It’s been a week since my first symptom, and I’m on day 5 of antivirals. The lesions seem to be drying up and no new ones have appeared, but now I’m having really intense nerve pain. Is this normal?
I woke up, either Monday or Sunday, I honestly can’t remember, with pain in the back of my head and neck area. Since I often have back and neck pain, I didn’t think much of it. I started taking painkillers and applying heat on the area.
The next day (Tue), I noticed a lump on my neck along with a red mark. I thought I had burned myself with my heated pillow and my necklace, so again, I didn’t pay much attention to it (the red spot).n killers didn't do that much.
On Wednesday the pain was a lot worse and I felt like pain killers weren't doing much so I went to get checked. The doctor who saw me literally said, "Those are some weird symptoms," and sent me home with Advil, saying that it was probably just a swollen lymph node caused by a deep dental cleaning I had done for periodontitis about 10 days earlier.
By Thursday, the rash had spread a little more, so I decided to get a second opinion. That’s when I was diagnosed with shingles and started the antivirals.
Today, the rash has spread quite a bit further, covering more of my neck and part of my face. This makes me wonder whether multiple dermatomes might be involved and I’m also questioning whether I started the antivirals too late.
Maybe it’s because people are more likely to post about negative experiences online, but so far I haven’t found many stories from people who recovered fast. Most of the stories I’ve come across are about people who are still dealing with pain or other issues weeks or even months later.
Lump and minor red spot (day 2 or 3 since I started to feel pain in the back of my neck)
Today (probably day 4 or 5 since started to feel pain) - day 2 of antivirals
