h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ouch.
So I got my Covid first vaccination injection, back err, three weeks ago, and then, over the next few days.... I grew me the shingles...

So I got a combination of Shingles, plus the flu-like side-effects of the covid vaccine - No idea if the shingles cropping up at the same time as the vaccine was connected or not... who knows.

shingles cleared up after a week of anti-viral medication
But, now, three weeks on, its agony still, I assume as the tissue is repairing itself.
It popped up on my eyelid/eyebrow, forehead, and the scalp all on one side of the face; of course on the same side I've already got a whole pile of scar tissue, and some nerve/neuropathy damage
spots have all cleared, did so very quickly really, and just a few scabs/wounds left, where a bunch of the spots coalesced together; one in the middle of my forehead, and one, in the corner of my eyelid just above the tear-duct

Its the one on the eye that hurts the most.
taking codeine phosphate 8 X a day, and paracetamol, also 8 X a day, plus amitriptyline, now up to 50 MG a day, though, to be honest, none of them is doing sod all for the pain.

I can't go outside; about the worse pain, for some reason is 'gentle', - just the lightest of wind, across the face, and it feels like I'm about to pass out.

So, not really done anything for weeks, except reading of course..
Havent slept more than 2 or 3 hours in any 24 hour period now, for at least 3 weeks
haven't been to the loo in a week, thanks to the codeine... - I stopped the codeine for a week, after the spots/active infection cleared up, but then the pain got a lot worse, so I went back on to it
and our oven is broken, so at the moment are waiting for 'non-essential shops' to open, so we can pick up a new one (just another cheap one, as the whole kitchen needs replacing still, once we've got the bathroom done; but we can't do the bathroom until hotels, etc., are open again properly, as we only have the one bathroom in the house)
so just sitting reading, not sleeping, and waiting for the lockdown to end, so we can sort out the house, and so I can get back to the gym, and start feeling better hopefully
Will phone the GP again, Monday/Tuesday, as he wanted an update on my medications and suchlike

I've just about got the new prescription for growth hormone sorted out, took from November until Febuary to get the prescription written by the hospital, and sent to the GP.

I saw the E-Mail.

Oh. My ing BoB.

Every single bit of the 'letter' was wrong. dose, the format, and the language used, I was shocked the GP took any notice of it. - my specialist nurse, thinks that 0.2 ML is the same as 0.2 MG. seriously. What. The. F ????

Mind, this is the same specialist nurse, who when I asked for advice on steroid updosing, for the shingles infection, she began contemplating "where I might have picked up the infection from" - doesn't everybody know that shingles is the infection from having chicken pox as a child, which sits out, hidden away in some nerve cells, ready to emerge if the body is under stress/immuno-compromised?
I totally ignored her advice on updosing, BTW, as it was then utterly wrong. of course.

So, now I've lost the good, experienced specialist nurse (retired), and my pharmacist (able to do maths and calculate dosages)

Oh, and my GH daily dose, of 0.2 MG, were I to inject 0.2 ML, would actually mean I was taking 0.66666 MG per shot. Three times! and even my rubbish maths ability let me work that out, approx that, in my head (yes I did confirm with a calculator, working it out in decimal and in fractions too)

BoB protect us from morons and idiots.

Glad you got antivirals, but sorry the residue is still so painful

Scary indeed when doctors/pharmacists struggle with basic arithmetic - I was comparatively lucky when I needed antibiotics last year that I got the correct dosage, but not enough doses because the doctor thought 10ml x 4 times a day x 14 days was equal to 300ml... The pharmacist first tried to charge me for the other half of the batch as it was put through as a separate prescription, but then agreed that the numbers didn't add up on the original prescription so it could be reissued correctly. Glad you were able to get the GH prescription sorted out

My bathroom fitter was very good, as I only have the one bathroom - didn't leave me (or himself) without facilities during the week he was there. Not the ideal time to have workpeople in the house, though, indeed. Have you got it planned out? Good luck with the oven, too - repairs are possible, but it is a balancing act between repair and the cost of a new one... I hope you're managing OK with just a hob

Damn, 2legs, you seem to follow our old proverb to a T. It goes something like "one should try everything once - except incest and folk dancing".

Some people often add: "Okay, at least not folk dancing".

I thought I might be in group 5 (out of 12) ro receive the jabs, because of underlying medical reasons, but now it looks like I'm not. So I will be in group 9 instead, because of my age. Oh well, it's nice to know I'm not so sick I need the jabs sooner. On the other hand it would have been nice to receive them sooner rather than later.

I'll do what I usually do: I'll take things as they come. Like if I arrive at a bridge I might walk over it. Then again I might not. But at least I'll not make that decision before I arrive at said bridge

The GH prescription is sorted out... as in ; I have some growth hormone (enough for about a month, by my calculation), and I think* I can get more subscribed via the local GP/chemist though the local chemist/pharmacy seem to need to phone the company that send it, as it comes up as 'unavailible' on 'their system' = the first time we ordered it, the pharmacy just said 'no, we can't get it'.... but a visit to them... and some prodding, ment they then did* get it

However, the dosage on the prescription is wrong; saying I'm on 0.2 ML per day, rather than 0.2 MTG per day; as I thought, though, the 'dial' on the injection pen device, is set in MG incriments, not* ML incriments.
Although they have this wrong, it may be an advantage to me; they I assume, presume me to be injecting 0.2 ML of a 1.5 ML pen, each day.... - = about 7 days a pen, whereas, I get about five weeks injections from a pen; but due to shelf life of pen once started, in reality, this means 4 weeks per pen.... - the upshot of which is, I think I can order more pens than I need, by a factor of four!; I.E., ordering one pen a week (cost to NHS per pen is over £200)

