odd pain, nothing like I've had before, it felt as though someone punched me really hard. I thought it was just a muscle strain from so much coughing as I had pneumonia, but the pain didn't go away when the cough did, the pain got worse, and it was constant and would not respond to over the counter pain meds. It got to the point I was crying from the pain. All I can describe it as if someone beat the s**t out of me and left me there, or a car ran over my side. I had no burning, no tingling, no rash. It is a scary pain.

Nonetheless I was still diagnosed with shingles, and given anti virals and pain meds. Within a week I felt a lot better, now the pain is mostly gone, thank God.

Shingles also makes you feel lightheaded, faint, weak, unwell in yourself, not right. Before I got the pain I had a few days of feeling really weak and not right and thought I was going to pass out. Funny that as I remember a day before I got Chicken Pox, years ago, I felt really off.

Terrible thing to get. Now fearing getting it again so will look into a vaccine.

Just wanted to post this in case there are any of you who are wondering if its possible to have shingles without the rash. Yes, it is. Not common, but possible. It is also possible for the band of pain to shift, rather than just stay in one place. In my case my pain started on my right side, then went to my left side, same area of my rib/breastbone.

Hope this helps some people - if this is you, go to your doctor, the anti virals really work fast and the pain meds make it bearable. Paracetamol is not enough for this. Neither is co-codamol. You need either a med that dulls the nerve endings, or an opiate

9 likes, 281 replies

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  • dabrogde
    dabrogde danielle999

    Posted

    I'm 41, and according to my mom, Ive never had chicken pox, yet these symptoms described here appear to exactly match what I am experiencing. Tremendous pain down the left side of my face (and always ONLY the left side), feels like raw met being put through a grinder, sensitivity in my left eye, and centered around the nerve closest to my jaw bone/ear area. It always occurs around my moon cycle, and I end up with no rash but sometimes will get a cold sore (not always though).  I thought for years it was a precursor to migraine, but I am not sure now. I am waiting to see my dr if he can get me today. Is there a method to test for this, does it require an injection into the face? *ouch*
    • susan737
      susan737 dabrogde

      Posted

      debrogde ~ I would say that this is NOT shingles.  If you have it regularly, that is once a month, it would not fit the known shingles pattern.  Shingles will arrive at a certain location on the body and stay there for a month or more, until it runs the course of its damage to that nerve trunk.  Though your problem is in a very dangerous location for shingles, the fact that it comes monthly would indicate that it is caused by something else.  If you ~ lucky you ~ never had chicken pox and your mother knows this for certain, then you will NEVER get shingles.  Again, lucky you ~ and good luck in your search for the cause of your pain.  On another note, I have had severe migraines all of my life but cannot say that I have had symptoms such as yours as a precursor to migraine.
    • FlFishinGuy
      FlFishinGuy susan737

      Posted

      Hi. Go to WebMd and look up symptoms of Occipital Neuralgia. Hope it helps.

      Teresa

  • lorraine_4529
    lorraine_4529 danielle999

    Posted

    I was so relieved to see your post -- your pain (without the sores) was exactly like mine. But, unfortunately, the antiviral did not work, probably because i got it too late. I am diabetic and thought that my pain was a form of neuropathy. It was unbearable and did not go away. I was put on methadone and experienced relief from the burning, jabbling, unbearable sensory pain -- could not stand to have anything, including my clothing touch my skin. Like you mentioned, it started on the left and then mysteriously moved to my right. After about 8 monoths of relief (about 85%), it's come back and the methadone and gabapentin are not relieving it. I have post herpatic neuralgia -- pain from shigles that does nt go away. It's not as bad, but I am so scared that it will come back as badly as it was. I was the walking dead, crying all the time, on heavy meds and very depressed. Anyone have an ? I increased my methadone, but am still having pain. Lorraine
  • adrianab
    adrianab danielle999

    Posted

    I had the same issue...felt pain in my chest under my breastbone. Thought it was gas or indigestion. Went to see my doctor and was told I had shingles. The sad thing is my doctor gave me no medication for pain or shingles. I went back to work and thankfully I worked at an Oncology office. One of the doctors asked me if I was feeling better I told him I was diagnosed with shingles and he was so upset my doctor failed to give me medication. He was able to prescribe me medication and we also luckily had a nutritionist in our office. He had me also take lysine and b12 sublingual drops along with medication. This was back in 2013...since then I have continued to get shingles off and on. When I stress which I often do I get an outbreak and just take supplements and it always seems to help. Last year I had a bad outbreak and went to see a Dr and was told since it was over a week that I had symptoms medication wouldnt really help other than help with pain. So I took double the amount of Lysine and medication and was better in a couple days. I am 34 yrs old and healthy with no other medical issues other than shingles.  

