4 months, 1 week, 5 days....
Did you get the vaccine?
That seems to be the number one question I get asked when I tell people I had shingles and combat the PHN (Post Herpetic Neuralgia) daily. No I didn't and I won't.... although sometimes I'm sorely tempted to tell the person "why, yes I did" if they are irritating me and I know they got it. It's the same type of response I used to fantasize about when people would demand to know if I knew what smoking did to me. "Uh, no, please enlighten me." Adults in this country KNOW what they should be doing to stay healthy, so soapbox standers may step down. By the way, I did quit smoking 15 years ago, so don't start.
So I busted out of the odds all the way around. I'm healthy, wasn't under stress, under 55. Shingles appeared on my right side, with a rash 2x4" on my right calf, and pain that went from the ice pick in my hip, to the iron band under my knee cap, to the rather large knife in the middle of my shin bone. My skin was hyper-sensitive, although the itchy phase may have been the worst. I was afraid I'd wake up one morning and look like I tangled with Wolverine. The deep pain, in the joints and bones and deep in the muscles, was a constant friend.
I knew what it was, having been diagnosed by one of my staff. I took my happy self off to Urgent Care, where I was insulted by the nurse and pushed off by the doctor. Maybe he just didn't want to get too close. In any event, I left with a script for Valtrex and Vicodine. I spent the next week drugged.
After much research, I started putting together a plan to get off the opiates and get on with my life. This journal will help others who may be in the spot. Recipes, hints, and a peek into the life of a normal person with shingles.
Next up: No Seeds, No Grains, No Nuts. . . . ACK!
