No, he doesn't want to go out with me anymore, and right now I'm still kind of in shock. Going to let him go do what he wants to do.

He said he's going to come see me in a few weeks. Wants to give me back the old laptop that I'd given him earlier this year. It was not working anymore for me when I gave it to him. He was going to use it for a work computer at his job. He fixed it up with new hard drive, new battery, new operating system. Fixed the issues with the dvd drive. Said he put $200 into fixing it. He's going to let me have it back because his job just bought him a new computer for him. Guess they wanted him to have a new computer that was faster and easier to carry. I have to wonder if there was a liability issue with using a personal laptop for his job.

So, I guess getting my old Toshiba back with all the upgrades is my consolation prize.

I thought about the relationship last night. It's been a bit of a long distance relationship. He lives another town over about 50 miles from me. I don't know if traveling the distance had anything to do with it. I do suspect that my MS had a lot to do with it. Even tho he said that wasn't it. (got the "it's not you, it's me" line from him)

I met him ten years ago on May 4th, 2004. Wanna guess when my last actual date with him was?

May 4th of this year. Exactly ten years to the day.

I've just been sitting here all summer, waiting for him to recover from his having a broken leg, and a temporary kidney failure problem related to the broken leg. He'd not been calling me much lately. I'd not been feeling good, and not actually calling him either.

I'm pretty bleeping despondent right now. Disappointed in him. Kind of ticked off at the MS for making me feel like crap while all of this is going on.

Went to the doctor today, because I had that migraine earlier this week that lasted several days, and it kind of fired up again this morning. The weird neurological sensations on the left side of my face were causing me issues, and my dad had suggested that it might be shingles. It could be trigeminal neuralgia, but the doctor checked me over for that. He really thought that might dad might be right about it being shingles. But, I don't have a shingles rash yet. Told me to call him this weekend if the shingles rash shows up. He said he'd be on call all weekend, so he'd be able to call in a Rx if I need it.

I kind of broke down and had a meltdown in his office because of the (ex)boyfriend stuff. So, he talked to me awhile about that. Told me that I should take advantage of being a bit...mad...at him for the way things were handled and use the anger to give me energy to go exercise. Because endorphins from exercise might be helpful. I'm probably going to do that. Just have to figure out a place to go for the exercise.

My doctor did have an opinion about my boyfriend. He might have called him an expletive that starts with the first letter of the alphabet. The word might be a descriptive word for a location on the body. He said from what I told him about things, he thought that I was right about the reasons for getting dumped. It's the MS.

I'm about to do a little bit of retail therapy. I'm going to buy myself a new fountain pen. I started keeping a journal a few weeks ago. I bought a fountain pen to use for it, and I'm really liking using fountain pens again. I used to buy fountain pens when I was in high school because they were fun to use. I'm getting back into the fountain pen collecting now. Also getting a notebook to doodle in.

Found a fairly inexpensive fountain pen to have for my second fountain pen purchase. I was looking at another one that cost a little bit more, but I'm going to save that one for later this winter when I start doing the Xmas shopping.

Right now I'm just feeling incredibly hurt. I'm hoping that the stress of stuff that I was told at PT this week, and then the exboyfriend stress isn't going to set off another new MS flare. Because I really do not need that kind of stress and pain. I need something good to happen. But I really don't think that's going to be happening.

Nothing good ever happens to me. The last couple of years have just really sucked. I thought I had something good there, but as usual, just when I think things are great, or ok, that just gets ripped away. Tired of that.

Erin, do you think you could handle a small pet? One that doesn't require too much care taking? Maybe a bird or a hamster?

Sometimes just taking care of something else takes your mind off your own troubles for a while.

I don't know if this is even anything you've considered but it might help. I used to have a parakeet years ago and it was the most entertaining little pet I've ever had. Even learned to say a couple words! He was a cutie and it makes me smile just remembering him. His name was Julio!! Even his name makes me smile!

My heart goes out to you that you are hurting. I wish I could say something to ease that ache but there isn't any. I will be thinking about you, and hope in the long run, this change will lead to something unexpected and good. It does happen that good can come into your life just when you think it never could. ginnie

Nice idea Kelly. I may consider that for myself.

The week of bad luck continues.

I'd been having weird tingling on my head. For awhile, I thought it was something MS-ish. I had a fever about a week ago, had been feeling kind of yucky for awhile. Had a sore throat the past couple of weeks too. I've had a headache for over a week, which spiked into migraine territory on wednesday.

