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Got some blisters appeared on my right leg.
Skin is tender to touch in places.
Feel like shit, but not debilitatingly so.
Upset stomach.
Lymph nodes area is a bit achy, so they are clearly putting a shift in.
…and family holiday in 8 days.
This started up a couple of days ago, but does it get worse?
Looking at Dr Google and the NHS it would appear that I’m just going to have to put up with it.
Had it when I was 18 - it's a bit crap but not too bad. Biggest issue was resisting the urge to scratch the [very itchy] blisters.
No idea if I had any treatment for it (Mum was in the nursing profession) but it was too long ago for comfort.
8 days? I think you'll be OK but obvs IANAD
Edit: Interestingly I had a single small patch of blisters last summer that looked exactly like shingles, but it didn't spread and I felt fine. Went away after a couple of weeks 🤷♂️
Blisters are in three small clumps. Biggest patch is about 2x4 cm. Other patches half the size.
Sounds right.
I remember something being painted on the blisters that made them itch like mad - bit as I said, it was a long time ago and I wouldn't be surprised if leaches were used!
yep had it about 20 years ago - "clumps" of chicken pox style blisters on my left arm, side leg. Had a back back before hand and couldn't think of a reason why (lower back) - then out came the blisters - at which point I was in the Czech republic on business - when I got back - GP basically said rest and avoid pregnant women. Was lucky really - I know it can be much worse for some people. Wife paid for the jab.
Isn't the standard STW response 'cat aids'...?
Sorry, have nothing sensible to add except virtual tea and real sympathy. AIUI, Shingles is horrible and incurable. You can get inoculated on the NHS if you're 65 or over IIRC. Or, privately for around £400. Apparently effective even if you have it.
Bon chance.
Shingles aren't contagious (they are a flare-up of the dormant chickenpox virus that has lived in your body since you contracted it). If someone (who hasn't had chickenpox) touched the fluid from a blister, they could contract chickenpox, but not shingles. Just avoid anyone that is at risk (ie, pregnant women and babies).
In itself, shingles can vary from mildly inconvenient to really painful.
FWIW, I got shingles just before a skiing holiday years ago and the GP told me I could travel if I felt up to it, so I did.
In itself, shingles can vary from mildly inconvenient to really painful.
And far beyond that. The former president of one of my cycling clubs spent many months in hospital with shingles which left him with permanent nerve and brain damage. Although he was already elderly shingles took him to an early grave and left him severely disabled in his rather unpleasant final years
Obviously that was an extreme case and the overwhelming cases of shingles are very mild in comparison but I don't think it pays to be too dismissive.
And in the case of my club president I am convinced that his determination to push his body to extremes with high bike milage and strenuous rides, despite his advancing years, probably weaken his immune system to the point where the dormant chicken pox virus was able to get a particularly strong hold.
I have posted this before but here is the story of my former club president and his battle with shingles
https://anerleybc.org/cyclist-recycled/
I came back from last years Duncfest with shingles (I’m not blaming Duncfest). I felt like shit for a few weeks, but I was suffering with pain from it for months
A pharmacy can diagnose it so you don’t need to go to the doctor, and give you some medication
For balance I had shingles but it was never more than an itchy rash. I didn't know I had it until one of my work colleagues suggested it.
I just work throughout but didn't feel at all unwell.
The vacine however made me feel crap for two weeks for both doses.
I hope the op gets better soon and doesn't develop any nasty effects.
It is by all accounts horrible, an old virology professor of mine described when shingles circles the trunk of the body as 'exquisite pain'. Once this flare up has gone look at getting the shingles vaccination if you can
Speak to the doctor and get some aciclover (from memory) to stop it in it's tracks.
I used get shingles across my face. Probably why I get the aciclover as a matter of urgency.
A few years back I was getting sharp stabbing pains in the left side of my chest so went to the GP to get checked out. They confirmed no sign of any heart issue but the pain continued and the next day Mrs P spotted a small rash on my back - out of hours gp this time who confirmed it was shingles and prescribed some anti virals and some hefty pain killers. For the next week or two I lived by the clock of when I could take those pain killers - I couldn't tolerate any contact with the skin on the left side of my torso but fortunately it was a hot spell so I was warm enough without a shirt. After the rash went it was months before the occasional reminder of the pain subsided.
OTOH MrsP got it and had a bit of a rash on her leg, mostly felt OK and in between resting she made some new curtains.
Update:
Work have sent me home as someone in the office is pregnant.
Pharmacy told me to see my GP.
GP have no appointments and told me to call 111.
111 have me booked in for 1:00pm today at the GP thingie in the local hospital.
Exciting. And itchy.
I got it after my kids were born - almost 30 years. I was totally knocked off my feet for a week. Even 30 years later, the scarred area on my side is still sensitive and almost painful from time to time.