     

    • charlied60
      charlied60 adrianab

      Posted

      I was diagnosed with shingles (without the rash) 30 years ago by a D.O. who was also ia nutritionalist. My systems began as a pain between my shoulder blades and progressed to the middle of my chest. The pain felt like an extreme muscle spasm without the contactions He prescribed taking L-lysine (5000 mg (2)) and beta carotene (25,000 iu) 2-3 times a day. I was very sceptical but after 2 days the pain was gone. I still have flare-ups from time to time but after starting back on the vitamins formentioned I am able be free of the pain after 2-3 days. Hope this helps someone out there.
  • Klinky22
    Klinky22 danielle999

    Posted

    Wow...this sounds EXACTLY like what I have!!! I've been thru every test imaginable and they can't find anything wrong...but still have this pain under my right breast all the way to my armpit.
  • sim24210
    sim24210 danielle999

    Posted

    Thanks Daielle999 for this information because I am getting pretty desperate now!

    I had Shingles in 2011 after suffering a fall 2 months earlier and it was pure agony as the pain was in my left Groin area and buttock.After visiting the GP and the hospital even getting a rash it wasn't diagnosed for 6 days and I had Postherpatic Neuralgia for 14 months after which was agony!

    I eventually recovered but in the last 3 weeks I have exactly the same pain in my right groin and buttock and recognised it immediately as Shingles again.

    I went to the GP and saw a Nurse Practitioner who looked at one mark on my buttock and stated this wasn't Shingles,but having told her I had the same thing in 2011,Identical to what I am feeling she prescribed Aciclovir anyway but no pain killers.

    I am only allowed to take paracetamol as I had a stomach ulcer 25 years ago so medication is a little hit and miss especially as the GP very often forgets that I have this tummy problem and has given me pills that can cause another bleeding Ulcer.

    I went back to the GP this week because this pain is unbelieveably "Evil" and when in the groin area I couldn't sit stand or lie but walking or standing made it easier for me.

    The Gp insisted this was NOT Shingles and had me sent for a blood test yesterday to find out what's going on.

    I was prescribed Co Codomol which knocks me into a cocked hat but I have to say they give me so much relief I could possibly get addicted as they work so well.

    I haven't got a rash,just one teardrop shaped blemish but the pain is the same as before!

    Now I have to await results from the blood test and I will gladly pay for the Shingles Injection because this is Hell to suffer from.

    I have other issues to deal with and I certainly don't want to suffer this horrendous disease ever again as it's agonising and makes me feel as though I want to top myself.

    Thanks for the advise and help.

    • susan737
      susan737 sim24210

      Posted

      Hi, sim24210 ~ your problem, so very much like mine, is why I started this page about "Shingles without the rash".  The number of people who have responded to this ailment is quite alarming ~ and the numbers are growing.

      Last May 20, I had the beginning of a terrible pain in my left hip ~ it was totally debilitating.  I had been gardening the day before and believed that I had strained that hip or broken something in there.  I went for x-rays, which showed nothing.  Various doctors (mine, an interim doctor and one in the emergency department of our local hospital) tried to assist with diagnosis and treatment but nothing helped.  Then, exactly on June 20, the pain went away ~ totally in an instant.  Then I noticed that I had a numb place on my left buttocks.  Since I have several numb spots from earlier shingles events, I knew immediately that this had been a shingles event ~ but without the blisters.

      All of the people who have used this page have said, in different words, that their doctors do not know how to recognize shingles, never having had it themselves.  One of my doctors admitted that she only knew what she had read in about half a page of a medical text.

      HOW CAN THIS HELP  A PATIENT?  There is more to shingles than a half-page could cover.  We have to keep insisting that we do, in fact, know what is happening to our bodies when we are under attack from shingles.  We have to have treatment and we have to have pain medications ~ we are not going to become addicts but we must have help to get through this ~ wishing for an early death is not an option.

