Did I ever tell you my complicated shingles story?

Bump, bump…I can almost hear the Jaws theme song in my head and the tale ahead could almost be as scary as the movie, Jaws, from what I have read. Also, it’s related to bumps!

A mysterious itchy bump resembling a bug bite started me on a journey of twists and turns in my complicated shingles saga. I might not even have known what to look for if my husband, Mike, hadn’t been trying to get a shingles vaccination, for months. His story is just one of the side notes to the entire shingles story, but it might have helped me to know what to look for and to push me to get help early.

Mike’s doctor had been encouraging him to get the shingles vaccination. Anyone over the age of 60 and who has had chickenpox is encouraged to get vaccinated against shingles. Shingles lies dormant in your system if you have had chickenpox and can flair up in people of any age, but particularly after the age of 60. The guidelines recently changed and now people 50 and older should have the vaccination.

The symptoms can range from mild to severe with months of debilitating pain. That is why it’s important to know what to look for and to get vaccinated.

The vaccination is a live virus, so you cannot be sick before you get the vaccination. Mike had a series of respiratory illnesses which delayed his getting the shot. Also, we were told that we had to pay $214 up front and then get reimbursed by Aetna. So, we had to save the money, plus he had to be well, so he had been talking about shingles for a while, so we kind of had it on the brain. We have since found out that if you have the shot at a clinic, Aetna covers it upfront. If it’s done at a pharmacy, you have to pay first and then get reimbursed. It’s some crazy policy for insurance companies. As I said, this can be a very complicated endeavor.

Finally, when he was well, I checked with Safeway to see if he could get the shot. We were told that Safeway was one of the only places to get the shot.  Safeway said that they couldn’t get the vaccine because of Hurricane Sandy.  They couldn’t get the supply.  As I said, this entire process has been one hurdle after another.

Now, back to my story. I was feeling a bit run down. I noticed a welt, almost like a bug bite on my upper chest. It was itchy and there was a slight electrical type pain radiating from the bump. The next day, an extremely bright red rash appeared, like the color of a tomato or apple. It had white blistery bumps on top the red rash, and it was about the size of half dollar.  I thought that it was just a rash, but the next day, I felt like something was really wrong and since we had been talking about shingles so much, I did some research on it. It appeared that my symptoms matched shingles. I went the CVS minute clinic. The nurse practitioner diagnosed shingles and started me on antiviral medication. She showed me a chart of where the shingles might spread and sure enough, they spread exactly where she said that they would. Apparently, it affects one nerve. The saving grace here was that I started on the antiviral medication early, which is very important. The new rash spots were not as severe as the first rash and that is because of the medication. She asked me to follow up with my regular doctor in a week.

Mike got his shingles vaccination the day after my diagnoses.

Shingles is contagious to people who have not had chickenpox. This happened right before Thanksgiving, so Mike and I spent Thanksgiving at home, not attending the family gathering. I did not want expose my pregnant niece and I could not be around my daughter who has a suppressed immune system because of Crohn’s. As you can see, there are lots of rules with this disease and lots of variables.

After a week, I saw my regular doctor and she prescribed steroids to prevent nerve damage. The additional rash spots were not as severe and she said that was because I started the antiviral medication right away.

After two weeks, I am recovering. The virus has made me very tired, but hopefully, I will be feeling back to normal soon.

I was very lucky because it could have been a lot worse than it has been so far. I had many people praying for me. I am not out of the woods yet, but am optimistic that I over the worst of it, for now. I have heard stories of people not getting treatment quickly and having a very long illness. So there are many lessons learned here, but the most important lessons are to get the shingle vaccination for anyone over 50 who have had chickenpox and if you suspect that you have shingles, get to the doctor right away and get on the antiviral medication.