Even 30 years later, the scarred area on my side is still sensitive and almost painful from time to time.
I know what you mean – mine took a good 10 years to stop being uncomfortable from time to time, but I can still feel/sense exactly where the centre of the pain was to this day – it is etched in my mind.
I had it last year, and it was by far the most painful thing I've had in my adult life. I got in the ribs, running round from my spine to the sternum on the right hand side of my body. It was excruciating, and I found it impossible to sleep for more than an hour at a time for about a week. (It was sort of similar to when you break a rib, and there's no way to get comfortable in bed...) The serious phase was probably a couple of weeks, but the pain (steadily getting better) was there at least 2-3 months after.
No lasting effects in my case, but apparently you can also get it in your optic nerve, with the possibility of blindness in one eye. Certainly I wouldn't necessarily take the disease lightly!
I got it in my right testicle.
I don't think it needs much more detail than that 😂 other than I did get to amuse myself with the usual GP reception questioning.
"I'm sorry Sir but as you rang at 8:30:00.001 we have already filled all the appointments today unless you can tell me why it's urgent"
"My right testicle is considerably larger than the left, and it isn't normally"
"............................."
"............................."
".............. ohh, you could have just said it was personal"
"well then you wouldn't have found me an appointment would you?"
"Can you come in at 17:30?"
Dr didn't immediately find the problem, it took a few days for the virus to carry on down the nerve into my leg and show up as the characteristic rash on my inner thigh then I got the antivirals as a precaution to stop it spreading further. I think that's standard procedure even though they aren't supposed to be effective unless you take them at the beginning (i.e. before any definitive symptoms).
Speak to the doctor and get some aciclover (from memory) to stop it in it's tracks.
I think that process is supposed to have been streamlined as time is of the essence, you need to start treatment as quickly as possible to get any meaningful benefit - so these days you should be able to go straight to your pharmacist for assessment and treatment as going via a GP takes too long. Which is a great idea in every sense except nobody seems to know about it.
Pharmacy told me to see my GP.
Try another pharmacist maybe
For goodness sakes people! Standards. Oh, I'll do it myself then:
Shingletrackworld.
"My right testicle is considerably larger than the left, and it isn't normally"
Did it fulfill the criteria for Wun Hung Lo ?
https://shop.wunhunglo.com.au/
Iirc shingles can cause sensitivity to sunlight so be careful where you are heading on holiday.
It is (by a country mile) the worst thing I have ever had.
I spent a horrible 5 weeks in extreme discomfort, while watching the clock countdown between pain meds.
A tiny rash was the only sign before it arrived at full power.
I hope you get off light OP,I would not wish the version I had on anyone.
Oh, and DO NOT Goggle Shingles on Image,some of the worst cases will give you nightmares.
Read this, Harry (it's what yr doctor or pharmacist will/should do) https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/shingles/management/management/
The diagnosis stuff needs to be made by them but you can have an idea in your mind of what treatments are goers (high dose aciclovir 800mg 5x daily is the usual dose and I believe aciclovir is offered as standard if you're over 50, regardless of anything else). Earlier aciclovir is started, the better the outcome for the patient
Various pain relief options exist, so again have an idea of how severe you consider it and read accordingly.
Oh, and phone a couple of pharmacies and ask if they are Pharmacy First practices - those are the ones that should manage this without a doc
No lasting effects in my case, but apparently you can also get it in your optic nerve, with the possibility of blindness in one eye. Certainly I wouldn't necessarily take the disease lightly!
I had in in my right trigeminal nerve. Bloody painful.
The first time I had it, it got close to my eye before I rang 111. They told me to go to A&E where they had booked me an appointment with an eye specialist. I was put straight onto the Aciclover and an antiviral cream
I’ve only had it a few times since and each time it has been less severe, mostly down to catching it early. I mostly seem to start with it when I am very rundown.
I can recognise the signs that it is on its way at an early stage, tired, rundown, pain above right ear and a tingling sensation over the right side of my face. Aciclover nice and early seems to stop it in its tracks.
Oh, and phone a couple of pharmacies and ask if they are Pharmacy First practices
I'd be calling the Pharmacy that send you away to the docs instead of giving you that advice and giving them a bollocking
Had it in 1997. Spent a week wimpering in a dark room, 2 weeks off work, 2 months to properly recover. I still have a tender spot on my chest where the worst of the lumps were, and you can see it when I tan.
Had it for the first time a month or so ago and it was brutal.
Rash around my lower torso which felt like somebody sanding down sunburnt skin whenever anything (including clothes) touched it.
Felt like I'd been in a car crash for the first few days then it thankfully passed quickly but the rash lingered for over a fortnight.
If you can get them quickly - within 5 days of the rash appearing - anti viral meds can make a real difference. My rash never got worse than red bumps, no blisters or anything going gungy, and I'm sure the meds played a big part in this.