      Keep watching this page and keep us informed about your passage through this problem ~ we need to help each other and become better informed as we go along.

      Good luck with the blood work ~ let us know what they found, please. Susan

    • june11246
      june11246 susan737

      Posted

      I have had shingles for 4 days without rash.  I am on pain pills, and that is it.  Shouldn't I be on some type of viral med?
  • hazel14959
    hazel14959 danielle999

    Posted

    I had the first bout of shingles in my head, only one spot but I thought I had been stung as been in the garden.  Treated it myself but still had ppain.  The spot turned bad and I went to the doctors, who immediately confirmed shingles.  By then it was too late for intivirals but had stuff to paint on. I have a small scar now on my forehead.

    The second bout was around my ribs and I did have a rash.

    The third time, the most horrendous pain in my head and chest, thought I was having a HA..and if I had two buttons to press, go or stay I would have pressed go! it was so bad.  I only had ONE spot on my chest.  I was given antivirals and this helped. I was too old at 74 for the injection here in the UK  and too young for the next issue at 79.  The doctor told me that the injection would not stop getting the shingles again just would not be as severe.   But the older you get the more severe the pain.

    • susan737
      susan737 hazel14959

      Posted

      Hi, hzael14959 ~ though we hate seeing the numbers grow, we thank you for telling us about your experience.

      With a shingles attack, timing is so important.  The more people learn about the symptoms, the more quickly they will ask for medical assistance.

      However, as we are finding out from the experiences of other contributors, our medical personnel often discount our own telling of the problem.  We have to marshall a complete list of what we are experiencing and tell it very clearly and forcefully if we hope to get the treatment we need.  It is not good enough, as some have told us, to be sent home with a misdiagnosis and improper medications.

      When we have learnt from other readers of this discussion, we will know what is important in the telling of our story.  I no longer expect shingles to come complete with the rash and blisters.  I now know exactly what the shingles pain feels like, as it is certainly different from other pains.

      I am approaching 78 but, here in Canada, we can have the vaccination at any age, as long as one year has passed since the last shingles event.  I am counting the days until July 21, when my one year will be up and I will get the vaccination.  Though I may still have attacks, I have been told that they will be milder ~ and that is good news for me.  I hope that you can be shingles-free until you are 79, Hazel.          Susan

  • suzanne98080
    suzanne98080 danielle999

    Posted

    Hi Danielle,

    I am so relieved to read your post! I've been suffering from a terrible pain in my rib area. I've been to emergency three times with no such diagnosis. I even asked about Shingles, but without a rash, it was thrown out. I'm certain this is what I ave and will now contact my doc.

  • catherine64742
    catherine64742 danielle999

    Posted

    Hi, I am 64 years old and living in UK. Just over two months ago I started with terribly sore, burning skin, followed by dreadful nerve pain, on my left upper back, round under my armpit and on to my chest. I reported it to my GP who ordered some X rays of my shoulder, spine and lungs (I had lung cancer 4 years ago and had half my left lung removed). He said all X rays came back normal, that it was nerve pain but he didn't know why. I asked if it could be Shingles and he said that it could not be Shingles because there was no rash. Over the next few weeks I visited the GP again, seeing a different Doctor each time, crying in agony with the pain and burning skin, each time I was told it was not Shingles as there I was no rash. After 3 weeks of this terrible pain, I suffered a small stroke and was admitted to hospital. Separate to the stroke, I told the Doctors about the terrible pain and was given Amitriptilyne and went home 2 days later. After taking only 2 of the Amitriptyline I had a massive seizure and was taken back in to hospital, I was now having disturbed vision and hallucinations and was told by another Doctor that it could be from the Amitriptyline, so I stopped them immediately. I was home for 9 days then back in hospital with terrible tingling in my face and arm, they thought I'd had another stroke, but an MRI scan of the neck showed I have spinal stenosis. So they decided that was the cause of my nerve pain!! However, I was still convinced it was Shingles with no rash. Four days ago I saw my Lung Consultant and told him all of the above, he had all my hospital information, scans and reports in front of him. He confirmed that I have had Shingles and now have Postherpetic Neuralgia. All this pain, or some of it, could have been avoided if the GP had listened to me in the first place, or had any idea that it is possible to have Shingles with no rash. Now taking Pregabalin for the pain, it is not covering the pain and I find the pain is worse at night. Hope to be rid of it soon and get back to my normal, very fit, active self.

