r/shingles

Thought I pulled my back 2 weeks ago, wasn't my typical back pain but was definitely sore from doing yard work, several days following my skin in my lower back above my butt and on the side were extremely sensitive to the touch especially from my clothes almost like the feeling when you have the flu. Sorta went away but not completely, around a week later the sensation was there but worse and now I was getting headaches and extremely tired, sweating way more than normal just general malaise. No rash anywhere but lots of nerve discomfort mostly on lower right side, went to Urgent care they said unlikely shingles and prescribed me an antiviral (Valtrex) just in case. Anyone have all the symptoms besides rash?

I was prescribed 7 days of Aciclovir tablets (800mg) on day 3 when the rash appeared (thought it was heat rash before) when I went to my doctor. Now I am day 6 into taking my tablets but I still feel like I have flu or something. The rash and blisters are now somewhat waned, but the patches are still there. Should I go back to my doctor for more antiviral or I should be ok without taking more of them? Thank you.

Just wondering others thoughts. It doesn't acruallt seem all that rare to either get shingles under the age of 50 or to get recurrent shingles. And yet again today I had to convince a Dr that it was shingles bc it's early so the rash is very small and not super distinctive and in his words "4 times alone makes me think it's not that bc of how rare that is." This is why when I got it in 2019 I delayed care for so long to the point the antivirals did nothing. Bc I thought i couldn't possible have shingles again. Now I know what it is and I know how it feels so I can catch it before it spreads and crusts.

In disbelief currently...31 F and first time having shingles. Got the chickenpox vaccine at 1 y/o and then a second dose at 19 (cdc changed recommendations in this time from 1 to 2 doses)
Thought this protected me from shingles but here we are.

Around a week ago I started to notice a sore muscle in my shoulder blade and side rib. I lift weights 3x a week and run 4x a week, so I assumed I pulled something exercising.

3 days ago, I felt an insane itch on my bra line, a little below my armpit, and took a look to see this red patch, guessing it was chafing from the runs I did in the heat during the past week. But it looked odd (bumpy) and was a tad painful to touch, so I booked an apt with my dermatologist.

I go in today, and she immediately says it's shingles. I was afraid it was this but I didn't want to jump to conclusions since I've never thought it something people under 60 get. I'm still in shock from the diagnosis?

Has anyone else had the chickenpox vaccine and still got shingles young? <3

I'm glad I caught it early and it's very mild, feels like an underarm paper cut / itchy sunburn, hoping it doesn't get worse! Started Valcyclivir and I'm on it for a week.

The first thing my derm asked about is if I was stressed.
I'm a business owner and producing 4 huge projects happening concurrently, more workload than I've ever had before...and am most certainly stressed out, lol.

Not sure what else could've triggered this, or if there is even a trigger but damn. Gonna take it easy this week! My sympathies go out to anyone dealing with this right now <3

My husband is on week 3 of shingles. The rash has cleared up but he is still having nerve pain. He is prescribed gabapentin, but he said it’s just getting worse. We have tried OTC lidocaine, prescription lidocaine, and neither has worked. Has anyone tried something that isn’t your typical “go to” for nerve pain, that works? I read something about acupuncture. I also saw something about a TENS unit. We are open to try anything at this point I think.

I had my first outbreak around the same area (right eye, side of the nose and forehead) 3 years ago, it was mild and no eye involvement. Last night I got a tingle + a little burning in one spot on my eyelid when touched. Skin looks completely normal. No redness, no bumps, no blisters. Started antiviral right away. A day later still sensitive when touched, still no redness or rash.

Have anyone here started antivirals early, and what were your experiences?

I’m going to attempt to write a post I was desperate to find myself in here when I was in the thick of it. My situation is a little niche due to the location of my shingles and how I’m approaching this, but the message is the same. To start, Here’s a little background: I (36F) was diagnosed with shingles at 28 weeks pregnant just about 5 weeks ago. It took them entirely took long to figure out what it was, it felt like the worst migraine of my life over my right eye with a needle going through my eyeball. I did see an ophthalmologist immediately and thank goodness that came out just fine. However, the anti viral pills were doing nothing for me and I ended up in the hospital on and off for a week receiving IV’s of the medication and monitoring the baby. Thank goodness the baby is doing just fine and the antivirals did their thing. I was left with the absolute worst nerve pain of my entire life. I have never felt so sick, scared or trapped in my own body before and it was pure hell.

All this to say, just about 5 weeks to the day this began, I can say I’m on the other side. I’m super itchy at times now, but I’d say 85-90% of the pain has subsided (still have some in the morning and overnight). If you are in the thick of it right now, your pain is valid. Your fears are valid. The way you want to crawl out of your skin is valid. It WILL get better and there is light at the end of the tunnel! Dig deep for strength and do whatever you need to survive. I was extremely limited with meds I could take for pain because of my pregnancy, but some things that helped me: migraine caps (can find on Amazon) get multiple so you always have one chilled and ready to go. Those were life savers! It was prob a placebo effect more than anything, but I felt better with electrolytes and making sure I was hydrated. I felt like I was flushing the virus out lol. Light exercise if you can! Just walking my dog or getting outside with the kids made me feel “normal” and moving my body as long as I felt up to it helped with some endorphins.

