Oh yes, or rather, oh no, it is definitely shingles. The red patch has resolved itself into a red swathe with bumps and I briefly contemplated clawing out my own throat as I tried to fall asleep last night. The itching, my god, the itching. On the plus side it still only hurts like a bad sunburn and not even the worst sunburn I have ever had, either.
Per your much appreciated advice I called the doctor's office first thing this morning and said I had changed my mind about the drugs. Better to get them and discover that I don't need them then to wake up tomorrow in such pain that I am forced to call around to friends, asking if they have any spare opium. That's how rumors get started in small towns, you know. So I spoke to the nurse who read me the note the doctor had left (I was amused that I had said no, no thanks, no narcotics and his note said: Patient will call for painkiller) and while I had her on the phone I also asked for something to help manage the itching. She asked if I had tried Aveeno with oatmeal and I laughed. Did I mention that IT REALLY REALLY ITCHES?
And hey! For those of us that cannot seem to produce the requisite titers no matter how many times we get vaccinated I found the most apropos pubmed article. The link is here but the money bit is this:
"CONCLUSION: ... [in] a subgroup of individuals the antibody response to VZV vaccine may be low despite an adequate cell-mediated response. Commercial VZV ELISA assays were designed to measure higher titers associated with natural infection rather than the lower titer induced by the vaccine. Repeated immunizations plus more sensitive measures of VZV-specific IgG should be used to validate protection rather than the current commonly utilized ELISA screening. Clinicians should be aware of the variability in VZV-specific antibody assays when assessing post VZV vaccine titers prior to determining protection in health care workers."
I don't speak science very well so feel free to clarify for me but I think the gist is that some people need more sensitive blood tests to detect the presence of the low-level of antibodies produced in response to the chickenpox vaccine. So although I might have tested negative for any trace of the virus it was there nonetheless and now I have shingles. Oh and the point about the chickenpox vaccine was not that it should have prevented shingles. Quite the opposite. If one believes that I never had chickenpox then I got the virus from the vaccine and I got shingles from the virus. The good news - for me - is that shingles in such cases tend to be more mild. We - I note darkly - shall see.
In the meantime when I picked up my prescription today I also bought a medicinal can of Pringles, two boxes of Junior Mints and a bag of mini Kit-Kats. Then I went home and slept for three hours.
Life could be much worse.
PS Not to be a purist but the word "shingles" annoys me. A shingle can be a pebbled beach. It can be a roofing element or a way to describe a roof thus created. It can refer to the sign that professionals used to hang outside ye olde firme of law. I fail to see any connection between these things and my rash.
PPS I forgot to tell you about my insult to injury moment. I had covered my... my affliction with a large bandage in order to reduce the risk of spreading it. When I went to change band-aids this evening I discovered that I am having an allergic reaction to the adhesive. So my super-pretty shingles rash is currently surrounded by a big red welt.
Oh my, I hope it is shortlived, that's all I can say. I had it in college - as previous posters have said, under the bra band, WTH? - and it wasn't too bad for too long. It sounds like you have all the appropriate medicines on board. Good luck! and while Steve is keeping his distance, let him take all the kids out for the day tomorrow. Win-win!
Posted by: Lisa | January 25, 2013 at 08:32 PM
Ugg, the shingles are bad enough, but the reaction to the adhesive? I had that happen when I had a mole removed - I had more pain/scarring from the damn reaction then from the mole removal.
I hope you are feeling better soon!
Posted by: Jackie | January 25, 2013 at 08:36 PM
I feel for you. My case wasnt that painful and lasted less than 5 days of real misery but i was uncomfortable. I did the aveeno bath. It gave me something to do so i was distracted. Oh tpyes and a prescription for atarax will helpw the itching.
Posted by: SusanE | January 25, 2013 at 08:37 PM
I got shingles a few years on the end of my nose. Yes. The end of my nose. It was super-attractive.
Posted by: MomQueenBee | January 25, 2013 at 08:40 PM
I remember the first time my mother had shingles. She said she would rather die than ever have them again. It was awful. My mom has a very low pain tolerance. The next time she got them. 25 years later, she was able to have pain meds that helped somewhat. She survived the pain but still insists it was the worst thing ever. Mom is a survivor!! She is 89 and had breast cancer 3 years ago and battled that, too! my hero!
