, Shingles

[Guest guest]

-- , i can empathize with your shingles....I had shingles several

years ago. My rheumy thinks that It was due to the immunosuppresive

drugs and the prednisone, which tends to weaken one's immune system. The

pain WILL go away, as well as the scars. Did your doctor give you any

kind of antiviral medication such as Famvir? That will help the shingles

from spreading.

I'm also into nutritional supplements, and if you're interested, I can

snail mail you an article which lists the types of vitamins/supplements

that may be helpful, such as C and B 12. In fact, I shared the article

with my rheumy and she was open to prescribing me B12 injections. Of

course, I had to pay out of pocket for the shots, but, hey, I have no

pain.

Also, shingles is not limited only to us RPers with depressed immune

systems, but, also to those under extreme STRESS. My sister-in-law had

shingles on her leg 2 weeks after her wedding (she was then 22). I saw

my cousin (age 23) last summer, who told me that he had shingles during

his last semester of graduate school, when he thought that he might not

graduate due to his thesis. His physician in the Santa Clara told him

that he had never seen someone as young as with shingles and didn't

prescribe any medication.

Take care, Aloha,