I have a Drs. appt. this evening. I see my Dr. more then I see my kids I think.
I have had the flu or something for 8 days and got bit by a spider last night 3 times. Don't know what kind.

I am dealing with chest pain today which I never can figure out. If it's the RSD, Fibro, Costo or whatever else they want to call it. It feels to me like an ulcer in my left chest area. It's like one spot that the pain radiates from. One Dr. told me you could have an ulcer in that area, others say you can't. Any ideal on this?

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I did, but it was my worst flu day.

Ada

Are these bites on your chest? If so, they may be Shingles.

Shingles looks like spider bites in the beginning.

Please seek medical attention ASAP and get a blood test for Zoster titres. Starting Antiviral therapy ASAP will prevent lingering neuropathic pain.

I had "bites" on my arm when I was in my forties...that turned out to be shingles. It was an odd presentation, but the blood work confirmed it.

So please see your doctor.

I had shingles back in the 90's on my right side. Now I have RSD in that area. I didn't think of it on my arm though. He did give me some cortizone cream for them. I think they are spider bites.

He said I have a virus instead of the flu. I really didn't think it was the flu though. It's lasted too long. He checked my heart, lungs, ears and throat.

I'll keep an eye on the places. Hopefully they will clear up in a few days just like this virus.

Thanks,
Ada

Dear Ada,
Whatever you do, don't get in that shingles line! Somehow I managed to and they are horrible. I started out feeling like the flu. Then I started itching in one place on my back, where I could naturally NOT REACH. Then it followed a line around and under my breast. Like RSD, they are there 24/7, until they go away. I got the virus treatment right away and that helped, but I also have some lingering neuropothy. And my son was in Iraq at the time and I was to have no stress. Right! Cranky was the word for the month.

I hope these are uneventful spider bites.
relax, rest, recoup
pat e

Spider bites typically have 2 piercings in the middle. (they have 2 fangs). Spiders don't hang around people and bite them multiple times. They will bite fingers when provoked, or bite if you roll onto them. But that typically is one bite. Other insect bites will have one piercing hole in the middle..like a mosquito bite does. Sometimes you have to look with a magnifier to see it. I was bitten on the ankle while sitting on a dock at night by a spider several years ago. The center became quite black/necrotic and it was very awful ... it came up between the boards of the dock because I guess I disturbed its web. I won't sit out there anymore without socks! I thought it was a bad mosquito bite, but the doctor found the 2 fang marks.

People always think (I did at one time myself) that bites from bed are spider bites. I had mine in a cluster on my upper arm in the deltoid area. They turned out to be shingles.

Waking up in bed with bites, may also be bed bugs...which are hitching rides into peoples homes from purchased clothing, suitcases from recent travel, etc. Nike store in NYC had to close because it was infested with bedbugs! Hotels, clothing stores, all sorts of places are having an epidemic of sorts now.

Shingles lives in the dorsal root ganglia of the spine. My neck area is very sensitive to pain outbreaks since I had those shingles. Once you have had the chicken pox, you are at risk for shingles anytime. The virus may cause pain, without any lesions being present in the skin, and are culprits in many neuropathies.

Taking a gram or two of L-lysine daily for a week or two can sometimes abort an outbreak. So can ice packs. Both interventions slow the cell division of the virus.

You called it right on the shingles. This is my second time to have them. I didn't know you could get them more then once. The first time was in my right side and I still deal with that pain. He put me on Prednizone and a med starting with a F. I have to pick up the scripts in the morning.

He said when a person gets the shingles they can get the lidoderm patches for the rest of their life with no problem. I haven't had no problem getting them even though I hadn't documented the first time I had them with Medicare. My nurse says a lot of her patients are having so much trouble getting them.

Thanks for being so damn smart.

Ada

I think maybe you should think about getting the vaccination when you get better. I wouldn't want to have them a third time. I'm pretty sure there is no prize!

praying for a speedy recovery for you,
pat e

The virus lives in the dorsal root ganglia along the spine.

It can be activated by stress, reduced immune function, or eating foods high in arginine. Arginine activates the cell nucleus to divide. There are lists of foods on a herpes site..
I'll try to find it, for you. Balancing arginine with lysine helps too. Lysine is easy to take and not expensive.

Here is one list showing both amino acids in common foods:
http://www.herpes.com/Nutrition.shtml

I used to see activated shingles in nursing home patients, who often were giving high arginine food supplements like Arginaid for helping heal bedsores. They commonly then developed shingles and that was painful to witness!

Your drug is probably Famvir.

Successful use of the Famvir may allow you relief and you may not need the Lidoderms. I don't need them for my neck. I just put an icepack there where I get twinges. I also take lysine 1 or 2 grams a day for 2 weeks if I feel my arm starting up. My husband got shingles from a spider/bee sting but he doesn't have lingering pain either. He was pruning something in the bushes, and the next day he had a welt on his arm which then caused a huge bruise all the way down his arm.
Several days later, he developed shingles from it all. He didn't feel the bite at all.. so I don't think it was a bee sting, but we never did figure that out.

So not everyone needs the Lidoderms. Many insurances will not cover them, without a previous diagnosis. I use them for my PN and back pain... lucky me! This is because they are only FDA approved for post herpetic neuralgia, and are very expensive so the insurances balk to save money with this excuse. I find them very useful. I've been using them for my pain issues since they became available here.

I think you'll find the Famvir will help alot.

Mrs. D. I was so sorry to read about the loss of your cat. Losing a pet is a very hard thing to endure, and my thoughts and prayers are with you. Lisa

Thanks for the help on this. I am sitting here waiting for them to clear some. So far no spread. "knock on wood".

I am going to ask for the vaccination after this is over. I don't know if my insurance will pay for it though.

Sorry to hear about your cat MrsD. My Grandson moved in about a month ago and I inherited his cat with him. My Christmas tree never looked the same after the first day.LOL

Stress definatly was the culprit for me. December had a lot of changes for me and some not so good. My stress level got to a new high. Now I am laying around even though I have things to do and trying not to worry about them.

Thanks again all of you,
Ada