Shingles!! who'd a thought
 

Okay so the flare up I am having is related to both the laser and shingles. :eek: I am shocked. After the second laser treatment I developed a rash and thought I was just becoming one of those CRPS rash-y people. But then the NP at the pain clinic yesterday thought it looked like shingles. I took this info with a grain of salt till I had follow up at Phys med today (the stupid laser place) and they also said it looked like shingles. THEN ran into a doc I know while out who saw the top of my foot and said "looks like shingles". On my poor foot!

The Phys med people were not surprised and said laser could have set that off they had actually seen that before. Gee thanks, didn't know that could happen. It explains the weird zingers on top of my foot in the rash area. Taking Valtrex now.

Word to the wise, rash plus even intermittent sting plus itch may not be CRPS, it may be shingles. Even when you are relatively young and not shingles age. Just one more reason to get things checked out even when you think it's just part of this lovely syndrome. Because why? cuz we're Special!

Hey the good news is this is a great time to get Ketamine so I don't end up with post-herpetic neuralgia on top of CRPS. Really wishing I hadn't done that laser now....I am beginning to fully appreciate how careful we have to be with CRPS limbs.
Littlepaw :grouphug:

Oh no!
This will most definitely set of increased nerve issues!
Another pointer: shingles is one sided...it does not cross the midline as a rule. However, if it occurs on CRPS side, it makes sense to chalk it up as CRPS.
I do hope you feel better soon. Gentle hugs my sweet friend


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Thanks for the hugs! Yes it is just on the one side. I didn't put it together since it is on my CRPS foot and I always think of torso or face but Shingles can get you anywhere....

Wow, first how sorry I am for you...glad you found this out....
Second, I've often wondered if I had shingles with my CRPS...but since I never had the full rash...just try patches, then I thought eh let's hope not...but you are going though it...crazy.....yes, gentle hugs and keep up the fight....:hug:

I should add...for anyone who has had chicken pox, there is a shingles vaccine. Ask your Dr. and get vaccinated!


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Oh no, oh no, oh no!!!! This sounds miserable! I hope it is not that and it goes away ASAP!!

:hug:

Thanks for this...I had the chicken pox but a very mild case and not as a child but as a young adult....so thanks....

Oh Dear, Littlepaw,

I am so sorry for you, I hope this setback is fleeting and minor.

Just fyi, Shingles can strike any age group - all it takes it to have had the Chicken Pox virus and to have a compromised immune system, through illness or medication. No-one knows the actual trigger mechanism. It is also as contageous as the Pox.

I wish you the speediest of recoveries.

Dave.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words and encouragement on this and the ketamine. You guys are the best! :circlelove:

With 3 people having seen it now I am pretty comfortable with the shingles diagnosis. Thankfully it is being treated properly. Crummy thing is you can get it again and the nerves are predisposed once they have it just like cold sores. The good news is it is not that bad a breakout. The rash area is limited to just the top of my foot and the rash is NOT the severity of the lovely ads we see on TV for shingles vaccines. I would've gone in for that! My CRPS nerve is aggravated but the rash is less prominent there. Sometimes people don't get the rash at all, just the pain!

I was told today even babies can get this :(. That is too sad. So definitely can strike at any age.

Littlepaw

CRAP! If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all!

I feel badly for you. I contracted chicken pox about 20 years ago after shaking the hand of a father of a friend who had shingles. Unknowingly of course until after the fact.

So having chicken pox as an adult was no picnic. So after getting CRPS, I opted to have the shingles vaccine a couple of years ago. Of course, the vaccine is no guarantee of not getting shingles, but if you get it, it is supposed to be a lighter case.

Is there anything we with CRPS don't worry about? Geezz....

Hope that your shingles clear up soon Littlepaw! And thanks to you for all of your insightful and compassionate replies here on this forum. They are very much appreciated!:Thanx:

Soooo glad I got varicella vaccine for my son! Prevention is good. Sounds like shingles vacc is something we should all look at. I had checked into it but CDC recommends only after 60. This may be different for folks with nerve issues though. Maybe they will give it earlier. Sure worth a look....

Also glad I am a germaphobe from hospital work so somewhat OCD about hand washing. :rolleyes: Hopefully I did not curse anyone with this!

Curse us? Nah, I've been thinking about this and because I didn't get a rash I put it on the back burner...so what you have done it brought light/knowledge on this subject as well as the other thing...having a brain freeze you are getting...best wishes, keep up the fight....:grouphug:

Aw, geez. Hope it clears up quickly for you. Hugs to you.