Posted by: Penny | January 25, 2013 at 08:43 PM
I'm so sorry. I'm allergic to adhesive too, thanks to many many bandages/surgeries over a short period of time. My go-to now when absolutely necessary is to cover said wound with a non-adhesive bandage, then wrap an Ace bandage around whatever limb it might be on. I can imagine that would be a very attractive look for you with it being on your neck.
Posted by: Shannon | January 25, 2013 at 08:50 PM
Ick, ick and ick! Hopefully this horrible itching is so far as it goes for you! I have heard no fun things about shingles.
With the adhesive allergy, I discovered mine two years ago after having a mole that turned out to be melanoma removed. I had been keeping it covered in between the biopsy and the call (6 days later) that resulted in my going in that afternoon for an immediate WLE surgery, and by that time the area around the site was so inflamed and itchy from the dang bandaids I was about to lose my mind. Luckily (in a skewed sort of way) they ended up removing most of the inflamed area in the surgery and I only had to deal with the stitches itching! But ever since then I have used guaze applied with paper tape and had no issues.
Posted by: Rachel | January 25, 2013 at 09:13 PM
Please, as soon as you can, get the SHINGLES VACCINE.
Posted by: Lisa Panek Cunradi | January 25, 2013 at 09:26 PM
Different brands use different adhesives so there may be one out there that you don't react to - I can use one specific store brand of hypoallergenic bandaids. In the meantime, Benadryl and/or Zyrtec and hydrocortisone cream will help with the allergic rash. I have contact allergies to freakung everything now. Such a PITA.
Posted by: Meri | January 25, 2013 at 09:43 PM
Ick, shingles. My case was relatively mild. My particular insult to injury was when one of the blisters became infected with MRSA. I would advise staying away from nursing homes (that's where I picked it up, at least).
Posted by: Heather | January 25, 2013 at 10:01 PM
haven't read all the comments, so please excuse me if this has been suggested and/or tried yet: sarna lotion. i had mysterious and ITCHY bug bites a few years ago and the sarna lotion was a lifesaver. my neighbor later used it when she had shingles.
they also make prescription strength hydrocortisone cream (or try the OTC stuff first) if your doctor is so inclined.
Posted by: Sara | January 25, 2013 at 10:24 PM
I missed the last post until this one was also up -- so sorry you are dealing with this, and I hope you'll recover quickly. Also, I'm amazed to learn (as I was amazed by the school pickup series of posts to learn how international your audience is) how many of your commenters/readers have had shingles. Yikes. Is it (are they?) that common? Or is there something about your life experience or writing that is disproportionately appealing to shingles sufferers (and if so does that bode ill for those of us who are readers, not yet afflicted)?
There is a topical product called Apinol, available (among other places) from Amazon, that I find tremendously soothing to poison ivy itching, and let me just say, I've got pretty extensive experience in that realm (poison ivy itching). I'd not have guessed (and cannot suggest on any basis) that it would be appropriate for shingles, but on the other hand, a quick google search shows that it claims that it is good both for chicken pox and for genital herpes, so who knows? YMMV and obviously you should use whatever caution is appropriate in considering whether it might have any value to you. It is derived from the oil of some kind(s?) of pine trees, so if you have any allergies in that area, obviously it wouldn't be right for you.
Posted by: Alexicographer | January 25, 2013 at 10:30 PM
Just for your satisfaction:
From etymonline.com, an online etymology dictionary,
shingles, noun
late 14c., "inflammatory disease of the skin," from Medieval Latin cingulus (loan-translation of Greek zoster "girdle"), variant of Latin cingulum "girdle," from cingere "to gird" (see cinch). The inflammation often extends around the middle of the body, like a girdle.
Type in the singular form to see two other respective etymologies.
Posted by: a | January 25, 2013 at 11:02 PM
I have not known of a friend, relative or acquaintance that has had shingles and yet 90+% of your commenters/ readers have had them? How is that possible? Are shingles regional, do all your readers live or work in nursing homes? I'm going to have to google it now.
