Tag: acyclovir

Shingles almost gone

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The shingles on my head - getting better

This is what my head looks like now.  The rash is gone.  There’s discoloration there, and the skin is extremely sensitive.  Sometimes it itches, too. I have another appointment to see the eye doctor on Tuesday, and I think it will be the last one for this.

If you’re wondering, the thing sticking out of my ear is from my iPod. This has been the first time I’ve tried to use it since before I had shingles. The virus caused pain even in my ear, which made it hurt to listen to music or even the telephone on that side. I still have headaches on the left side of my head, but they’re not as bad and not as constant as they were even a week ago.

You can see that my hair is growing. I hope to look half way normal by spring.

The picture was taken with PhotoBooth on the Mac, which, for reasons unknown to me, produces a mirror image.  So, when I talk of having shingles on the left side, it’s true.

More about shingles

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And I thought famvir made me sick

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On Friday I started taking famvir for an outbreak of shingles.  I knew from previous times that famvir gave me a pretty bad headache, but I thought I’d do it anyway and maybe this time it wouldn’t happen.  I withstood it for almost 4 full days, but then called the doctor to get something else. It was a wicked headache and I thought anything else had to be better.  I got the rx for acyclovir Tuesday and took my first dose with dinner. Pretty soon I was experiencing nausea.  Those of you who know me, know that this is a serious situation. I fought off the nausea for four hours and then finally had an episode of vomiting and diarrhea.  It was over fast, and probably not worth the four hours I spent trying to avoid it. We do what we do though, and it’s hard to overcome a phobia you’ve had all your life. This could have very well been a coincidence, but I attributed it to the acyclovir (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are reported possible side effects).  I called my doctor the next day, and a nurse asked me if I could tolerate the famvir headache for just 3 more days.  So, I’m back on famvir now.  Just a couple of days to go.  Afterwards, I will probably take one a day to help prevent a recurrence of shingles.

The eye doctor told me that he saw no internal goings-on in my eye.  Only the exterior was affected, including the eyelid (outside and inside).  I have an antibiotic ointment to apply twice daily and a return appointment next week.

I should expect to have a complete recovery anywhere from a few weeks to 6 weeks.

More about shingles

I just learned that shingles’ name comes from the Latin cingulum, which means girdle or belt. There’s a lot of useful information about shingles at the FDA web site.

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