Mark asks…
I have a relative with chronic shingles and the pain. Do you know anyone who has something similar?
What did he or she do to deal with the pain and find relief?
admin answers:
It’s very difficult. She is actually going to a pain specialist tomorrow & say she needs some meds because the meds she is currently taking do not hold her over.
Your relative might start with an evaluation with a neurologist if they haven’t already.
Postherpetic neuralgia is often treated with pain medication, antidepressants & anti-convulsants which can be helpful in neurological pain syndromes.
Google: may clinic>>diseases>>shingles
Mary asks…
Shingles (the medical condition) – what can be done for the pain?
My husband was recently diagnosed with Shingles. It’s very painful for him and he does not want to take the Morphine for the pain, and Motrin only helps to a certain extent. He only feels some pain relief when he sits in a hot shower.
Has anyone ever had shingles? What are some alternatives that he could do to alleviate pain?
admin answers:
I have a friend that uses Lyrica. Check out these links for other info on post shingles nerve pain. Capsaisin cream my be the answer.
Mandy asks…
Any non-prescription remedies for shingles pain (without breakout)?
My friend has just been diagnosed with shingles – although he doesn’t have any of the sores that are typically associated with it, his went straight to the pain that follows the path of the nerves AFTER the breakout. He is in agony – none of the prescription medications are providing relief. Does anyone have any ideas?
admin answers:
Hi, I have the greatest sympathy being a sufferer myself. These are the things that help me…
Ice – leaving it on until the area is completely numb
Glucosamine Rapid cream (the one with Capsaicin in its ingredients as that’s what gives the relief)
Mentholatum Ice Gel – keep in fridge
TENS machine – a new discovery for me and one that seems to work
All are drug-free and better than any prescription – Neurontin helped the pain a bit, but only because it completely knocked me out! Good luck to your friend and try to stay stress free 🙂
Joseph asks…
can anyone offer any advice on post traumatic pain after a bout of shingles?
My friend is in constant unbearable pain and can get no relief and the doctor says this could go on fo 12 months
admin answers:
Painkillers – prescription strength and if that doesn’t work some epilepsy medicine. She really needs to talk to her doctor.
Sharon asks…
Shingles- pain in back, but rash on stomach.?
Hi, just wondering if anyone who has had shingles experience the following:
Before the rash, my lower back was extremly painful, I had actually gone to the doctors and we were going to do xrays and I went to a chiropractor, which gave a little relief. Then, I developed the rash on my left side of my stomach. I went to emerg and they said it was shingles. After taking the medication for 1 week now, the rash is almost gone (but still painful to touch).
I am not experiencing any pain where the rash is, but still having a really sore lower back pain. Does anyone know if this is common (to have the rash in one area, but the pain in another)?
Thanks.
admin answers:
I worked for a Dermatologist for eight years. We saw a lot of people with shingles.
Shingles is an actual infection (viral) of the nerve. It destroys the protective lining around the nerve. Until that protective lining and the nerve itself regenerate, the patient has pain.
Pain management for people post shingles can be a very serrious problem. It can actually take years for the nerve, and it’s lining to regenerate.
It sounds like you had the most common type of outbreak of shingles. That’s where the viral infection of shingles follows a nerve from the middle of your spine, which wraps around your body, to the front of your stomach area. You are fortunate, if it did not cause the blisters all the way around.
Because it sounds like you got on the medications early, you were able to minimize some of the damage.
I’m sorry to tell you that it’s just a matter of waiting for everything to regerate. Nerves and their lining heal very slowly.
Do be sure to talk to your doctor about proper pain managment. Sometimes doctors do not take shingles pain management serriously enough. In our office we did. Over the years, we had two patients (who had other mental issues) commit suicide, because of the ongoing pain from the shingles long after the blisters healed.
Most patients had pain for 2-3 months, which got better day by day, after contracting shingles. Some rare patients still had pain several years afterwards.
It is because you got on the medication early that you have the blisters in one area, but pain in the other. You actually minimized the virus and the damage from it.
Best of luck to you, and be sure to talk to your doctor.
~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years
Worked in the medical field over 15 years
P.S. To correct BCheeky2, shingles are what happen if you contract chicken pox a second time, however shingles are not chicken pox. Shingles are not suppose to be contageous to other people, unlike chicken pox. That is what all the medical books state. However that is debatable. We had 5 older women who all worked as together as receptionist in a closed in glass cubical, who came down with shingles one after the other.
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