Shingles vaccine is no guarantee that you will not get shingles as previously posted. It can have side effects. However, if you do get shingles there are antiviral medications which really do help. The antiviral medication really did help my cousin and she would do that if she ever got them again rather than going the vaccine route.

Here is a good site:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...e/faq-20057859

Shingles!! who'd a thought
 

Definitely worth a look! No vaccine is guaranteed, even flu shots. I apologize if my suggestion causes anyone to believe that to be a guarantee.

Actually can't curse anyone with shingles, it's not contagious in that way. Yes, the virus can be spread but it does not cause anyone else to get shingles...it DOES cause someone who has not had chicken pox to get chicken pox. Best to avoid those who haven't had chicken pox and pregnant women.

Heal soon. My dad had shingles 6 months ago & still has some mild post-her patio neuralgia...let's hope it's a shorter road for you.





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Always_Believe,

Thanks for clarifying the contagion factor - my post did not explain it is Chicken Pox one may pass on, not a case of shingles - brain burp and composing 'on the fly'

Hopefully, for any mechanism, it will not matter and no Member will ever have to deal with it in the future - horrible condition to add to friend's problems.

Dave.

So much gets lost in type!!
What we all mean is: feel better LP!!




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Wow! I'm sorry you are dealing with this! I've had patients with shingles and also my mom had it last year. Thats crazy you got it on your foot =( it really shows how stress and hypersensitivity increases the potentiality for developing a secondary nerve / auto immune related issue. I hope it stays below the severe range.

I had chicken pox three times total before I was 9 yrs old. Apparently if you don't get a severe case the first time, your body doesn't build enough anti bodies and you can get it again. I've worried this means I have an increaeed likelihood of developing shingles at some point/s.

The neurological and auto immune systems fascinate me. I suppose because I know understand how important their healthy function is to everyday quality of life

Hope your shingles goes away quickly!

Xoxoxo

I was able to get in with dermatology yesterday. After being told I should stay on Valtrex for one month to keep it knocked down I figured I would rather be 100% sure it's shingles before taking anti-vitals that long. Also nervous about further nerve damage so why carry that anxiety around without proper opinion.

Derm is not entirely convinced! I had a very kind lady doctor who immediately did a scrape biopsy so we will be sure and not treat the wrong thing. She thinks I may have a light eruption rash from the laser. It apparently can look like many different things and can burn and be really itchy! I will have results early next week and will post results.

I would be quite glad not to have shingles and the damage that goes with it. Still glad we are having discussion about it either way.

Hoping for the best :rolleyes:

Hey, I did a little google search and I typed in LDN and shingles and basically it might help with shingles....I haven't done a proper search, but if anyone has a good resource and wants to check it out...and share with us might be worth it.
Keeping up the fight .....:grouphug:

Thank God for pathologists
 

I do NOT have Shingles! So happy! What a relief. :). Thanks to everyone and my apologizes for any melodrama. Still a good topic for awareness. So After three opinions you'd think I would've left it alone but I just didn't want nagging doubts and a month of anti-virals.

I am so, so glad I went to dermatology and had a biopsy. The doc was very surprised. Of all the possibilities for this rash on my foot it is the easiest to treat. Athlete's Foot. Yep. What an embarrassment. The location on the top of the foot and atypical appearance with blisters blew making an easy diagnosis. AF also explains the burning, stinging and itching.

So my husband fessed up today that he got AF three weeks ago but only treated it a few days "until it looked better" which isn't long enough. Hmmmm...what else is he keeping from me? :rolleyes: Whether my CRPS foot was just more susceptible we'll never know. I suspect so. I sleep on my stomach with my feet down on the bottom sheet so probably transferred it that way. My healthy foot didn't succumb.

This whole experience just reiterates for me the vital importance of going to the right specialty to check things out. Three doctors saw my foot and thought the wrong thing. Even worse I think the PM was suspecting I maybe just had skin changes/CRPS rash. Ugh! What if I hadn't gone for biopsy?! I dread to think what I would've put myself through, having this stuff get worse and worse. Or having it clear and thinking I had Shingles and more nerve damage. Geez, ya can't trust anybody these days. Dermatology is my new best friend.

thanks again everyone. I am sending hugs all around. :grouphug:

that is very good news...well kind of...:wink: I also agree that it was a very good topic....:grouphug: