Shingles
 

I just had my second booster shot. Injection site pain. No other side effects.

I never got a COVID......I've seen Shigles...it sucks. :eek:

It does. It's like a severe sun burn all over.

Until it makes you go permanently blind. Then it's a bit worse than a sun burn.

Yep, I'm 52 and got my shingrix a couple of years ago. Like most shots, no issues other than a bit sore where I was poked. My understanding is that shingrix (or is it shingrex) is better (fewer complications/side effects) than whatever preceded it.

I had shingles four yrs ago. Wasn't nearly as bad as others have had it, but it was unpleasant.

not all over, just one side of your body, but that is bad enough

Got the shot. Shingles is awful.

Had it about 12 years ago. It broke out in a two inch circular rash. I had a Dr. Appt the next morning anyhow. Gave me Acyclovir and was dried up in two additional days. Itched a little but by that time was gone. Occurs on the side of the body it went dormant in the nerve most likely when you had Chicken Pox.
Never understood why folks get Shingles vaccines? Varicella Zoster has no cure, is self limiting and does not leave the body. No cure for Chicken Pox why would anyone believe a vaccine is a cure for Shingles. I know so many people that have taken the double boost Shingles vaccine and still got it. Seems the anti-viral may be a better option if you get it.

I just got my second shingles vac and the second Hep B yesterday- one in each arm. Feel no pain on he Hep B arm, but the shingle arm hurts like a mother.

Getting my second dose next week. I've seen it and it don't look fun.

I had the same experience. Small area that responded well to acyclovir. Itchy for a few days and that was it. I think the key was to get on acyclovir quickly.

Hmm...I was planning on getting my first Shingrix shot sometime this week.
I just looked and it says Acyclovir is available over-the-counter.

Though I've never had a flue vax, I did get both the Shingles and Covid ones a few years ago. Lets face it .... people are different, and both the viruses and vaccines can vary. Some get the Shingles and it's minor and some wish they were dead. Some get Covid and it's minor, and some ended up dead. I've known some of both fwiw for both the viruses and end result. No one I know had side effects from the vaxes.

Higgins had a thread about Shingles back when.... and that got me off my azz :D

At my last Dr. visit, he strongly recommended the latest covid booster, flu, pneumonia, and shingles shots.
In the last two months I have done all of them except the shingles shot.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/symptoms-causes/syc-20353054
(the quote below isn't the entire text of the link above, only an excerpt)
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/shingles

https://www.healthline.com/health/senior-health/shingles-elderly

The chances of having the major complications may be low, and the vaccine may not be a cure, but if it's 90% effective...

And it's probably not quite as dangerous for the average person in good health in their 50s, but when you get into your 60s, 70s, or even 80s, and your body is weakening and slowing down (including your immune system) a lot, my guess is that the chances for more serious issues start really ramping up.

I'm game for a vaccine that reduces my chance of shingles.

acyclovir can help once you get shingles. according to the stuff that I posted, if you believe it, the vaccine is 90% effective at preventing it.

maybe never get it vs it was only painful for a few days. (that's assuming you get a mild case and don't end up with any of the more severe or permanent issues)

I got the single dose shingles shot many years ago. Then the doctor said the new two shot vaccine is the thing to get, so I did.

A couple of years ago I had a very sore area on my stomach, next to my navel, about the size of my hand. It was weird in that the sheet touching it was painful, yet if I laid my hand on the area it did not really hurt.

There was no rash or evidence of anything on the surface. I saw my doctor and he said sometimes shingles can be under the skin, and on the dermis layer. It was several months of discomfort, but not too bad. The Doc speculated the vaccine has spared me a severe shingles attack.

My mom got shingles, and she said it was at least twice as painful as childbirth. I sure don't want that pain.

I had shingles in my twenties and it was miserable. I get all the shots, flu , shingles, Covid etc. I haven’t had a cold in three years. Maybe it’s because I’m still anti social.

If available OTC, it would be worth having it in the house. These days it can take weeks or more to get in to see a GP.

The question that remains unclear is if you’ve had shingles once, how helpful is a vaccine? I’ve read a variety of responses.

At the risk of controversy, I believe in vaccines and had the new dual dose shingles vaccine. It was never a question whether to get the vaccine. Also have had all flu and Covid vaccines and boosters and never had Covid. A friend had shingles and that is something I never want to experience. It put him out of commission for a few months.

My wife and 2 friends had shingles shots. All 3 got shingles within 2 weeks.

Did you know there's internal shingles? That's what my wife got. That really sucks. Took her 6 months to feel sorta normal but hasn't been as healthy since. 5 years now.