Posted by: BethF | January 25, 2013 at 11:12 PM
I don't recall the exact linguistic leap made, but the shingles name derives from the Latin word cingulum, which meant either belt or girdle. For many people the rash presents around the torso (or right at the bra band, as many commenters have noted). I think this weird fact has stuck with me from my early nerd days of Latin because I'm smitten by both language and medical oddities.
Hope your case is mild and resolves quickly. My grandmotherw had a case that made enough of an impression on my mother that she got the vaccine the moment she could. Fingers X'd your case is mi
Posted by: Longhorn Blonde | January 25, 2013 at 11:17 PM
Another shingles-suffering reader here. Got them last year across my chest. No fun. The itching really was the worst, but it only lasted a couple days for me. Sorry your shingles are in a visible location--hope you have lots of scarves and/or turtle necks, or hope you go all out and, allergy notwithstanding, wear some bacon bandaids or some other bandage that looks more gruesome than the actual afflicted area, just to freak people out.
Posted by: Heta | January 26, 2013 at 12:22 AM
Well that sounds hideous. I'm sincerely sorry for your itching. I have not had shingles but did have to have a large skin graft many years ago after an accident and the site they took the skin from (my upper leg) itched for MONTHS. Agonizing rip-the-leg-off itching. I have no advice but lots of sympathy/empathy/whatever the right word is. Hope it goes away REALLY SOON.
Posted by: Anna | January 26, 2013 at 12:40 AM
SARNA!!! Or rather, ahem! Sarna. I got PUPPS (look that one up for a real laugh-fest) almost immediately after giving birth to our two boys, and thought I would DIE from the itching, and if I didn't die just from the itching I was thinking about doing it myself. Sarna really saved my sanity. It smells like your grandmother's lingerie drawer but who cares?
So sorry you are having this!!! Hope you feel better soon!
Posted by: Hetty Fauxvert | January 26, 2013 at 01:20 AM
BTW, just wanted to add that you might want to exercise caution with the application of any high-strength cortisone creams they might give you. With the PUPPS, they gave me a very strong cortisone cream to apply to the rash (fine and dandy) but neglected to tell me how much to use (not so fine and dandy). So I slathered it on like suntan lotion. This was apparently the incorrect approach, as I surmised two days later when my hitherto-normal blood pressure skyrocketed, and remained very high for weeks afterward. So. Not saying don't use cortisone, as it certainly has its place, but exercise caution, and maybe check your BP occasionally.
Best of luck!!
Posted by: Hetty Fauxvert | January 26, 2013 at 01:31 AM
I think the adhesive allergy might be the definition of adding insult to injury! I hope they both clear up soon.
Posted by: Carie | January 26, 2013 at 02:50 AM
Oh man. We have a preparation here which is calamine and glycerin ointment. I wonder if you can get it there? It is a storebrand item so not a commercial pharmaceutical company. I used it for the kids' chicken pox and it worked the best. Am also allergic to bandage glue - in your case, non adhesive medical grade dressing, Ace bandage....and a turtleneck!
Shingles is linked to stress. Whassup doc?
Get better soon.
Posted by: Jen | January 26, 2013 at 03:18 AM
I had shingles about 5 years ago and that itching was my first symptom. Ugh. I had it on my forehead and while the pain never got terrible, I do remember feeling like Harry Potter whenever Voldemort got angry.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
Posted by: Janet | January 26, 2013 at 07:33 AM
You don't need to cover it to prevent if from spreading. That's not how it works. It activates from the inside along a nerve path. Once you know the location of the first appearance of the rash, you can google where nerves run in the human body and figure out where that particular nerve goes and therefore where else you might see the rash appear.
But once you start the antiviral med, it should prevent more areas of rash from appearing (or at least make them much much milder.)
Fun fact that probably everyone already knows: One unique thing about shingles is that it stays on only one side of your body, if you were to divide your body in half between the left & right side. That's an easy way to distinguish between shingles and other types of rashes. If your rash crosses over that center line, it's not shingles.
Anyhoo, other people cannot catch shingles from you, BUT someone who hasn't had chicken pox has a low chance of contracting chicken pox from contact with your active shingles rash. I got a week off of work because a coworker was pregnant when I had shingles - woot!
