Word of warning: Shingles hurt

[Tyjenks]

Not the roofing ones...the old guy ones.

You know the painful little nerve ending thingies that are a result of having chicken pox 30 years ago. If you do not know about it...... If you have had chicken pox, there is some residual part of that malady that hangs out in your nerve endings and shingles can be brought on through those nerve endings in the form of little bumps by stress and fatigue. I have maybe 12 little bumps in four clusters on my inner bicep, but they hurt like hell.

Anyways, word of warning, if you get a rash that looks like poison ivy/oak/etc. minus the itching , but with pain in the surrounding tissue and muscle, do not wait to see how the thing develops. If caught early enough, it can be treated more effectively with a quick shot in the ass and some 3 a day for 7 days horse pills. I waited five days and the doc said, "A little earlier detection woulda been nice." I said, "Fuck you I have been busy with work and school." Well, it came out, "Thanks for your help, sir."

First thing I thought of when I thought that this is what it was;

"Ned.....Ned Ryerson..Ned-the-head....Needle-nosed Ned....got the shingles real bad senior year; almost didn't graduate"

[Tim Partlett]

Yeah, a friend of mine who has travelled most of the world and suffered some horrible things, including intestinal ulcers and dysentery, reckons that shingles was the worst.

[Tyjenks]

That's encouraging. ;)

[Gordon Cameron]

Worst pain I have experienced so far was kidney stones. I'm not looking forward to finding out what bumps it off the top spot...

[DrDel]

Kidney stone pain is regarded as the worst pain evar.. so if you survived a kidney stone you can pretty much survive any kind of pain.

Peeps who have had kidney stones, given birth naturally and/or have had shingles always say that kidney stone pain is the worst pain they have ever experienced. Surprisingly, even having your leg or arm sawed off or getting shot isn't as painful as having a kidney stone (anecdotal evidence, of course).

The problem with shingles, unlike kidney stones, is that a good number of individuals can have chronic pain even after the rash goes away. Chronic pain to the point of permanent debilitation and/or even suicide.

If you do get this rash, whatever you do, try not to go to the Emerg. Emerg doctors have better things to do .. see your family doctor or go to a walk in clinic.

Also, don't go near any old/infirm/immunocompromised people as shingles are thought to be contagious via direct contact.

[Robert Sharp]

Also, don't go near any old/infirm/immunocompromised people as shingles are thought to be contagious via direct contact.

So, how am I supposed to make money on the weekends then?

[RepoMan]

....um, what exactly do you do on the weekends with all these oldsters, Robert?

[Tyjenks]

Also, don't go near any old/infirm/immunocompromised people as shingles are thought to be contagious via direct contact.

I think that is only if I pop the blisters and smear it on them. That is going to be hard to avoid in my daily comings and goings.

[Aleck]

Kidney stone pain is regarded as the worst pain evar.. so if you survived a kidney stone you can pretty much survive any kind of pain.

Peeps who have had kidney stones, given birth naturally and/or have had shingles always say that kidney stone pain is the worst pain they have ever experienced. Surprisingly, even having your leg or arm sawed off or getting shot isn't as painful as having a kidney stone (anecdotal evidence, of course).


Don't take this the wrong way, since I've been passing a stone every 18-24 months for the last 12 years: I can only imagine the pain from losing a limb has got to be worse than kidney stones. STones are *BAD*, but not amputation bad. That said, kidney stones redefine suck to new levels. As someone who has them chronically, I can only hope I didn't pass it along to my kid.

On a related note: will they give you good drugs for shingles? If you are in intense pain, most of the traditional pain meds (vicodin, percocet, etc.) do a reasonable job of taking the edge off. Provided you're in intense pain, they don't generally get you high, either (at least not in my experience).

On a less related note: Last time I had a stone, I popped a bunch of vicodin (which didn't help -- in fact, didn't even touch the pain, which was somewhat scary) and headed for the ER. The ER nurse told me to take a seat, despite the fact that I was writhing in pain at this point. It wasn't until I threw up from the pain (approx. 2 hours after entering the ER) that they admitted me.

The good part of this story is intravenous demerol. I went from unbelievable pain to joking with my wife in less than 30 seconds. It was the first time I ever understood why people get addicted to drugs. One of the best feelings in my life (although I was *NOT* happy when they took the IV away).

[Marsh Davies]

I didn't get any prescription painkillers for shingles, just antihistamines. It was pretty horrible though. I didn't scar, thankfully, but the areas on my trunk that were affected are still tender, like I have mild sunburn there, even after a few years.

Tyjenks - Commiserations. I hope you caught it early enough to avoid nerve damage/scarring. At least you didn't get it on your face though, eh?

[Tyjenks]

Yikes, Aleck!! I have nothing approaching that at the moment. I think I will not trade my shingles for a kidney stone or whatever is in the secret box. Maybe I will just shut up all together. I don't have cancer or anal fissures.

I have an idea, I think I will turn over a new leaf and not be a pussy from this day forward. Who is with me?!?!?!?!


EDIT: No, Marsh, my beatific face is mercifully still pristine.

[graller]

Shingles....had that about 5 years ago at the ripe old age of 36 :(

Man that sucked.

[Gordon Cameron]

Kidney stone pain is regarded as the worst pain evar.. so if you survived a kidney stone you can pretty much survive any kind of pain.

Woot!

[Robert Sharp]

....um, what exactly do you do on the weekends with all these oldsters, Robert?

I'm not supposed to talk about it.