Shingles

[SquirrelStateOfMind]

My poor DH has had shingles for a month. It was diagnosed in time to take antivirals to deal with the worst at the start, and the rash has all but gone, but he's still in a lot of nerve pain (back, leg, groin). He's not sleeping well, he's on strong but infrequent painkillers which make him drowsy, he's off work and fed up. The doctor and the web helpfully say, well, yes, this can go on for months. He's struggling to cope with this concept and desperate for a way to deal with the pain enough to get a bit of his life back. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions to share that might help?

In my experience the tingles and nervy feeling did last for a really long time, but it gradually got less and less. I got shingles on my eye and they were particularly worried that it could affect my brain. It was pretty nasty and I had tingling across my scalp and down my face for the best part of a year - but it wasn’t painful anymore and the pain didn’t last that long, it was just a sensation of tingling so it was pretty annoying.

I was 26 when I got it though which is apparently quite unusually young to get shingles. I was very stressed 🤣

Hi OP, I'm on a similar timeline to your DH, by the sounds of things, and a bloke myself. I'm still feeling pretty down overall and my blisters have started to heal over I think but they still look quite red. I get a bit of itching but not every day, so that seems to be subsiding, and the pain isn't constant but it still gets bad. Feels muscular at times, and then I also get these really weird nervy aches and zaps, which tend to concentrate in small areas and when they kick off they can last a while. I'm finding stretching in those areas (eg. my neck and shoulder, because my blisters are on my left shoulder) helps dampen the nerve pain and even chases it off at times. I believe by 4 weeks your DH should have a sense that the whole thing feels less intense, but the overall flu-like feeling of having a horrible virus will still be making him feel very out of sorts, if he's anything like me. I have been miserable, depressed, and extremely lethargic, but I'm starting to feel a bit more hopeful that I'll recover now! The Internet can make it sound like everyone who ever gets shingles is doomed to years of chronic pain, but while it is fairly common to have lingering twinges after a couple of months, for the vast majority of people their general wellbeing does return to normal within 5 or 6 weeks, so hopefully he'll soon feel much better. I'm late 50s but I had it in my late 20s too and although it scars a bit and occasionally feels a little tight in the affected area once you're better, it's not life changing! Anyway, give him my best and encourage him to notice how far he has come from the worst of it.

Just editing to add that the pain for me has extended well beyond the patch of blisters, up into my neck, jaw and head, and down my arm and even to my foot at times! So the long reach of it isn't uncommon but it should soon feel much less diffuse.

My DH was 22 when he had shingles. It was extremely painful but being young he carried on going to work which, I suppose, took his mind off the pain and the messiness on his back. Fortunately, he was working with someone who had served in the Army Medical Corps who volunteered to change his dressings.

Is he having painkillers specifically for nerve pain? There are different types and if one isn't helping, it is worth trying another. Pregabalin, amitriptyline and gabapentin are 3 examples that are used for shingles pain.

I've been taking cocodamol 30/500mg, because I already had a supply of that strength from a different ailment! But I haven't taken them every day because I've been able to rest a lot and ride it out. If I found in another month's time, say, that I was still dealing with a lot of nerve pain I might think about asking the GP for amytriptyline. But not yet, because the virus is still active and the level of pain is to be expected.

If you get something targeted at nerve pain you will get better more quickly and the pain will be less. Having the right medication makes a huge difference.

I had it on my face & eye, too. I'd been having hypnotherapy for other things, so asked for specific support to help me not be bothered by the pain while it got better. It helped (I did this for root canal treatment, too) and I was back at work within the month. I had some itches and tingles for about a year, and still get jabs of pain in the same place when I'm stressed.

BUT ... !! I now have ME-CFS. It's an absolute bastard. About half of patients can trace it back to a shingles attack. I should have rested a hell of a lot more, and for longer, than I did. I was working at a start-up and was pretty pleased with myself for getting back in good form, but it was of course very full-on. There's no guarantee that resting would've prevented the subsequent illness, but it's probably safe to say that all viruses call for a longer recovery than we allow ourselves.

Make of that what you will. I'd still recommend trying hypnotherapy if the pain continues to be an issue, though.

The nerve pain is miserable. Being consistent with painkillers was the only relief I found.

I would take 2 x Ibuprofen (500mg) + 2 x paracetamol (500mg) together, every 4 hours
(paracetamol; 4000mg in any 24 hour period : ibuprofen; maximum of 1,200 mg per day)

For me, having a steady, regularly timed dose across the day helped ease the nerve pain.

Overall, for me, it was about 6-8 weeks for the pain to subside and longer for the redness from the rash to disappear, appreciate everyone could be different.

So I'd encourage him to take his pain meds regularly and consistently across the day. @SquirrelStateOfMind

Wishing him the best.

I hadn't thought of it like that but now I'm wondering if I should ask my GP about it. So hard to get seen though, especially now I'm a few weeks from the initial diagnosis and it's not considered urgent. Recently, even their response times to e-consults have changed and nobody there is in any hurry to see patients!

Sorry to hear that, @GarlicHound. It's interesting that you can connect your ME/CFS to having had shingles, what a rotten outcome for you. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few years ago, so I probably have some similar symptoms to you, and when I get viruses it's a very uneven playing field, let's just put it that way! Thanks for the reminder to take recovery slowly. Sounds like you've seen some real benefits from hypnotherapy, though. Makes me think I should get out some of my old guided meditation tapes! ☺️

Thanks everyone. We are very grateful it hasn't affected his eyes. He is a similar age to you @baroqueandblue but doesn't have the flu type feeling, just the zaps and background ache. He is on pregabalin now, having previously been on various combos of paracetamol, ibuprofen and cocodamol. I will suggest stretching may help. @GarlicHound He already has underlying health issues that make him fatigued so I hope it doesn't trigger anything else! Best wishes to all who are currently afflicted with illness.

Don’t know if you have considered topical painkillers? I used Volterol gel which eased a lot of the pain. It seemed to quieten the zaps particularly at night time to help me get off to sleep.

Would also recommend taking the painkillers regularly, it’s good to get ahead of the pain rather than wait for it to bite and be in agony until the meds kick in.