Oy. Shingles.

[koshergrl]

Yeah, shingles is NOT a one-time thing. It can be, but most people continue to have flare ups for the rest of their lives. They may not be as severe as the first.

It's a herpes virus. It's not going anywhere.

 

[Sunshine]

they do recommend the shingles vaccine for adults. The problem is that is a very expensive vaccine, about $300 bucks....and most insurances don't cover it.

My doctor wanted me to take the vaccine, but I had titers done when I started nursing school. They were really high, so I refused it. I don't really think I will ever get it. The vaccine would be just an expense with no beneficial effects for me, but people who have a low varicella titer should definitely get it.

If you want the advice of someone who has been there, get the vaccine.

I am familiar with the disease. I am also familiar with the fact that if you had a good case of chicken pox and have a high titer of antibodies which go after the virus, you don't need the shot.

 

[Sunshine]

they do recommend the shingles vaccine for adults. The problem is that is a very expensive vaccine, about $300 bucks....and most insurances don't cover it.

My doctor wanted me to take the vaccine, but I had titers done when I started nursing school. They were really high, so I refused it. I don't really think I will ever get it. The vaccine would be just an expense with no beneficial effects for me, but people who have a low varicella titer should definitely get it.

The way i see it, i would rather have it then not... a little protection is better then none.

It is protection I don't need. My titer of antibodies is exceedingly high. Some people don't have a very good case of chicken pox so their antibody titer isn't high enough to keep them from getting it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

My doctor wanted me to take the vaccine, but I had titers done when I started nursing school. They were really high, so I refused it. I don't really think I will ever get it. The vaccine would be just an expense with no beneficial effects for me, but people who have a low varicella titer should definitely get it.

If you want the advice of someone who has been there, get the vaccine.

I am familiar with the disease. I am also familiar with the fact that if you had a good case of chicken pox and have a high titer of antibodies which go after the virus, you don't need the shot.

I am familiar with that also, it seems about as reasonable as believing that vaccines cause autism.

 

[Gracie]

My doctor wanted me to take the vaccine, but I had titers done when I started nursing school. They were really high, so I refused it. I don't really think I will ever get it. The vaccine would be just an expense with no beneficial effects for me, but people who have a low varicella titer should definitely get it.

Just be very very careful about seemingly "normal" prescription medication that doctors might prescribe just to get you out of the office so they can keep their golf date. Many drugs that you can probably do without actually lower your immune system. The fine print that drug companies have to tell you by law include some horrific stuff and fatal episodes.

I am an NP. Retired as of today. So.........

Hey! Congrats on your retirement! Now go enjoy your life, have fun, laugh alot and just enjoy!!!

 

[Toro]

My father is healing from that now. I feel for you.

 

[Sunshine]

Hey! Congrats on your retirement! Now go enjoy your life, have fun, laugh alot and just enjoy!!!

Going to give it my best shot!

 

[Gracie]

I don't know if it's the pills he gave me or if it's due to being a mild case..or both..but it is disappearing and the pain spurts are not as common. Still hurts like a bee sting but I still have not had to take another vicodin. Thank you Lord.

 

[Gracie]

Doc went to his private office while I waited in the room, because he said he was going to "look up the nerve paths". Which got me curious. In the diagram below, mine is right where it says L3 on the knee on the guy. EXACTLY where the letters L3 are printed. He traced a path with his finger...from my lower back where the nerves are, around my thigh to my knee and down my calf. I wanted to see what he found, so I went hunting. And if my posts about this bothers anyone..sorry. But at least you will be informed if this ever affects you and those you love. Forewarned is better than going "huh?" like I did.

Some are not so lucky.

More diagrams in the link below. Warning. Some gnarly pics you might not want to see.

https://www.google.com/search?q=shi...qaZiQLHhYGgDQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=853&bih=610

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Knock it off.

 

[Sunshine]

I don't know if it's the pills he gave me or if it's due to being a mild case..or both..but it is disappearing and the pain spurts are not as common. Still hurts like a bee sting but I still have not had to take another vicodin. Thank you Lord.

You can feel like crap for a while.

 

[Gracie]

I don't know if it's the pills he gave me or if it's due to being a mild case..or both..but it is disappearing and the pain spurts are not as common. Still hurts like a bee sting but I still have not had to take another vicodin. Thank you Lord.

You can feel like crap for a while.

Half crap today!

Tired, but no pain pills!

 

[Gracie]

btw..I just talked to my sister. She said Mama had it on her chest a few years before she passed on. Sis has not gotten it but is afraid she will. I asked her, since she is older, if she remembered me having chicken pox and was it really bad...and she said no...it hardly affected me from what she could recollect. Maybe that is why mine is a mild case? She said hers was mild too. And we had the mumps but she doesn't remember if we had measles. She is going to look in our baby book and call me back tonight.

