No, I don’t have shingles again, but I noticed that it’s one of the biggest searches that brings people here. To skip to posts that mention shingles, click here.
I’ve had shingles three times. The very first time, I had no clue what it was. Each time thereafter I did. There have been clear signs that I was going to have a case. In advance of the rash, I felt generally unwell. My most recent outbreak was on the left side of my head, and was preceded by an earache, headache and sore throat just on that side. Each time, the skin in the area where the rash would soon appear was extremely sensitive and sometimes felt almost as a burning sensation, but very mild.
Once the rash appears, there can be itching and sharp stinging. Sometimes the stinging is enough to make me say ouch! Even after the rash clears up, there’s still some stinging and itching. It eventually wears off, but I still have itching on my head where the rash used to be. Certain spots are still extremely sensitive at times.
I’ve been told that it’s necessary to start an anti-viral such as Famvir as soon as possible to lessen the likelihood of post herpetic neuralgia, but that it will not be effective if started too late. If the rash has been present for more than 3 days, it may not do any good to be on an anti-viral. Some myeloma patients are on an anti-viral persistently in an effort to prevent the ocurrance of shingles. I’ve not done that, because I don’t like the side effects of the drug Famvir, which gives me headaches.
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is the same thing that causes chicken pox. If you have never had chicken pox, you won’t get shingles. You can get chicken pox from someone who has shingles though!
More about shingles
I don’t really blog much anymore, because I’m not being treated for my multiple myeloma these days. It’s been pretty stable for nearly six years. I try not to live in the myeloma world too much. Actually, I don’t really even try. It just works out that way. When I first learned I had myeloma, back in 2003, it was all I could think about, from the time I woke up in the morning, until the time I went to sleep. I’ve talked to a lot of people who experienced the same sort of involuntary obsessive thoughts about the disease. It’s a strange feeling. You know there’s something inside you that’s trying to kill you, and you can’t stop thinking about it. The farther you get from your last treatment, the less you think about it.
