shingles symptoms?

Any of you folks who have had shingles, did you have any symptoms BEFORE the rash appeared?

Thanks.

LW Bercini said:

Any of you folks who have had shingles, did you have any symptoms BEFORE the rash appeared?

Thanks.

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Haven't had them, but I did have the chicken pox as a kid, so I'm planning on getting the vaccine (not old enough (45) for it to be covered by insurance).

My Step Father had them, and it was apparently excruciating.

I've heard that getting the vaccination after they appear is less effective than getting the shot before they appear, but it does still help.

Praying your not going through this. If you are, get the shot ASAP, if not get the shot ASAP.

God Bless!
Jim

I never had them, but my wife did. She described it as a thin line of pain (burning, spikey pain?) going horizontally across her back radiating outwards from the spine. A few days later, the rash appeared in the same spot that the pain appeared. I don't remember it too well, but I don't think there was much of a delay between the onset of the pain and the rash itself- maybe just a day or two?

Hope this isn't happening to you! My wife was pretty miserable with it, as she was also several months pregnant at the time.

I've had them. OMG. For me it was an 11 on a 1-to-10 pain scale. It was bad enough that I had to take Codiene.

The rash and pain started at the same time. There were no prior Sx that I recall.

All the best, James

Pain. It's only on one side of your body. I recall feeling the pain before the rash showed up. Because I had chest and arm pain, the doctor made me go to the ER even though we all pretty much knew it was shingles, not a heart attack. They gave me morphine for the pain. Good stuff. You still feel the pain, you just don't care. I hope you don't get it. It hurts. A lot. But I did get through it.

Joe


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I had neck and shoulder pain that felt severe and muscular in nature. The rash developed the next day. If you get on antiviral medication within 24hrs of the 1st symptoms it is supposed to reduce duration and severity. Anything that might help is worth trying! I know I got off easy, but it still convinced me that Hell is a very real place.

Had them. Very painful. Deep ache in lower back, and I had them on both sides. Rash came up after the deep pain started and both continued for another week+.

Lyrica is suppose to work well for Shingles pain. It is a nerve pain blocker, nonnarcotic and stopped badly pinched nerve pain for me on 2 different occasions. So if you do have it try Lyrica, one pill for 12 hour relief, no addiction and you feel like you are 2 beers down the first day or 2.

For me, no warning prior. The rash started at the same time the pain started and the pain was immense. It left a neat scar to remind me of the good times.

For me there was basically no warning. It tracks down a nerve tree...mine went over the top of my head all the way into one eyelid. Hurt a lot but survivable, I didn't have to take much of the Vicodin.

I had a line of rash bumps that started in the center of my chest and went under my right pectoral to the center of my spine on my back. Hurt like Hell!!, got that Valtrex stuff and seemed to help. I wouldn't wish that on almost anybody (well, child molesters and Taliban members can have it).

Adrian

NUFF SAID! I have no symptoms, but LW and I are the same age. I'll go get a shot now. Hell, our Bi-Lo grocery store offers them. Prolly not that expensive.

The best way I can describe the pain I felt, it was like being beat in the lower back with a baseball bat with nails sticking out of it. If the intense stinging and burning didn't hurt bad enough, the crippling feeling of blunt trauma was there to top it off.

For all you men that have experienced Shingles pain in the mid/lower back area, they say it is equivalent to birth pangs for women.

djs said:

I never had them, but my wife did. She described it as a thin line of pain (burning, spikey pain?) going horizontally across her back radiating outwards from the spine. A few days later, the rash appeared in the same spot that the pain appeared. I don't remember it too well, but I don't think there was much of a delay between the onset of the pain and the rash itself- maybe just a day or two?

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It can be a burning to itching rash also. It can have tingling. The rash is a bumps with small blisters (like chicken pox) but it located in a nerve pattern and is usually one sided.

One think is certain: it is not the same in all patients.

My MIL just got over her attack of the shingles. Hers started as a hives like rash just below her shoulder on her back. Extreme itching/tingling, and then shooting pains. She waited a week and a half to get to the doctor, as the rash kept getting worse. Took Valtrex, among her other nerve pills (had a triple artery dissection 4 years ago - basically 3 mini strokes at once). Took several weeks to clear up; however, was past the contagion stage within a month. She's 46 y/o.

For me it was an intense burning sensation radiating laterally from mid back along costal margin of rib cage over time before there was any rash. OMG I have such respect for folks who can function with chronic pain. It changes your whole outlook on life and not for the good. At least my shingles resolved after a few weeks. BTW, I suspect my case was triggered by exposure to paint solvents and not wearing gloves. Lesson learned.

At 54 years old, I got Chicken Pox for the first time. It was a bitch. I hope I have a few years before I need to get the shingles vaccine.

I spent a really unpleasant month this spring with shingles. Mine were where the sun doesn't shine. I don't think there was any advanced warning but I did have a cold for a week before. All the above descriptions of the pain are accurate. The antiviral stopped it from spreading pretty fast but the pain persisted for quite a while. My doctor told me to take Advil for the pain.

My uncle had them, and it seemed like it was kicked off by a bad sore throat for a few days followed by a week of a maddening itch across his back. I happened to be visiting after that and got there when the actual lesions were appearing. By that time the itch had turned to pain.

Geez! These vaccinations cost $225 if you don't have insurance.

Gary Byrum said:

Geez! These vaccinations cost $225 if you don't have insurance.

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And they're a live virus vaccine. Some people (like me) can't do those.

billspad said:

And they're a live virus vaccine. Some people (like me) can't do those.

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Can you elaborate a little? What condition would keep someone from taking this vaccine?

dixontj93060 said:

For all you men that have experienced Shingles pain in the mid/lower back area, they say it is equivalent to birth pangs for women.

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I'd like to hear that from a woman, if you don't mind.
(I'm not saying that it's not true... just I'd like someone with firsthand knowledge to make that comparison....)

Gary Byrum said:

Geez! These vaccinations cost $225 if you don't have insurance.

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Yeah, it ain't cheap... the local Kroger pharmacist is pushing them. (I think he gets a cut!) but it ain't cheap.

If you had chicken pox before, you're at risk for it later in life...as an adult.
(We lost my secretary/assistant for 4 weeks to it back in 1988. Worst month of my life as a manager. I had to do all her work as well as mine, and nobody gave a crap. I quit two months later. Nobody gave a damn that I was working that hard. She took over my job when I left. She was welcome to it. She's the only person who knew the job inside and out!)

Kirk G said:

I'd like to hear that from a woman, if you don't mind.
(I'm not saying that it's not true... just I'd like someone with firsthand knowledge to make that comparison....)

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My doctor is a woman. She's the one that said it.

Kirk G said:

Yeah, it ain't cheap... the local Kroger pharmacist is pushing them. (I think he gets a cut!) but it ain't cheap.

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I actually did some shopping around, even talked to the local health dept., and they can't make a profit from anything. Their quote was $212. So your Kroger pharm guy ain't makin too much, if any.

Gary Byrum said:

Can you elaborate a little? What condition would keep someone from taking this vaccine?

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A less than perfect immune system.