so when chris got home i told him i had shingles. by then i’d learned at least that it was a chickenpox thing and not some incurable VD of the back. and he was actually alarmed about the pain i must be in, which to tell you the truth i only became fully aware of when i figured out that it wasn’t me being a wussie about a little rash. i mean, knowing it’s nerve pain and not just skin pain sure explained the shooting stabs of electricity making me jump here and then you know? or maybe you don’t. hopefully you have no idea.
anyway he was sweet enough to head out for beer and bayer, which, four of each has got me feeling well enough to enjoy the vernal equinox summer solstice nicktoons special.
as good as it is to know that i wasn’t just being a wimp about some welts, knowing that it’s associated with severe pain freed me up to feel more of it — then again, knowing i’ve had this all week and just got on with my life, means i’m not that much of a wussie afterall.
and i totally have a new bottle of aspirin. and some more beers. and nicktoons all night. i’m ok.
lol, yeah beer and aspirin will do the trick and yes, you’ll be fine. take it easy and have a good night.
thanks Kat. i’m watching spongebob with my kid, and i actually feel pretty good. fairly oddparents up next!
ok, not to speak for the whole medical community but-
it’s unacceptable that your doctor didn’t give you pain meds. Shingles HURT. And anyone can get them- the varicella virus IS part of the herpes family but (as you have learned) causes chickenpox NOT vd. I’d get a new doctor who still likes her job if I were you.
OK, sorry, done with the defensive part. Hope you’re feeling better!
i’m very angry with that doctor right now. i had to come home to the internet to learn about what was wrong with me – it took a comment by wKen for me to make the connection between what he called it, “herpes zoster” and chickenpox. and i didn’t ask for anything for pain because i thought, at the point i was in the doctor’s office, that i was being a wussie about a rash.
and that was wrong. he had the power to help me feel better and what he did was make me think i had vd. he even *mentioned* genital herpes in conjunction with the diagnosis. i don’t have that. i never had.
i cried for nearly an hour.
Just got back and read all the comments. Everyone is right. Get a new doctor. I had chickenpox when I was 20, and shingles when I was about 30. It felt like my skin was burned. In fact, I was an electrician at the time, and thought at first that it must have come from a bad shock I had received. I finally went to the doctor, and he explained what I had and gave me pain pills and a steroid. Cleared it right up. Both of my kids had just had chickenpox, so I guessed that maybe that was the trigger, though I’m not sure how. Anyway, that was horrible for the doctor to make you think you had an STD or something. I hope you get better soon, and change doctors.
i’ve just changed health insurance, so this was the urgent care at my new HMO doctors, because i couldn’t get an appt. with any regular doctor. my permanent doctor will hopefully be more competent. i am still in disbelief about the things he said.
and wKen, thanks for your initial comment, it meant a lot and helped me figure this out.
I had no idea that chicken pox could return again to haunt you, tho I had heard of shingles. Damn, kd. Take the weekend off, and Monday too if you can.
I had nasty chicken pox as a kid and in fact infected my entire class because I didn’t get diagnosed quickly. Gee, do you have a link for me to learn about shingles? I need to start wondering if I should feel any future guilt over potential shingles others may have because of me! Heh.
Ok, just read the link you put in the comments in the last post – serves me right for not reading your posts in order!
shit…i just am getting caught up on all this. you poor honey..that hurts so bad. i am mighty pissed at that doctor…i wish you a very speedy recovery, miss kd.
Oh no poor kd!!!
Shingles is the worst! I thought I had it, once, but what I had was ptyriasis rosea – better in that it’s not painful, worse in that as far as western medicine is there’s no demographic pattern, no cure, and not even any treatment at all. (that’s not to say I didn’t find/apply 2 of those three, but still I looked like a Cardassian for a good 3 weeks)
I used to get spontaneous nervous freakouts in my legs, like someone dropping molten lead onto my skin and it streaming around. Thank god my life is a little simpler now. I’m so sorry you’re in pain; I hope he kicks you down some nice percocet or something.
kd, i have to share this with another human, and it’s gonna be you. did you see the spot with Spongebob and Plankton, during today’s Summer Pick Nick? (maybe not, but either way, i’m talking about it.) something like this:
Spongebob: would you rather take over the world or eat a Krabby Patty?
Plankton: eat a Kr– take over the World!
Spongebob: ok, would you rather take over the world, or kiss Helga G. Pataki?
Plankton: WHAAA??? bu-but, how did you KNOW?
Spongebob: it’s totally obvious. (*sly grin*) everybody knows, you can totally tell.
Plankton: (proceeds to freak out and go on about having to choose between love of life Helga or world domination.)
HA HA!
Oh, kd…I’m sorry yr feeling sick, and even more sorry that your doctor is an insensitive butthole. I hope you fell better soon, and I hope your HMO will let you switch doctors…
not having an HMO (what???!!!) I don’t know if this is possible – but can’t you file a complaint to the medical board about the jackass doctor’s insensitivity and his insinuations???? I certainly would think about it
my grandmother had shingles in the 60′s and my SIL had them a few years ago – they were miserable. It’s okay to crab with us – OKAY??? OKAY!!!