Also, I am trying* to arrange with my specialist nurse at the hospital, for her to change the prescription so that it comes from the pharma company/supplier; this is so I can get rid of my sharps bin/get a new one; as I can't give that to hospital, GP, or pharmacy for disposal, only to this specialist supply firm.... - they also provide specialist nurse support for the injection devices etc, so it would be handy if I was able to go back to getting it via that specialist pharma/injection company... - sadly it is a private firm, and previously when I've used them, they inevitably end up quite c... rubbish at getting pens out on time, holding stock/supply etc.... - luckily once I am with them, due to the unique way nothing in the NHS joins up; I'll still have the pen available for prescription on the GP system

I've done rather well with my aharps bin... about four years now I've been on GH? and I'm still on the first bin, though it is getting a bit full

Well, as for the shingles.... the scabs/scars are heeling up nicely; the big spot (amalgamation of lots of small shingles spots), in the middle of my forehead, is rapidly healing up, and vanishing, and the second 'big conglomeration), on the eyelid/next to tear-duct, is getting smaller.

The whole area, forehead, scalp, eye socket, lid, brow, etc, still hurts like hell though... if anything pain is getting worse... - I was basically screaming as I came downstairs this morning, after a full-nights sleep of 2 hours
Pain-killers are... doing nothing of the kind - so I'm taking a lot extra steroids, to get the anti-inflammatory effect, which seems to be helping; I noted that prednisolone, the steroid I'm on, is recommended for use in shingles, for anti-inflammatory effect, and I was on such a low dose to begin with, for my hormone problems, that I figured I may as well just self medicate using it.... as I'm ment to be doubling it anyhow, in accordance with 'sick day' rules for the 'steroid dependant'.... so that helps a bit...

Just hope I ain't one of the unfortunate, who gets the residual pain for shingles, for life

Time for more steroids

Ouch
I had shingles back when I was a teenager, about 4 weeks of p[ain and then itching.
And mine was only a strip round my chest, (following the nerves I was told)

Yep; it seems to affect a single spinal nerve; hence useually crops up in a single area, one side of the body

Mine of course, chose the facial nerve, on the same side of my head as all of my original nerve damage, and scarring from my road traffic accident.... a lot of the spots actually popped up on remaining ridges of scars from that - especially those under my hair/on my scalp, and on the forehead ; also a bit on the temple, where I've the big 'dent' from the original traumatic head injury...

Having said which, its mostly heeled up really well; the forehead is nearly clear now, and even the spots on the eyelid, and brow, have mostly gone, just the bigger conglomeration of spots, now reduced to a smaller scab/scar on the eyelid... however, it still hurts like hell, even through the painkillers, and even where its cleared up, still hurts

well, its improving, and the dry skin is getting better now, thanks to the E45 cream (the scented decent moisturiser hurt too much to use) Just missing getting outside, now the weather has improved; the gentlest breeze, hurts like... hell

Another friend of mine has suffered from this also. He says it's no wonder that it is called hell fire over here

Shingles. Ouch. I spent a week either side of my 50th birthday in bed with that awful thing. You have me sympathy 2legs. I know exactly what you mean about the pain from the lightest touch of wind etc (it affected the right side of my boat race). I was unable to shave for a few months because of it, and when I eventually went back to work it was agony travelling on the bus. Every single jolt of the suspension (or lack of it) set off the tingling and the pins and needles. When I finally managed to shave off the face furniture it revealed one large scab on my upper lip, which, when it came off, left a rather splendid pockmark which I shall take to my grave.

My heartfelt sympathies.

I had that for a year in the late 1980s.

Given 12 x 200 milligram tablets per day acyclovir I was symptom free.

Once a month I'd go off the Acyclovir till first onset of signs and symptoms, then resume.

Finally after a year, the infection ran its course.

I heard enough horror stories about shingles to never want to try it myself, so I got vaccinated last year.

I remember having chicken pox, it was an itchy hell and left a couple of small scars on my face, but it was nowhere near as bad as the hell of shingles.

My deepest sympathies.

I asked my friend - who has suffered from shingles twice now - if he knew you can get vaccinated against them. He says: - I did not know that! I know you can get medicine, which, if taken early, can reduce the outbreak. But the never mentioned anything about vaccination!

So thanks for sharing that, Baron!

There is even a new vaccination available now.

I recently noticed TV advertisements for it. It's called, get this, "Shingrix".

The previous one is called Zostavax, because of course it is.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20191113/new-shingles-vaccine_what-you-need-to-know

acyclovir - yep, I was on that for a week...

I seem to recall for some reason due to my other medical nonsense, for some reason, I can't have the shingles vaccine... - though maybe if there is a new one, I can... I may have to look into that, as reinfection is certainly a thing, apparently, and once is enough for me

Still waiting for the final few scabs to vanish, including the really annoying one on my eyelid, and sort of but not quite on my tear-duct I think the big one on the forehead will leave a perminant pot-mark, which hopefully will match in with the other forehead scars
I ditched the codeine, paracetamol, and err, whatever the other pain killer thing was... amitriptyline, that's it... - instead I'm on mega-Duncon err.... gabapentin I mean, now, which seems to work better, without the side effects of especially the codeine.

The pain is a lot less, but still lingering on eye nose forehead and scalp
Just wish I could sleep, not had a decent nights, even a half decent nights sleep, now, since this started