After the itching comes the oozing... and then the scabbing. Do not pick the scabs!!! That is what causes scars!
PS - shingles can be caused by stress and also by alcohol, I've read. What are you stressed about, & did you get drunk recently? :P
Posted by: Kit Kats are good medicine | January 26, 2013 at 08:17 AM
I'm so sorry you have this. Yuck, and ouch.
But I keep thinking of when Dooce had shingles and she always felt it should be said with a ta-da! factor and jazz hands. SHINGLES!!
Posted by: Maud | January 26, 2013 at 08:34 AM
I'm with Maud, but recommend doing your own song and dance (unless you *want* to share, in the privacy of your own home).
Posted by: Kim | January 26, 2013 at 11:37 AM
For itching: Sarna, although forever after the smell of either camphor or menthol will give you a traumatic response. (Unless that's just me. I had a pregnancy complication with my first that involved full-body hives.) Be sure it's the Sarna that's basically camphor and menthol in some sort of carrying cream; there's another Sarna that's "Sensitive Skin" Sarna or some such bullshit that's useless. Or so I've heard.
The other anti-itch remedy that I found extremely helpful when suffering, FYI, is ice packs. If you lay them over the affected area (or lie on them) they cool down the itch without you tearing at it.
Prescription-strength steroid creams also helped me; I don't know if they give those out for shingles.
For the adhesive issues: my daughter reacts to the adhesive on J&J Band-Aids but does not react to the 3M Nexcare kind. The other alternative we've found are gauze pads held on with that tape that sticks only to itself, although the result is to make very minor injuries look like MAJOR CATASTROPHES and mostly she tends to just do without band-aids altogether.
Posted by: Naomi | January 26, 2013 at 02:09 PM
Also, some of this information is dated, but while suffering with PUPPP I tried basically every available anti-itch remedy I could find, and later posted reviews of them, here: http://www.naomikritzer.com/motherhood/PUPPP.shtml
Some of this stuff is PUPPP-specific but I think odds are good that some of it would be relevant. (It's funny to read now statements like, "I didn't find this very effective but I used tons of it anyway." There is something about itching that drives me to act insane. Funny, that.)
Posted by: Naomi | January 26, 2013 at 02:11 PM
Calm down, folks, there is no shingles epidemic. People who have had it are more likely to comment. People like me, who are crossing multiple fingers that they never will, are not. Except to say thank you for language lesson. I always assumed it was from the appearance of the rash.
Posted by: kim | January 26, 2013 at 04:27 PM
Bendryl makes a cream you can put on the medical tape rash that should reduce the itching. May also help with the shingles. And/or hyrdocortisone cream for the itch. Can't believe they didn't give you a script for a higher than OTC dose of that at the doctor's office. If OTC doesn't work, call that doctor!
Posted by: Sarah | January 26, 2013 at 04:57 PM
Another shingles sufferer here. I was shocked, thought shingles was just for the elderly and immunocompromised, not for the mother of a 3-year-old! Mine started just to the left of my spine at waist level, and went around my left side. I was mainly worried that it would spoil my upcoming vacation at a hot springs resort, but luckily it was all scabbed over and dried up before our trip. No long-term symptoms, thank goodness. Good luck!
Posted by: Brenda | January 26, 2013 at 05:30 PM
Another firm Sarna (or it's many generic friends) recommendation. I'm very itchy all winter long and nothing works like Sarna. Also, I am highly allergic to the adhesive on paper tape, the kind everyone swears is hypoallergenic. I get second degree burns within 10 minutes of contact and if left on I blister and bleed. Charming, eh? Lastly, I have just gotten the first of 2 shingles shots and Monday I'll be hitting the hospital for number 2. I am petrified of getting shingles, especially now that I am officially old. Hope you feel better soon!
Posted by: margalit (@margalit) | January 26, 2013 at 05:34 PM
I had a nasty case so very glad yours seems more mild. I had 5 weeks of rash and some nights of pain so bad I could just pace the house. Plus nausea, fever, oh and a miscarriage at the same time. Never sure which caused which.
Posted by: Heather G | January 26, 2013 at 08:15 PM
having had many (20+) surgeries due to skin cancer i have learned to make sure that the only tape on me ever is paper tape and even that can't be on for long periods of time. mostly i take my bandages off once i am home unless the site is under straps or something.