If you’re reading this, chances are that means you’re going through it too and I am so so so so so so sorry. I’m sending you good, healing vibes and I stand with you in solidarity. This post prob sounds hella dramatic but this was the worst experience of my entire existence and I am deeply traumatized. If you wanna be dramatic about it too you deserve to be. It’s hell. BUT IT GETS BETTER!!! Try to be as patient as you can and be gentle with your mental health along with physical. Lean on friends and family for support. You can get through this and you absolutely will!

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?

Just to give you my experience with shingles it was hell on wheels, but the main symptoms went away at about week three so just hang on this is not a two or three day or week event so if you’re struggling, I just want you to know wait until about three weeks.

I see alot of people say the nerve pain is like electric bolts, ice pick stabbing, etc.

But my only pain is a deep tissue/muscle soreness. Like I lifted 1000lbs with my neck/shoulder(rash is on lower neck)

The burning and tingling from the rash stopped. Im on day 4 antiviral. The rash is starting to dry and slowly scab.

This muscle soreness is intense though and I dont want to be on Tylenol daily. Anyone else got this muscle soreness/tightness pain that goes deep into the tissue/muscle?

Not asking for a diagnosis! I will be calling for an appt on Monday. I (43F) have had a spot on my scalp for two days that is itchy and just weird feeling. A bit of nerve pain. I feel one or two small bumps/possibly blisters. It started out as what I thought was an ice pick headache when I was on the treadmill. A kind of sharp pain in one spot on the side of my head. That continued off and on for a day. I felt the pain maybe 5-7 times that day. But the pain was not terrible, maybe a 4 on a scale of 1-10. And it was very brief. My mother had it and she said it can’t be shingles because the pain would be constant and much worse. I did have chicken pox as a child in the 80s. So has anyone had shingles and it wasn’t terribly painful at first?

I got shingles 2 weeks ago (day 1 of my 2 week trip to Ireland ☹️). Got in the meds on the first day. The rash developed on my abdomen on my left side. It's starting to fade now, but the nerve pain is severe. The pain really started probably 9-10 days ago, feels like a severe sunburn but it's from my armpit down to the knee. My entire left side and it hurts in that entire area. Every single thing I do hurts, even just sitting. It really made my trip miserable. I'm 37 and have 2 little kids, 5 and 2, who are very high energy. The pain has not gotten any better and it's really making me miserable. I feel bad bc I'm really a miserable person to be around right now, but idk what to do when I'm in this much pain constantly. It's also physically and mentally draining. I was extremely stressed while in Ireland because of this and bc my kids were just a lot of work, so I don't know if that has made the symptoms worse, but I really wish I could do something about this. I can't imagine going much longer with this pain. Looking for any advice!

I'm not diagnosed with anything ATM. I just had my first appt with a rheumatologist a couple weeks ago for potentially some type inflammatory arthritis mainly effecting my low back and SI joints/hips. Just wondering if anyone here has had recurrent shingles infections, if it's been tied to an autoimmune disorder, and if it's worth mentioning at my followup. Thus is my fourth time in my life, second time in the last 5 months. The last couple times it's been in an area where I already have lots of chronic pain so I don't actually notice the pain as much, it's the low grade fevere and then the blisters show up. I'm 32 and unsure if insurance willpay for vaccine but im sure hoping my pcp can convince them.

I’m on day 9, finished antiviral yesterday. I’d actually lifted weights earlier in the day that I first noticed the rash. Pain and itching have been quite tolerable, maybe bc I started antiviral within 24h. But the fatigue is brutal! I’m in my mid40s, had been doing cardio around 3x/week, lifting 1-2x, and not sure how long to take off and rest. I’m still working and doing light housework/errands, but so tired.

I don’t want to jump back too soon and prolong recovery, but my mood is in the toilet and exercise might help that?

What have others done, and did it work for you?

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

Today (spreading to my cheeks & jawline)

It’s been five months since I got shingles and still have persistent pain. It burns when walking, sitting, bending as the area was on the bottom.

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to either manage the pain or help it go away?

I’m on nerve blocker medication but doesn’t seem to do much.

So I personally had c-pox as a kid (I was born six years before the vaccine, alas), and then had shingles at 31. It was miserable and I had lingering nerve pain for months, but am thankfully recovered with no scars (they lasted about a year or so).

Now, I obviously did a lot of research and I definitely sing the gospel of vaccines (c-pox and shingles).

Recently, I had a friend who told me he got adult chicken pox years ago and he had a lot of guilt because he believes he gave a coworker a serious case of shingles. But as I understand it:

- if you have chicken pox, you potentially can give someone chicken pox.

- if you have shingles, you potentially can give someone shingles.

- and then I think if you have shingles, you can potentially give someone whose never been infected chicken pox.

But can someone with chicken pox give someone shingles?

Having a hard time finding very clear resources, would appreciate help. Thanks!

So, rash is mostly gone, but symptoms remain. Still have intermittent sharp pains on right side (one area of rash.). Itching has finally gone but intense fatigue (it feels impossible to stay awake at times) and horrible headache remain (my mornings aren’t bad but by two p.m. the worst headache is coming on, with worst of it in neck, followed by back of the head, then temples and shoulders.)

How are those of you who have reached this point. I just can’t believe how bad this has been.