Play doctor for me

[sumitomo]

Spud that's a good sign if it's not painful,herpes(shingles)can be very painful,usually before and during that blister stage,the chicken pox is a virus of the same nature and I understand our bodies can store it.I had a weird blister on my hand some years back on that is what it was,it came and went for awhile and it has not reoccured for a few years now,but it was painful,so I hope it's alright.Sumi

[Spudman***]

Sumi - I'm now starting to think that it is shingles. It hasn't responded to my scabies treatment. It's not really that painful but if I wrinkle my forehead where the worse part is then it does sting. I also feel run down and have had some other pains that could be associated with the outbreak. This is a real bummer. I have a gig this Friday and Saturday.

[marnold***]

Get to the doctor. If it is shingles, they can put you on anti-virals that will minimize the impact. If left untreated, shingles can cause permanent nerve damage which means you have permanent pain in that area. Forever. My wife had shingles on her head, near her eye. She didn't do anything about it now she gets recurring pain there (this despite my nagging to get to the doctor). Fortunately it didn't affect her eye directly since shingles there can result in vision loss.

[Spudman***]

Thanks for the advice Marnold.

[sunvalleylaw]

Mojo sent across state, brother! Go take care of your self and get well!

[duhvoodooman***]

It's really too bad how it made a lot of your hair fall out, Spuds....

[Spudman***]

It's really too bad how it made a lot of your hair fall out, Spuds....

That was a combination of going super fast on my bicycle and various acrobatic Kama Sutra positions. Give me a break. It was friction man!

Went to the clinic and got a scrip for anti virals. The PA confirmed mine, and your diagnoses, Shingles. My eye is starting to feel itchy so I knew that it was time to get on it. Other than feeling a little tired with a slight head ache I don't have the intensity of the symptoms, and that was throwing me off.

THANKS EVERYONE for all their input on this. I think we nailed it and I should be back to normal (minus the hair) in no time.

[otaypanky***]

That's what I was thinking when I saw the pics. I just found this thread today. My elderly mother got it about 6 years ago. She got it on the left quadrant of her face and scalp. Her face swelled up like she had been in the ring with Mike Tyson. It actually infected the interior of her eye and began to affect her vision. Perhaps because she is frail and her immune system is not what it used to be, but it stayed with her for a long time. In fact she still experiences shooting pains in the area that was affected. I sure hope you fare better than she did Spud

[Robert****]

I had it in 1999, got it just after a marathon. It was no fun! I can relate, Spud.

[Spudman***]

Certainly one of life's less pleasant experiences for me. I can still feel something going on behind my left eye but it's only been 11 days. I have a little swelling but all the spots are dry and mostly just pink skin. Nobody at the gigs last weekend even noticed, although I had a hat on.

Robert - I was training pretty hard and had some stress so that's probably why it surfaced in me too.

That's what I was thinking when I saw the pics. I just found this thread today. My elderly mother got it about 6 years ago. She got it on the left quadrant of her face and scalp. Her face swelled up like she had been in the ring with Mike Tyson. It actually infected the interior of her eye and began to affect her vision. Perhaps because she is frail and her immune system is not what it used to be, but it stayed with her for a long time. In fact she still experiences shooting pains in the area that was affected. I sure hope you fare better than she did Spud

[Tig***]

I had it in 1999, got it just after a marathon. It was no fun! I can relate, Spud.

The day or two after an endurance event puts our immune system at a very low level. Makes sense.

[sunvalleylaw]

Glad you are healing, dude! Now get rid of the sinus cheese too!

[marnold***]

If that didn't work, I was going to send you to this guy:

[Spudman***]

I've already been there. That's where I got my meds.

If that didn't work, I was going to send you to this guy:

[FrankenFretter***]

Sorry to hear about your shingles, Spud. I had that about 6 years ago, and didn't get any treatment. It went down my right arm, across my right pec, and on the back of my right shoulder. I now have PHN (Post Herpetic Neuralgia), the permanent pain that Sumi mentioned. I thought, because I had read about it, that it should only last a few months to a year, but it's been nearly 6 years now and hasn't improved. It's a bummer. Glad you got treatment, and may the force be with you for the duration of that most unpleasant condition.

[Spudman***]

12 days after it started all I have is some pink spots left now. It triggered a flare up of tinnitus in my left ear that is a little annoying. It's just a bit worse than it usually is. But since my immune system was taken down somewhat I managed to pick up the crud that is currently going around. I don't have it real bad though. Just a wee bit of lung butter and a headache, so that's good. My immune system recovered quickly enough to keep things from getting worse than they are now. I'm really hoping for no lingering nerve damage. I got away scott free when I had West Nile virus so I'm hoping for the best here as well.