[Hitch]

So...it appears I have Shingles (English) (for whatever that parenthetical means).

If you are 60+ and you've had Chicken Pox, and have not been vaccinated therefor, I beg you, I urge you, to ask your doctor or clinic or drugstore about the vaccine. Trust me, you do not want the three days I've just had.

I thought it was a muscle spasm, at first (Friday). I took some muscle relaxers I had here and I also have pain mgmt meds due to arthritis in my spine. Saturday was more noticeable; my husband put a Lidocaine patch on my back and it helped a fair amount. But then we got into Sunday and the patch (new one) did nothing. By nighttime, i was in serious, serious, horrible pain. I really can't describe it--I couldn't sit, lie down...couldn't lie on the sofa, propped up on soft pillows, NOTHING. I had to walk around the house. Oddly enough (if this happens to you), it helped a bit to straighten my back and press it against doorjambs inside the house. Can't explain that. (FYI, the rash was not visible when my husband applied the patch! The paramedics didn't see it, either and they were applying doodads to my chest (very embarrassing, all men) and my back both and didn't see them. Don't assume that without the rash if you get symptoms this bad!!! See your doc at once.)

By 3:00am, my husband woke, due to thunderstorms here and I asked him to drive me to the hospital. It was that bad, but he has some night-blindness and it was pouring down, so he called me an ambulance. I'm not a crier. I swear it; I barely cry when family members die--which I know sounds awful, but it's just who I am--and I was crying all night long--the pain was that bad.

Anyway...I'm not big on disclosing the personal details of my life. I'm doing this--talking about arthritis, the pain meds (which I never, ever discuss, not even with family), etc. to let you know that even with a large dose of pain meds--if you have them--it does NOTHING. They gave me 3 larger doses of Dilaudid at the ER and it did NOTHING. I mean, nothing. It "pushed' My pain level down from 10 to about 8, but 8 is still effing bad.

PLEASE: if you are like me and you didn't get the vaccine, get it. My husband got it today and yes, he feels crappy tonight, but NOTHING like I went through. I can't tell you how incredibly bad the pain was. Don't let this happen to you. Don't, trust me. After all my years here on MR, I hope that at least some of you do.

I'm sitting up due to massive doses of anti-inflammatories and anti-virals and all sorts of other things. Yes, including Pain mgmt drugs in large quantities, which is probably contributing to this foolish decision to discuss my personal situation here.

Just...trust me on this.

Sorry, gotta go, can't sit here in my office more. Have no idea how my business is going to survive, either.

ETA: both the ER Nurse and Trauma/ER head doctor told me that when you have Shingles, people think you're crazy, that a "rash can't possibly hurt like that." Be aware of that, if God Forbid you got this.

Hitch