Posted by: kris (lowercase) | January 26, 2013 at 08:30 PM
Bra band, phht. The mother of a friend of mine recently had shingles inside. her. vagina.
*Shudder*
Hope yours clears up quickly, and doesn't spread.
Posted by: aliceis | January 26, 2013 at 08:37 PM
A SHINGLE CAN BE A PEBBLED BEACH......THANK YOU for clearing this up!!!! My favorite song from childhood was "The Lobster Quadrille" on the perhaps little-known album of the same name made by the Simon Sisters. Lucy wrote most or the music, i believe, and she and Carly sang duets. I had never read Alice in Wonderland, which is the source of the Lobster Quadrille text, I think, and in it, a whiting says to a snail, "See how easily the lobsters and the turtles all advance? They are waiting on a shingle; will you come and join the dance?" I had always pictured them waiting on a roof shingle, perhaps one that had blown onto the beach. Thirty-six years later, you have cleared up the question for me. You never know when previous confusion will be resolved, or who will resolve it for you! Thank you!! And, I'm so sorry to hear about your current form of shingles!
Posted by: Kim | January 26, 2013 at 08:46 PM
As "Kit Kat" above said, the rash won't spread, it travels along a nerve pathway. Someone else can't get it by touching your rash. I've been wondering if this generation of the chicken pox vaccine would get shingles, it seems that they would. Hopefully they will be milder cases.
Posted by: Diana in PDX | January 27, 2013 at 04:38 AM
I feel for you... been there done that... I had them at age 22. I remember the itching, the stabbing pain (it was as if someone was stabbing me repeatedly with a knife) and the tiredness. I slept 22 hours out of 24 for almost 2 weeks straight.
I hope yours won't get this bad and that if they do, you'll find relieve from the drugs!!
Cheers, Eva
Posted by: Eva | January 27, 2013 at 05:05 AM
Two of my best friends are nurse practitioners and they have both observed, as well as heard at medical conferences, that shingles is on the rise among younger and younger Americans (it used to happen mainly in the elderly). In the past, we were re-exposed to the chicken pox virus often and it helped keep our antibodies up-to-date and suppress the dormant virus in our body. Now that we vaccinate kids for CP, we're not being constantly exposed and our body forgets. The virus in our body "wake ups" and voila--shingles. The shingles vaccine is a re-exposure to the virus, like we used to get naturally. My own kids got CP despite vaccination so I'm hoping I got a good natural booster and can avoid the shingles!
Posted by: Tara | January 27, 2013 at 11:55 AM
Re: Itching.
About a year ago, I developed an allergy to sunscreen. If I touch the stuff, I break out in severe hives from head to toe. They itch like the dickens and last for weeks. I know about itching.
Supposedly hives respond to Benadryl (meds or cream), but mine did not. I tried that & a raft of other prescription and OTC meds and creams (with my doc's help, of course). NOTHING helped the itching except OTC hydrocortisone cream. The Target brand. FWIW, YMMV, etc.
Posted by: Tine | January 27, 2013 at 11:58 AM
You have my sympathies. I've never had shingles but I had a case of poison ivy (my first, after 30+ years of immunity, which can apparently just reverse and the first reaction to poison ivy is often severe enough to land previously-immune people in the ER) which, in retrospect, should have sent me to the ER. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced, and the itch meant I could not think about anything else. People sometimes laugh at the idea of itches and rashes but it's not really funny when it takes you over.
Anyway, just wanted to share a temporary remedy that worked for me, not that I know whether it will work on shingles: run water on the affected area, gradually hotter and hotter until it's as hot as you can stand. For whatever reason, this felt AWESOME and removed the itching for some time afterwards. Good luck, and I hope it eases soon.
Posted by: Jessica | January 27, 2013 at 01:53 PM
Just to skew the statistics of your responders, I have indeed NOT had shingles. Had real deal chickenpox when younger though. That's all I got to say. Except, of course, get well soon!!