New doc I see next week wants ALL my family history and sis knows more than I do since she is the eldest.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

My doctor wanted me to take the vaccine, but I had titers done when I started nursing school. They were really high, so I refused it. I don't really think I will ever get it. The vaccine would be just an expense with no beneficial effects for me, but people who have a low varicella titer should definitely get it.

Just be very very careful about seemingly "normal" prescription medication that doctors might prescribe just to get you out of the office so they can keep their golf date. Many drugs that you can probably do without actually lower your immune system. The fine print that drug companies have to tell you by law include some horrific stuff and fatal episodes.

I am an NP. Retired as of today. So.........

Yeah, well sorry if this offends you, but you're the very people who blithely tell us that these medications are "okay." So you don't necessarily have a higher level of awareness about the risks. In fact, the medical community seems to hav a pretty laid-back attitude towards these powerful medications, etc.

My gynecologist once handed me a free sample of Welbutrin to take for my panic attacks/anxiety, said he would write me a prescription if it helped. Or if I "liked it," as he said. Luckily, I researched before taking them and found out that Welbutrin can often make panic attacks WORSE. Needless to say, they went in the trash where they belong.

And he was an MD, not just an NP.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

If y'all have insurance and can get the vaccine...I'd probably recommend it cuz this is NOT fun...even though it is mild. I don't do the flu shots either, but I'm going to start doing them this winter. Had the flu in January right after my surgery, compliments of the ex roomie. I don't ever want that again. And I never want another outbreak of Shingles either. That guy on the commercial is right. You do NOT want this.

I don't do the flu shots and have never had the flu.

The shingles aren't going to kill you, so I think I'll hold off on the shingles vaccine. Shingles don't kill you. Maybe they make you wish you were dead, but they don't kill you. And I don't think I had chicken pox as a kid, so i'm not at risk.

I mainly worry about stuff that will kill me. The flu can, but I seem to have a natural immunity, God knows why, so i don't mess around with those nasty flu shots.

I'd rather build my immune system through a healthy lifestyle.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

If y'all have insurance and can get the vaccine...I'd probably recommend it cuz this is NOT fun...even though it is mild. I don't do the flu shots either, but I'm going to start doing them this winter. Had the flu in January right after my surgery, compliments of the ex roomie. I don't ever want that again. And I never want another outbreak of Shingles either. That guy on the commercial is right. You do NOT want this.

I don't do the flu shots and have never had the flu.

The shingles aren't going to kill you, so I think I'll hold off on the shingles vaccine. Shingles don't kill you. Maybe they make you wish you were dead, but they don't kill you. And I don't think I had chicken pox as a kid, so i'm not at risk.

I mainly worry about stuff that will kill me. The flu can, but I seem to have a natural immunity, God knows why, so i don't mess around with those nasty flu shots.

I'd rather build my immune system through a healthy lifestyle.

If you did not have chicken pox you can get chicken pox as an adult, which is actually more dangerous.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

My parents insisted that I get chicken pox. When one of my friends got it, they brought me over for a "play date" specifically so I would catch it from him.

 

[JakeStarkey]

And he was an MD, not just an NP.

How many years of medical school have you had? You, my dear, are an idiot, a self-infatuated narcissist.

 

[MHunterB]

I was extremely precocious: I got shingles when I was in second grade. Really. I was sick all through spring vacation week and the week after that, couldn't go to school because I was contagious.....I remember huge needles in my bottom, ? gamma globulin, I think - and being put under ?infrared light or something : ((

Not a fun time, not at all.....

 

[Gracie]

My health was kick ass 2 years ago. Want an engine pulled with or without the bell housing? Need a fence installed in your front yard? Want that antique dresser delivered? No problem! No, no need to call someone. I can do it myself.

Until I got RA. Then my immune system got shot all to hell and back. I have never had the flu either...until the roommate brought it home. Swine flu. I was 1 month out of surgery for my mastectomy. I STILL have a cough due to that damn flu. It was awful. So yeah..I will take a flu shot for the first time in my life because I am 60 now, and my body needs the help fighting whatever wants to land in me.

I don't take anything for the RA. The "remedy" for RA is worse than the RA itself. Most of the drugs I see on tv all state "do not take if you are prone to infections", or "May cause lymphoma", etc etc etc. But a flu shot? Yeah. No problem. But I gotta look it up before i do it. I google everything.

And, no, I may not die of shingles, but my nerves can. Or rather, not die, but instead make me be in agony where I wish I WAS dead.