It is about time I came out of the hole where I've been hiding the last couple of weeks and explained the reason for my silence.
I've been suffering from a hard-to-diagnose case of shingles which necessitated a couple of trips to the ER, two treks to a distant medical center, and treatment with an antiviral that I couldn't tolerate.
The pain is mostly gone now, but I feel like I've been hit by a fleet of UPS trucks. I hope to be able to resume writing soon, and to find that you're still there when I do.
P.S. For those of you who are wondering: I did have the shingles vaccine a few years ago. It does not guarantee that one won't get the disease, but supposedly makes it less virulent. (I cannot imagine what the virulent version must be like.)
My Great Cities of the World
11 hours ago
oh, man, i am so sorry. my brother came down with shingles while he was working on his dissertation. i hope he (and you) are never in that kind of pain again.
ReplyDeleteI've read that stress can bring it on--that was obviously the case with your poor brother.
DeleteMine was due to stress, I think -- I got them the winter before getting married, going on an extended honeymoon to Europe, and moving to a new state. I was also teaching emotionally disturbed teenagers.
DeleteOh no! Awful. My dad had a very mild case but was still down for the count for a couple of weeks. Hope you continue to improve.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bridgett. The meds are so horrific I had to stop taking them.
DeleteLali, that sounds horrible. (My dad had them years ago.) Sending gentle hugs.
ReplyDeleteOuch, ouch, ouch. Shingles are bad enough for anyone, but shingles with the pain magnifier of ME/CFS must be awful. Sorry to hear that the meds didn't work for you. People with ME/CFS are often extra sensitive to medications. Sounds like you got clobbered from both sides.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting us know. Since you'd said you might not be posting regularly, I wasn't really worried, but I have missed your posts.
I hope you can snuggle down with your pups and recover quickly.
I sympathize, Lali. I had a case of shingles when I was 28. Very painful.
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathy. Mine was a relatively mild case, but also hard to diagnose. In the ER, I was in such pain that I agreed to a CT scan (something I'd NEVER have done otherwise) pushed by a couple of idiot doctors. Still no diagnosis until my own physician nailed it. Not as horrible as some (including yours, it sounds like), but I couldn't lie down and was out of work for two weeks. Glad your pain is better. Keep resting.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much! It's good to know you're still out there.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHow can it be misdiagnosed? I actually, in 1983 (before the Internet, diagnosed myself before going to a doctor who was the father of a workmate, to get the official diagnosis and vitamin B shot.
ReplyDeleteAre shingles all that different these 20 years later?
In my case the rash appeared right next to the incision of a hip replacement I had years ago--a spot that I have to really twist around to see and didn't look at because the pain wasn't localized there, but wandered all over my lower back, hip, and leg. At first they thought the hip implant was coming loose. Then they suspected a pinched nerve...then finally somebody saw the rash, and we all cheered (no kidding, because the alternatives were so much worse).
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