Then the sensations on the scalp got worse. Tingles, burning, itching, more burning. Did I mention itching?

Saw the doctor yesterday. He thought it was really possible that I might have shingles. He doesn't like to blame everything on the MS. But, I didn't have a rash. He told me that he'd be on call this weekend, so if anything changed, or got worse. To call him, and he'd call in a Rx.

The itching got worse last night, and this morning my scalp really hurts. Forehead feels like someone flash burned me. The left side of my head has a few spots where it hurts to touch. So, I called the doctor this morning. He told me to have someone look for a rash. My dad can only see partially out of one eye right now. My mom didn't understand what I was trying to ask her to look for.

So, I called my aunt that's a nurse. She came over and looked. She knew all about how shingles acts. The doctor had told me to text him back after I had someone look at my scalp. So, I texted to him what my aunt said. Think it was something about "point tenderness, on the v1 dermatone, no rash". She said he'd understand what it meant. So, he called me back. Asked what my aunt had said about it. (aunt is a nurse practitioner) She'd said that the point tenderness is what you get, just before the rash starts to show up. He said that was right.

So, now I'm just waiting for the pharmacy to call and say the Rx is ready.

Great...just what I don't want. Herpes of the hair.

The chicken pox that I had when I was five years old has decided to visit for it's 40th anniversary. (I had shingles when I was 28 also)

Did I break a mirror, or did someone put a curse on me at some point in the last couple of months?? So far, the MS has been acting up. I've been feeling like crap. My boyfriend dumps me, and now I get shingles.

Can the bad luck fairy take a break and stop picking on me please? I need a break.

geeze, I thought MS was bad.

Shingles might actually be worse. At least it feels worse.

All the weird sensations from the shingles is really ticking off the weird sensations from the MS. It's really really bleeping uncomfortable. I can feel the worst of it on the left side of my head. It might be in my left ear, because it itches a little, and hurts for some reason. Really hoping it stays out of my eyes.

If shingles is a reactivation of an infection of chickenpox, can that trigger an MS flare? I did have a fever for a couple of days last week or the week before.


Right after I took the first valtrex, I started getting really itchy about an hour in. I'm hoping that's a just a side effect, and not an allergy to the medication. Just took the second pill a little while ago. Waiting to see if I get more itchy, or if I start noticing an improvement. The pharmacist said it might take a couple of days to notice anything tho.

This officially has been the worst year ever.

Lost my health, lost my boyfriend, have pretty much lost the rest of my friends, and now losing my freaking marbles because the shingles is so bleeping uncomfortable.

How else can we make this month, and the shingles any worse?


Let's get sick from the valtrex. Yeah, that would be awesome!

I'll just be crying in the corner.

The combo of valtrex and pain killer(vicodin) made me vomit.
Had to stop. Just wanted to die quickly.. The P A I N!!!

still feeling a little icky from the valtrex, but I think the valtrex is starting to help the itching just a little bit. It's not quite as intense as it was.

Good trade off. I'd rather feel a little icky, than be trying to scratch my skin off of myself. Hope the valtrex keeps calming down the itch.

I just don't remember shingles being quite this horrible the last time I had it. But then, the last time I had shingles, I was 27 years old, and hadn't started having all the MS symptoms that I have now.

Do think that the shingles, and the mononucleosis that I got at around the same time both had something to do with the MS developing later. I started having issues with vertigo within at least a year of having shingles and mono.

Really hope that this time the shingles doesn't trigger an MS flare. Because that would really really suck a lot. I'll be extremely peeved if that happens.

My left ear hurts. Starting to wonder if that's a neurological pain from the shingles. When I saw the doctor on friday, that was one of my big complaints. He looked in my ears then, and said they were fine.

With the itching lifting away a bit, right now my biggest complaint is the ear pain, and the muscle aches in my shoulders and back, and my neck. Hope that doesn't last much longer.

knock on wood that this is not going to be really severe. I'm having a bad enough year as it is. Think I'm living in terror of a bigger MS flare right now because of all the stress and the shingles.

well, the not being itchy didn't last long. The rash has started. On my scalp. Itchy again!!

My forehead hurts, feels like it's been burned. I'm afraid that the rash will make it's way there and head towards my eyes or nose. That would be bad. A shingles rash that gets near the eyes can damage the corneas of the eye. Which would be VERY BAD. It can also do things to the optic nerve.

If the rash goes near the nose, that's apparently a medical emergency, because it can go into the nasal passages, and get the corneas that way.

I'm panicked.