     

    • sim24210
      sim24210 catherine64742

      Posted

      Hi Catherine 64742,

      What a terrible ordeal you have suffered and all through ignorant doctors who obviously have no notion of the fact that "Shingles" doesn't have to present with a rash!

      It was only through this site that I discovered that "Shingles" doesn't have to have a rash to be diagnosed and I really feel for you.cry

      The only way I knew was by having the exact same pain but the opposite groin,bum and leg and if I had not "Demanded Shingles medication quickly" I would have had the full blown PHN I suffered for 14 months the first time in 2011.

      The postherpatic neuralgia is a spiteful nasty never ending pain and I am on Co codomol at the moment and I do get relief,feeling so much better in the last 3 days or so.

      You have certainly gone through the mill with your health and I wish GP's would "Listen" to their patients because afterall,we know our bodies better than they do that's a fact.

      I can only wish you a speedy recovery from this evil disease and please make sure you ask for "Strong" painkillers so that your body gets the rest it needs to recover.

      Please let us know how you get on and I sincerly hope that you get some real relief from the wicked nerve pain ASAP.

      Sometimes I think we are better off seeing plumbers or carpenters because our Doctors appear to know very little about anything in the last few years.

      I think it's time they read this thread and realise that "We actually do know stuff they don't".

      Wishing you a healthy return back to health very soon Catherine smile x

       

    • catherine64742
      catherine64742 sim24210

      Posted

      It is so good to find this thread and people that have experienced the same pain, therefore understand it. I have had my fill of GPs not listening as 4 years ago I visited GP 13 times in 6 months with excruciating pain in shoulder blade. As I was a runner and very fit they decided it was muscular skeletal. I had no cough, no shortness of breath, no coughing up blood etc. I asked for a chest X ray and GP refused saying "no point in subjecting you to unnecessary radiation". One GP referred me to mental health people for worrying too much about my health. I eventually got appointment with hospital physio who spotted that my finger tips were clubbing. That along with the pain in shoulder blade is a sign of lung cancer. I had chest X ray the next day and diagnosed with a 6.5cm tumour in top of left lung. This was pressing on the nerves as the come out of the spine and causing all the pain. I had pain up my neck into my face and jaw, I had even had a tooth out unnecessasarily!!!!! After surgery, chemo and radiotherapy, I decided to complain and make one specific doctor stand up and be counted, and she was!!! I had a written apology from the Trust and from the Doctor. So, I know all about GPs and their lack of knowledge....how can they possibly know everything?? I have asked my Lung Consultant to state in his report to the GP that I DID have Shingles with no rash!!!!! I know this might seem like a very long message, but trust me, this is a brief account of what actually happened and how much I suffered. I eventually got back to full fitness and up until 6 months ago was still, walking daily, some running, regular cycling 20 miles, circuit training twice a week and ballroom and Latin dancing twice a week....I am not used to sitting still so I must get rid of this dreadful disabling pain......hope it doesn't last as long as your's did. Sorry to hear of your suffering too. Hope you keep well
    • sim24210
      sim24210 catherine64742

      Posted

      It's good to share and that's half the battle Catherine.

      Doctors have led me a merry dance over the years through mis-diagnosis and the latest thing I have just gone through was apparently "Sciatica" but it turns out I had a blocked Artery in my left leg and I could lose it "but it wasn't urgent"!

      I demanded a crossover graft thereby halving the artery in my right leg and feeding this through keyhole surgery in both groins because I wasn't prepared to be an amputee..I would rather die than lose my mobility at 63 years old.

      The surgery went well and was getting on nicely when the dreaded Shingles came into play,but as it was exactly where one of the scars is in the groin,I wondered if it was a "Blood Clot"!

      It then dawned on me that the "Pain" was replicated as before and hence the treatment was  given for shingles.

      Catherine,your a damn sight fitter than me doing all this activity and you will get there I am sure..whereas me being 6 stone wringing wet I doubt I will ever be that healthy again smile 

      You can do it and the support is here but it would be nice if our "medical people" had the nous to get it right once in a while !cheesygrin

       

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