I too wondered about the name and always envisioned it being really painful skin versions of the cedar shingles nailed to my roof. But how interesting that the name comes from the virus being expressed as a "girdle" around one's body. Also interesting that you and some of your commenters have had it localized elsewhere. My chickenpox, when I had it, was everywhere. I wonder if this says something about our skin as we get older: that when we're young it's pretty much the same everywhere but as we get older parts of it become more specialized and thus more susceptible to specific maladies. All this to say, your commenters have peaked my geeky fascination.
But, I so hope this doesn't hit you too hard as it's hit others!
Posted by: zarqa | January 27, 2013 at 06:30 PM
So sorry, Julia! Take those anti-virals!
About 7 years ago, I went on a hike with my intended. Things were stressful in the back story of his past marriage. It was August and one of the hottest and most humid days on record here, but there was a cloud cover, and we figured it would be pleasant in the woods. We didn't take water. After a shortish walk, I was burning up and slick with sweat. Afterwards, I ate a maple-walnut ice cream cone. I was feeling dizzy and sick that evening, but we went out to dinner anyway, and I had several glasses of red wine. (Can anyone guess where this is going--stress, heat, nuts, and red wine?) By the next morning, I had horrific cold sores all over my face, inside my nose and mouth, and looked like a Plague victim. I had never had cold sores before. To this day, I still take anti-virals. If I skip them and get tired or stressed or hot or drink too much wine, I break out in blisters and have to go on the super dose.
Posted by: Jan | January 27, 2013 at 07:28 PM
Ugh! Shingles sucks and it's one of those things I'm scared of getting. My uncle had shingles covering so much of his body, they (honorably) discharged him from the army! He was that bad for that long. Gah.
I hope your case stays contained and leaves as quickly as it came.
Posted by: Gretchen | January 27, 2013 at 10:29 PM
I became allergic to adhesive after my 3rd pregnancy. It was discovered when they used extra elastoplast because the other stuff(to which I am not allergic) was coming loose on my C-section cut. It was more painful than the caesar cut itself!!
Posted by: Vee | January 28, 2013 at 05:12 AM
Junior mints are my favorite sick food. Hope they, the pringles, and the pain meds help!
Posted by: Stephanie | January 28, 2013 at 10:05 AM
My DH and daughter are allergic to non-Bandaid Brand Bandaids...but the true Bandaids are ok.
Posted by: Bopper | January 28, 2013 at 12:02 PM
So sorry you got shingles! I had it at 7 and my sister had it at 5 and again in her 20's. My mom and several aunts have had it in middle age. Apparently there is a genetic tendency that makes certain families more susceptible to the chicken pox virus hanging out and re-activating in your nerves to give you shingles. Also, if you did not develop full immunity you are more likely to get shingles. Since my sister and I had it at 6 months and 2 years of age, respectively, it was speculated that we did not develop strong immunity with our immature immune systems and that is why we got shingles in elementary school when everyone else got shingles.
On the plus side, the data so far suggests that you are less likely to get shingles after having had the vaccine than after having had chicken pox and that the shingles is milder. However, I'm not sure the vaccine has been in widespread use long enough to say for sure since most people get shingles decades after chicken pox.
I am vaccinating my kids though, anything that might reduce their risk of shingles or make it milder is totally worth it in our family!
Oh, and I had the WORST case of poison ivy immediately post-partum last summer. Nothing will ever compare with the itch/pain of systemic poison ivy covering all parts of my body while trying to nurse an infant in the heat of the summer. It was not pretty.
Posted by: Katie | January 28, 2013 at 02:11 PM
I feel for you...and Barbara Walters.
http://wonderwall.msn.com/tv/barbara-walters-hospitalized-with-chicken-pox-1731985.story
Posted by: Mari | January 28, 2013 at 02:52 PM
Your PS made me laugh. A couple of years ago I passed a Rite-aid that advertised "Shingles Vac Available". At first I thought it was a vacuum cleaner for your roof and I wondered why Rite-aid had such a thing. Shouldn't that be something you would get a Lowe's? I was about a mile down the road when I realized it meant Shingles Vaccine.
Posted by: Jenny | January 28, 2013 at 03:56 PM
I'm just amused by the Pringles for the Shingles! Very catchy in any case. Hope you feel better soon!
Posted by: Liz | January 28, 2013 at 04:27 PM