It was horrid though, sympathies!
You can get inoculated on the NHS if you're 65 or over IIRC
Not quite, the age criteria are very odd. Eligible if you're 70-79, or 65th birthday after 1 Sept 2023, so 65 to nearly 67 at present. If you're in the gap between you need to wait until you're 70. No idea why they're extending it to 65-70 by working from 65, maybe it's easier to calculate. I phoned the surgery for an appointment as soon as I was 70. Two stage jab, second one after 6 months.
Work have sent me home as someone in the office is pregnant.
I didn't know that was a side effect of sharing an office with someone with Shingles...
If the OP wasn't scared shitless before, he should be now after all those^ horror stories...🙄
I had it on my back, it was a big itchy patch on one side and didn't cross the spine. Only thing that relieved pain was going in the sea. I had to wear a t shirt or I d have scared off other bathers.
It kept getting more painful, started as a dull thud type pain then a whole body ache. If I d have bumped into someone it would have really hurt so I just stayed in and rested.
Lasted about a month.
FWIW I went to the doctor's sometime in the first 72 hours or so, and got anti-viral meds. Despite this, and as mentioned above, I was in agony for a week, then chronic pain for the next 2-3 months.
To give a counter point years ago years I went climbing with some mates of mates, one of whom was a GP. As I changed my top she asked me how I was feeling as she noticed a diagonal rash across my back and diagnosed shingles. I'd been feeling a bit run down for a couple of weeks but was otherwise ok. It didn't really get any worse and the rash disappeared a week later.
You can get inoculated on the NHS if you're 65 or over IIRC.
I’ve got an appointment on Saturday afternoon.
I had chicken pox way back in the 70’s, but I got away with a fortnight off work having just gone back after the Christmas holiday, and a few itchy spots that I treated with medicated talcum powder. Other than feeling like crap for several days, once the spots showed up I felt right as rain!
Lots more rash on my leg this morning and my lower back and groin aren't happy.
Awesome.
does the pattern all lie on a dermatome? Shingles typically follows a single dermatome in uncomplicated cases
Did you get the drugs ??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermatome_%28anatomy%29
GP appointment later.
Looking at the diagram it is on L3 and immediately adjacent sections.
If you get the anti-viral meds (fingers crossed) try and keep out of the sun whilst you're taking them. Makes your skin super-sensitive so it burns dead easily.
Good luck.
It wasn't so bad for me, just very itchy. I had a reaction to the Aciclovir and that was the worst I have ever felt.
Diagnosed as Shingles. Got Aciclovir 5 times a day for a week.
Good Luck. The Anti-Virals properly wiped me out for a while, but (allegedly) made the symptoms better. It was about 4 weeks until I could walk the dog more than 15 minutes on flat ground 😒 That said the rest was just fatigue and rib pain/itching not end of the world stuff...
I had it 2 years ago.
Wide band of red spots of different sizes round my lower back and torso
Did online / phone consult with Gp and he prescribed anti virals and see how feel approach .
I worked through it and avoided pregnant women where it was obvious they were pregnant.
Any pressure more then a T shirt was painful and made the rash itchy , but if you succumbed and itched the rash it was like someone angle grinding sparks straight at your skin at close range . Sleeping was a test , showering was also painful iirc .
Took approx 10 days to clear up and stop feeling knackered. I dont think I had it too badly tbh .
From the responses on this thread I am surprised by how many on STW have had shingles and even more surprised by the apparent severity.
I wonder if as cyclists STWers are more prone to the open window theory by which the immune system is said to be weakened for a few hours after intense exercise. It would in theory provide an opportunity for the dormant chicken pox virus, I guess.
I was visiting my cousin Friday evening, and she caught shingles some years ago, and found it was really uncomfortable, didn’t help she was working in a hospital at the time. She was prescribed Amitriptyline, for its analgesic properties, same reason I take it, but in my case it’s because of the effects of the swelling in my wrists from arthritis.
I had a shingles vaccine yesterday afternoon, which will be followed by a booster in six months, so 🤞🏻it’ll keep me free from it.
I did catch chickenpox many years ago, but I’ve been lucky and not have it get into my nervous system.
I wonder if as cyclists STWers are more prone to the open window theory by which the immune system is said to be weakened for a few hours after intense exercise. It would in theory provide an opportunity for the dormant chicken pox virus, I guess.
I should be safe then, not sure any of my rides qualify as intense!
My only advice is don't go up in to the attic and then scrape your back on the hatch sides.
I was doing fine until then.
The blisters have stopped advancing down my leg and the itching is subsiding. Bumping or catching the leg can still be a little "exciting" though.
I wonder if as cyclists STWers are more prone to the open window theory by which the immune system is said to be weakened for a few hours after intense exercise.
