Wondering if I should have stayed off work longer
Posted , 7 users are following.
2 weeks last Monday I started with shingles I caught it early and after a weeks medication from the doctor I went back to week last week I seemed fine don't a desk job but this week I'm so irritable and tired and the nerve damage still hurts ( lower left back up front of left groin )
im generally quite a tough woman and thought if I stayed off my motorbike at work which I usually ride 6 hours a day at work I'd be ok but tonight I'm so agitated I've taken pain killers and I'm in my bed already 19.30 pm
am am I pushing myself too hard or just Bing a wimp
1 like, 17 replies
jo_92127
Posted
Shoe_Lady jo_92127
Posted
You are not a wimp! I feel the same way. I have always been into incredibly challenging hobbies, ie: marathon running, Crossfit, hot yoga, days hiking and hunting in the woods. After sgingles = therapeutic and gentle yoga, naps when I feel a "little" run down, crazy homeopathic healing regimen, avoiding stressful situations at all costs, and lots of prayer. Hang in there and do not be hard on yourself. This virus changes you??
jo_92127 Shoe_Lady
Posted
I'm just wiping my teers away as I'm reading this I'm in pain I'm tired I'm irritable I really don't know what to do with myself I've taken 2 cocodamol and naproxen as its the nerve damage that's hurting me .
ive been sat behind a desk all day but I feel like I've done a half marathon
I can't take the pain killers in the day because co codamol is like morpheine to me and makes me drowsy so it hits me all at once by the time I get home . I am finding a nod off at the drop of a hat which isn't me and as I'm a new NANA I call the NANA NAPS lol
its so so hard to put a face on all day with the public when inside I'm hurting so Much but I will take on board what you've said and relax a bit more and not expect so much out. Myself
I've just finished a tonic called Metatone it's a bit like seven seas which I've taken over the last week and I will rest more for a week or two I think
thanks Michelle ??
Merry19451 jo_92127
Posted
Jo,
So sorry for your pain. You are one tough lady! You are not a wimp! Definitely, if you were my patient, you would be out of work for 4 weeks, then reevaluate then. If you ride a motorbike for work, with an agonizing painful rash in the groin area, that area is screaming, STOP! Also, the Herpes Zoster-Shingles virus can make anyone irritable. Stay out two more weeks, as it takes at least two more for the entire rash to resolve. The painful nerve endings might take longer. I can't believe the physician didn't tell you to take off for a month. There is no way you can sit on a motorbike seat with a shingles rash. Are you a messenger? Also, do you have any strong analgesics?
Please take them!
You are still very sick with shingles!
I am a nurse practitioner in the States.
Best Wishes
Merry Juliana
jo_92127 Merry19451
Posted
Hi Mary thanks for your reply . Once I saw my GP he gave me my meds and I asked him should I take a week off and he said yes , end of chat so I thought ok I will take the week off and go back to work but I knew I couldn't ride my Z 1 all day so I asked to do reception for a few weeks ( I'm a motorbike instructor ) so I ride all day 5 days a week generally .
co codamol is all I'm taking and 2 each night to help me sleep .
naproxin I take 1 at night as an Anti inflamitory .
I also have Angina so I'm tired most days anyway but the tireless has gone to exhaustion .
My husband is an ex warrant officer with a get on with it attitude so I tend to soldier on with any ailment
Merry19451 jo_92127
Posted
Perhaps your GI husband can read the comments regarding this disease and how devastating it is too many individuals. Tell him you feel as if you are sitting on a thousand knife points. Maybe he will get the idea. As a nurse/nurse practitioner for 43 years, I would go to work except when I had 2 strokes, lumbar and cervical spine surgery, and breast cancer surgery. I worked with the Herpes Zoster-Shingles, even though I wanted to cut out my inner ear into the center of my brain. + Nurses are tough, but we pay for it later. I had no analgesics and two ENTS thought I was narcotic seeking until the third diagnosed me. Stay home and rest. Otherwise, the disease, pain, and exhaustion will catch up with you later...
All the best
MERRY JULIANA
sandi01178 Merry19451
Posted
a question not about shingles = how tolerable were yourspine surgeries? i will be having minimally invasive surgery on my S1. the doc said i should feel better within 1-2 weeks (enuf to work my part time job - part time). but my gp's nurse said i would be laid up 6-8 weeks. i'm pretty much a tuff cookie with not too many surgeries under my belt 'cept adult stem cell and ccsvi which weren't bad at all. thanx for any input
Merry19451 sandi01178
Posted
Sandi,
Stem cell and ccsvi for ? I am sorry I don't understand the abbreviation.
I had severe lumbar stenosis L3L4L5 and had a Laminectomies & Fusion with carbon cage and TLIF. My surgery was considered "salvage surgery" as I also had spondylolisthesis, or spinal vertebral slippage of 4 vertebrae. I was walking with a walker every day for the last 6 months at work up until the day before surgery. I had severe unremitting pain, sleepless nights, and muscle weakness and deterioration in my legs, but took no pain meds as I am allergic to NSAIDS. The surgery went well, and I walked the same night. The post operative pain was minimal compared to the severe pain I had pre-operatively. I had five weeks off and returned to work full-time as a nurse practitioner.
The minimally invasive surgery is easier in that the surgeon does not cut the muscles, so there is not as much down time. My major caveat is choose the surgeon and hospital carefully. I also needed cervical spine surgery, but am able to walk a fair distance- 2 miles, get out of a bathtub, get off the floor, all unaided, all without any pain. My muscle tone and strength returned to my legs and arms. I am so happy I had the surgeries as otherwise, I was in constant pain and deteriorating in strength and durability. Now, I still feel vibrant. The key is to have the surgeries before no permanent damage has been inflicted and to choose the surgeon wisely.
Let me know how you do.
Good luck.
Merry Juliana
sandi01178 Merry19451
Posted
sorry - i didn't elaborate on the cells & ccsvi they were for ms. the surgeon comes highly recommended by many and a few are close personal friends who would let me know in a heartbeat if they didn't trust him. he thinks that my physical decline is most likely related to the disc and not ms 'cuz i have no other signs of an exacerbation. pre op is scheduled for the 21st so i'll let you know
Merry19451 sandi01178
Posted
You have been hit hard in life!
Keep me posted!
All my best!
Your friend
Merry Juliana
jo_92127 Merry19451
Posted
I hear you merry and I'm slowing down xx
sandi01178 jo_92127
Posted
jo i am so sorry theis nasty disease got you
honestly - i got it in january and am just now getting back kinda to myself. the fatigue is/was the worst thing i ever went thru (i have ms and a protruding disc, also) please take time and let yourself get better = you are NOT a wimp....take your recovery slowly! don't push yourself too hard or it might backfire = prayers you are whole again soon!
jo_92127 sandi01178
Posted
Amy_in_agony jo_92127
Posted
Keep your chin up ! I know it's hard, I'm typical with recurring episodes and I have just learned that during an outbreak the world changes for me. I only do what I have to do in order to get by and the rest of the time just sleep. Take the pain med, and don't deprive yourself of much needed rest. For me it's the only way I can function at these times. All energy is for the basics, nothing else. It's hard to be off work for weeks at a time, life is busy and life is fast... You're not alone.... and you're not a whimp !
jo_92127 Amy_in_agony
Posted
Thanks Amy I'm going to slow down and rest more good luck to you