>..
i got acyclovir, keflex, and (yay) vicodin.
vicodin rocks. pain sucks. vicodin gets rid of the pain and makes you happy in the process.
hmmmmm.
kd, I had shingles around my back. I went to a walk-in doc, who told me to use Calamine Lotion. It wasn’t getting better, so I went to a dermotologist who had a fit that any doctor would want to use Calamine Lotion for shingles.
I used some kind of soaking solution, which made it better. I can’t remember the name, but its like “B____ Soaks” available over the counter. Shingles is an irritation of the nerve root, so that is why you feel the pain. It WILL go away. Usually brought on my stress…
like you didn’t already know that!!
I think at this point, since you really weren’t a wussie the first time, you can ACT like the worlds biggest wussie and whine until you get a prescription for pain meds that is life-time refillable!
Hang in there – I have never had shingles, but know some who have and I have heard that it is incredible painful!
Well, also be careful with vicodin, If you are subject to panic attacks, as I am, then they an really f*ck with you and your head. Learn from my awful experience!
(*(*(*kd*)*)*)
Definitely get the pain meds, Insist on them in fact. Throw a big ol hissy fit if needed, after all you deserve to. And then when you are feeling better – or why wait until then, send a letter to your HMO and your insurance co about the awful treatment that you received from this doctor. It might not make a big difference to them, but it will make you feel better-and then again, it might make a difference.
mmm, no, i’m fine with the vicodin, it’s one of my favorite things. makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. and take naps and stuff. and what’s even cooler is that ordinary saturdays involve me stressing about oh, i have to get off the computer and clean this and that, and today i had not a thing to worry about – laying around on the couch, sit up and surf, lay down again, etc.
the only bad thing is that my kid’s energy level really conflicts with my narcotic state of mind – for at least two hours this afternoon he would be playing his digimon game and talking and talking and every five seconds “i won” and i’m all shhhh don’t harsh my buzz, kid.
and the pain relief is the best. it really is.
kd–I really hope you get those pain meds soon! Yikes! Shingles are the pits.
If you’re taking the keflex, also TAKE ACIDOPHOLUS WHEN YOU EAT.
Keflex is nifty at killing all bacteria that live in/on human hosts (like a skin infection), but some of those guys you want to keep around. Particularly the “intestinal flora.” Seriously, get some acidopholus gelcaps, eat them with every meal, and you won’t… (ahem)… be miserably bloated for the next 2 weeks.
What a bastard that doctor is! Ooohhhh, I like all of these ideas. You shouldn’t let anyone get away with treating you like that, KD.
Hope you feel MUCH better soon!!!
Holy Shit!!!!
would taking baths in Aveno (aveeno?) help?
That what we did with the kids with chickenpox, or else we would have been suicidal!
Feel better babe & I’m sorry.
so i called them and the fucking doctor didn’t write down that i had shingles. so if i want pain meds, i have to go back. wait more hours and hours. with my son this time. and pay another twenty dollars.
so i called my insurance hotline and filed a complaint that (a) the doctor mentioned genital herpes in conjuntion with telling me what was wrong with me, while *not* mentioning chickenpox, and (b) that he then failed to note that in my chart, necessitating a return visit.
i’ll still have to pay, but at least i’ve got the satisfaction of reporting this.
God, what a f$ck that guy was. I’m really sorry you’re under the weather. That really sucks. Feel better soon:) *hugs*
good for you hun! let us all know how this turns ok? get some meds, get some rest and get that bastard in trouble…lol
Hey KD, I’m up by Dr. D’s house. We read your post. He suggests Valtrex (Valaciclovir) as the antiviral and Neurontin (Gabapentin) for the pain. (The names in brackets are the generic names for the drugs) If you don’t take the Valtrex within 72 hours of the onset of the illness, it won’t have much effect. Oh, I hope that %$*#^ doctor gave you sick leave, its contagious… Good luck with it.
sorry i’m behind on reading or i could have told you about the chicken pox connection too. i had shingles on my scalp last year, very close to the ear. you can lose your hearing and even your sight if it gets too close, so it’s good that it’s on your back. otoh, you may find it painful to wear clothes! did the doc give you acyclovir? the sooner you get it after the first rash, the sooner the pain will go away.
i’ve just spent the last few drunken hours talking to good friends, and putting keri lotion (which friends and i determined was the least harmful topical ointment in the house) on the itch — when you have enough beer and bayer, the shooting pain turns to ITCH ITCH ITCH.
and i’m going to continue to pursue home remedies. and in the morniing call back my HMO’s urgent care and SCREAM about the PAIN not because i can’t handle it, but because i am fond of pain medication and right now i DESERVE SOME FUN.
i can’t scratch it. i need colloidal oatmeal and calamine lotion and aloe/tea tree/lidocaine lotion. which i have, but my son lost it somewhere, because we used it when the fleas bit us.
am i rambling? i am.
i love my friends for telling me what an ass my HMO’s urgent care “doctor” was. i know what’s wrong now, and i will get better.
owww. shh, i didn’t say that. i’m ok.
Hi, I am new to this chat room. Any suggestions from any of you to help me cope with (just diagnosed with shingles)and I have chronic fatigue,fibromyalgia and sever depression. HELP!