I've wondered that myself. I'm one of those people who never gets sick, but had a bout of shingles 16 years ago, aged 41 (right side of scalp, forehead and round my eye, which can be a problem but wasn't in my case). I'd been on an extended bike trip round the Highlands in challenging weather, rough camping most of the way. Feeling a bit run down, I rode into Ben Alder Cottage. On the way out, it felt like someone had whacked me over the head with a cricket bat, and the other symptoms developed over the next few days. I was surprised at the time as shingles was something I associate with old people who have knackered immune systems.
Wasn't too painful other than the initial cricket bat phase, just a bit of itching. Didn't take any drugs.
From the responses on this thread I am surprised by how many on STW have had shingles and even more surprised by the apparent severity.
Well here's my take on it.
Cases of Shingles went up after Covid (2020) .
Covid gave a big kicking to a lot of peoples immune system.
Not surprisingly, cyclists and runners ( even at an amateur level) can be more aware (on a day to day basis)of how their body is feeling/performing.
They are also a group that often (around a race or event)will try to 'push through' feeling a bit rough,or can be desperate to get back to a training plan.
It is contagious. I had it and was treated as it being a contagion risk. My wife caught chicken pox at the time.
Thank you for reminding me about Shingles. I have an overactive immune system that would react badly to Shingles. I put in a request to my doctor with my condition. I have AS, so it would really screw me up. I hope they agree.
BR
JeZ
It is contagious. I had it and was treated as it being a contagion risk. My wife caught chicken pox at the time.
Perhaps coincidentally I developed shingles towards the end of chickenpox doing the rounds with kids of friends. Dunno if it's possible to catch chickenpox and have it only present as shingles? In theory it shouldn't but seems a strange coincidence.
Well here's my take on it.
You missed the STW demographic 😉
shingles was something I associate with old people who have knackered immune systems.
You missed the STW demographic
I was trying to be kind,but you have flagged it up now 🙃
Update:
Had two original patches of blisters that stopped “leaking” after about a week.
The antivirals seemed to work very well as all the blisters that appeared after I started on them were a bit “half arsed” and disappeared within a day or so without getting all gooey and angry.
Then I had the feeling that I was being needle gunned on my right leg, hip, groin and shoulder blade that lasted about a fortnight, with the shoulder blade being the last to clear.
Most uncomfortable aspect was the aching hip and groin. Unpleasant, but not too nasty.
I suspect that I got off lightly.
My mum (age 69) had the 2nd shingles vaccine jab last Thursday and is experiencing hellish burning and tingling in her feet and tingling in her hands, before getting the jab she mentioned to the nurse that she was on doxycycline (I told her to mention this as antibiotics/immune response = trouble sometimes) for suspected lymes disease after getting a rash from a tick bite, the nurse thought about it then said it’d be fine.
I had a look online at various published/peer reviewed medical papers over the weekend and it stated that there is a chance of developing Guillain Barre Syndrome which is exacerbated by certain antibiotics as the micro biome in the gut is affecting the body’s ability to deal with the shingles vaccine.
Having SPMS which is a disease of the immune system and permanently on Nitrofurantoin (urine/bladder infection) means over the past 10 years I’ve read shitloads on our immune system and how it responds so I was wary of her getting the vaccine whilst on the antibiotics
She’s been up to docs this morning and he looked it up and agreed that it may be an issue and if it gets worse to contact him, bugger…..hope it clears up.
Just avoid anyone that is at risk (ie, pregnant women and babies).
This is just good advice in general.
I suspect that I got off lightly.
Hold your optimism for a bit - sometimes the nerves decide they're not done with dishing out pain and will remind you of this at random for a few weeks/months.
I had Chicken Pox as an adult (in my 20's, so barely an adult), then another chicken pox like flare up in my 30's when my kids had it. Doctor at the time told me that I would be a prime candidate for shingles at some point and explained the symptoms. Flu like for a day or two, then the painful to touch patch, like a hot poker on my skin, likely to appear on my back. And to head directly to the GP if this happened.
Exactly that did happen a few years ago, Dr prescribed some antiviral meds, and told me to follow the dosage TO THE LETTER. 2 tabs immediately, the one EVERY 8 Hours. This was about 10 years ago, and got better very quickly. Nothing since, but still primed for any recurrence.
The patch where the rash appeared is weirdly sensitive, nothing painful, just seems to be a tiny feeling all the time. It's where I have a previous scar too, so maybe something in that.
My Wife has AS. Very very rare in women, and mild when they do get it. Still, it has affected her in a myriad of ways. A real sod of a condition.
Shingles aren't contagious
That's not the current advice, cover the rash to prevent shedding and you're good to go is what I was told in 2016-ish. A bit painful after a stress related flare-up then. I had chicken pox around 50 years ago and gave to my dad who was in his 30's. Apparently adult chickenpox is awful worse than 'man flu'.