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Swelling with shingles

Posted , 10 users are following.

ruth27266
ruth27266

hi , I’m 59 and for a few days I had a pain in my thigh and leg , thought it was sciatica, on and off. Then last Wednesday discovered a rash on inner thigh spreading, felt quite ill. Saw GP the same day and she said shingles and put me on anti vitals. For a couple of days it seemed to not have spread, just a few new bits on my knee ,then today 4 days in became swollen and very painful . Using calamine lotion which cools it but really hard to walk , pain has changed from stabbing pains to just pain particularly on inner thigh near my groin. Is this typical ? Can’t walk around and just want to sleep at the moment. 

5 likes, 20 replies

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  • mike777
    mike777 ruth27266

    Posted

    Hi Ruth, I'm 59 too, just had my first bout of shingles, what a nightmare!

    Didn't sleep for a month, tried every kind of cream and lotion under the sun and none of them worked to any great extent. As Juliana mentioned, what I found to be absolutely the best treatment was a cold compress, kept on for about 40-50 mins and then the relief lasts about a good 2-3 hours.

    I had an interesting experience after eating quite a heavy garlic type of meal and strangely the pain vanished about an hour later and for about 6 hours - quite happy to accept it to being a total coincidence, but unless you hate garlic it might be worth a try!

    Good luck and sincerest sympathies...

    • ruth27266
      ruth27266 mike777

      Posted

      Hi Mike It’s a terrible condition , feel quite ill with it , weirdest thing is the pain isn’t constant but suddenly comes and is so draining. I just want to sleep all time and sometimes I can , sometimes I can’t. Will try cold compress as getting it cool does seem to help. At the moment stops me doing anything . Not too much spreading which is good . 

      Thanks for your kind words.

    • ruth27266
      ruth27266

      Posted

      Love garlic so might give it a try Chicken Kiev’s tonight! 
  • mike777
    mike777 ruth27266

    Posted

    Oh yes, the pain is all over the place, sometimes dull, sometimes sharp, sometimes aching, sometimes like being prodded with a sharp pencil from the outside every 3 seconds, sometimes the same but from the inside, sometimes here, sometimes there, sometimes not at the rash location at all, and then of course the extreme sensitivity to any touch or the slightest movement, all very weird! 

    Good luck with the cold compress and garlic and try to stay calm.... smile

  • jeannecatlover
    jeannecatlover ruth27266

    Posted

    Can swelling in the feet, ankles, and lower legs be a sign of oncoming shingles? I had shingles last July in eye and nose and felt my extremities swelled up at that time.

    Now I'm having swelling in feet, ankles, and lower legs and am worried shingles might be coming back. Are these things associated?

    If it is a sign of developing shingles, could I stave it off by getting the vaccine? I was planning to get it soon. Now I don't know if I should or shouldn't.

    Thanks.

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