No Covid for either one of us. Glad for that. It would have killed her. We still wear masks.

Just now back from getting my first of two shingrix shots.
Patient consent form took 10 times longer to fill out than getting the shot.:)

Second one only after two months and less than four months.

When I need information on irrigation systems, I go to the irrigation guys. I think most smart people would.

And yet, I know of people who are so smart that they regularly out-think the medical community. I am not one of those people. I did the Shingrix, Flu and Covid booster during the past several months.

I went to the doctor because I had flu like symptoms and a sore above my ear that wasn’t healing normally. I knew when my doc said in his own words “Oh man, it sucks to be you” that I was in for it. Never felt pain like that before. It was like someone was constantly driving nails into the side of my head. Shingles sucks.

^^^ How long did it last and what did the Dr. give you?

Got Shingles like 15y ago, unpleasant ! Whenever I'm (more) stressed out (than usual), the effing thing tries to come back, same spot, I can feel it trying, if you had it you know how it feels under the skin... One time I even got the antiviral meds just in case, to nip it in the bud. So yeah, not messing around with this, got the 2 shots last year - totally worth it ! I'd get them each year if necessary !!! That's how much I never want shingles again ! (and also I need to chill)

Dr gave him a prognosis of a really crappy period ahead. :eek:

I think that if "sucks to be you" is the best your Drs got for you, that can't be good.

I knew some folks that were in their late teens (HS Senior or first year or two of college) that had it. They were in excruciating pain (wearing a shirt or being under a sheet in bed was almost too much). I've heard here and from some folks at work that have had it as older folks. Most of what I hear is that the pain is REALLY bad.

I don't like pain. I've always tried to avoid it when and as much as possible. I got the vaccine.

And when you're older, the possibilities for long term or permanent or more serious complications go up. I've always been pretty darn healthy. I don't get sick often, don't have many medical issues, etc.... I'm trying to keep it that way.

I know a guy (a farmer that worked manual labor his whole life) that had it in his 70's and he told me that it was the worst pain that he ever had.

Yep, in the grand scheme of things, I haven't had to deal with much physical pain in my life. I'm not looking to radically change my bell curve or set any new records.

I had that PHN crap for months after the infection passed.

Yeah, I had a thread about this after I recovered from it. I essentially had no rash, just a wee tiny one that I could not even feel on my right bicep.

The ensuing nerve pain, however, I would not wish on anyone. I think most of us have had a tooth numbed prior to dental work. That pain when that infernal little needle first finds the nerve at the root of your tooth? Imagine that level of pain, running all the way from your earlobe all the way down your arm and into your thumb and forefinger. 24/7, unremitting, position or activity insensitive, without relief. For two months.

Impossible to sleep through the pain. Eventually, after two, three days, your body finally shuts down in spite of the pain and you "sleep". For maybe an hour or two, if you're lucky. Then the cycle starts anew. NOTHING the medical community has to offer even begins to touch the pain.

If I remember correctly, "only" about 16% of those who contract shingles experience the nerve pain component of it to this degree. Most folks will get over this part of it in "only" a couple of months. A couple of months. We're the ones that get off "easy". Some go for a full year. The next "gateway" after that is two years. If it does not resolve by then, it can be a life sentence. Many of those given that news simply choose to end it. I was, in all honesty, ready to do that after "only" two months.

There is simply no way to describe to another human who has not experienced this what this level of pain, unrelenting pain, is like. I lived through it, and it seems kind of surreal to me at this point. Did I really do that? Is that even possible? It all seems like such a dramatization, so overblown and exaggerated. Believe me, it's not.

And, yes, the vaccine will lessen the symptoms should you be unlucky enough to contract shingles. I was not vaccinated when I went through this. I am now...

So you're saying "it's no big deal, don't worry about it"?

I have two siblings that are older than me.
I always compare what they encounter (health-wise) to my life.

They are in their mid 70's and no problems with their health.
I'm good to go. :)

I didn’t see improvement for two weeks. They gave me a couple of drugs, an antibiotic, and something else I don’t remember, and oh yeah, a butt ton of Vicodin which didn’t even touch the pain.

When I got the shingles I was racing Mountain Bikes and training every night after working 10 hours. The doctor said that my immune system was just run into the ground from fatigue. The first sore started right where the strap of my helmet came down around my ear. I thought it was just a wear sore but it wouldn’t go away. Then I got flu like symptoms and my training partner, who is a heart surgeon told me to get to my doctor.

Had it on my head and down my face below my eye and had nerve issues for 10 years until it finally resolved. I have a script for the vaccine and just need to get it done