Shingles it is!!

[texasgal]

Hi everyone.  With regard to yesterday's question about this rash on my thigh...y'all were right.  I do have shingles, so the doc put me on a dose of steroids and antibiotics for that but while he was consulting with my Hep C doc, the Hep C doc says that he i going to consult with his colleagues and see if he doesn't need to remove me from the Peg and Copeg altogether for a while.  I am here to tell you guys that if he takes me off the meds, the world will have a crazy woman on its hands.  I do not want to go thru this again.  If he tries to stop the meds, should I beg and plead for him not to.  Help!!!

[Christie2004]

Steroids are not usually used in the treatment of shingles.  They suppress the immune system, and could possibly worsen the outbreak.  Likewise, unless some of the vesicles have become infected, antibiotics will not help, either.

What is usually used is an antiVIRAL medication, such as Valtrex.  Even this is not proven to shorten duration, but is generally used to prevent post herpetic neuralgia (when the pain of the lesions persist long after the rash/blisters are gone).

[Califia]

Childhood chickenpox revisited?  Absolute bummer.  Keep us posted and hang in there...

[couchpotato]

Geez, sorry my diagnosis was right, just sounded so familiar. I went to a walk-in-clinic this summer to find out about my "rash" and when I found it was shingles I never even thought to mention it to my hep c doc. Sounds like it was a good thing I didn't, if your is thinking of cutting you off tx. I would absolutely insist on carrying through with tx, what's more deadly???

Good luck
Mattie

[texasgal]

You are so right and I wouldn't have even mentioned it to the Hep C doc except that my regular doc wanted to make sure that the Valtrex and Pegasys and Copegus didn't react with one another.  Earlier I made the mistake of saying antibiotic, when in fact, the doc did prescribe Valtrex and a series of prednisone.

[Honey15637]

Sorry to hear you have that and I have my fingers crossed that you won't be taken off tx...You have come to far,,,to start over.  What exactly is shingles and is this caused by interferon?

[silvermoon]

Shingles is Herpes Zoster.. CHICKENPOX virus , as califia stated...  You can only get shingles if you have had chickenpox..  onc who has never had chickenpox cannot get shingles..     after you pox is cleared up, the nasty little virus lies dormant in your system.. just   sleeping away until  the host  ( you)  is ubder extreme staress or your immune system is under severe stress and terribly weak  with no reserves. the the  buggar rears its ugly head..  it travels along the path ao a bundle of nerves and appears on the skin surface where those nerves go to the surface.. .. it chooses which one it wants.. you usually feel some little sharp, intermittant pains first, which are generally ignored as nothing... then suddenly a couple of little red bumps appear.. they itch.. then there are more and more as they trun into patches of blisters.. and they itch and HURT like hell , as a general rule..   you will also have pain in areas where there are no blisters. and I am talking MAJOR PAIN!!!!  and it can take 6 months - 1 year or more  for it to go away..the pain isn't constant usually, but when it hits, it is like a  butcher knife going thru you!
SHINGLES itself is NOT contagious... however.. while the are active, anyone who has never had chicken pox can get chicken pox from you... so it is important to stay away from anyone who has never had them, because chicken pox can be DEADLY to adults.  
It is important to keep the blisters covered with thin, loose gauze, to prevent transfer or infection of the blisters..   The pox contagion can be airborne, so please take it seriously about  those who have never had them..
  I had shingles in  April of 03.  started with sharp knifelike pains thru my back at the shoulder blade, and thru the side of my right breast..  then I had the red spors, then patches of blisters  that hurt and itched..  the side of my breast had several; pathces of them  and a line of blisters that ran towards my back..  and I cannot go without a bra, so the pain was rather intense..  after about a week of the pain, I went to the ER,, the put me on Valtrex  and demoral for the pain..  it took a month for the blisters to leave me, but the pain still hits me.. not as often now, but especially thru my back, I still get the sharp stabbing pain in the same place that takes my  breath away for a few minutes now and then..
    I am VERY surprised that any doctor would prescribe prednisone for shingles, because  it is sstrictly taboo for chickenpox..    any and all steroids are taboo with chickenpox!!!
  When I was a nurse, I had a patient who had a bad case.. she was 81, and the went across her face and into her eye and down her chest.. bless her heart,  she was in so much pain.. felt so bad for her..
   anyway.. just offering what I know.. they can be very serious, so please be careful.. and Please question the doc  and a pharmacist  about the prednisone before you start taking it...
good luck... I feel for you.. been there, done that...take care...

[cuteus]

Holy cow girl! I almost felt every one of those sharp pains! what a "gifted' writer you are, but don't do it again!
just kidding of course. How is your asthma doing? I know you might start tx soon, so I pray that you do not get ANY sides to add to your medical conflicts. I am wishing you the very best.

[Honey15637]

Hey there!  I agree with Cuteus,,,,That explained it so well and thank you.  I had heard of shingles before but never really knew what it was.  It doesn't sound like fun!  How ya been doing and are you feeling ok?

[Xenigma]

I'm glad you went to the doc. Try not to stop the Peg and Copeg. (If you can)  Make sure you get some something for pain and let the air get to the band of blisters. (Let them dry out a bit) I know it must hurt to have clothes or water touch that side of your body anyway.  Take a sponge bath and get plenty of rest.  This too shall pass and you'll be OK  I had them about 17 years ago and I used Zovirax cream on the eruptions.  It does nothing for the outbreak but it is soothing.(Well, I felt it was soothing and that's all that counts  LOL)
Fell better  :-)
enigma

[Island Guy]

I'm an oddity. I have had outbreaks of shingles on the back of both legs for 30 years. My doctor was amazed that this could start affecting me in my early 20s. I now believe that this was a sign of an immune system compromised by Hep C. I am fortunate in that it is more of a nusiance than a major problem. The outbreaks have gone from 3-4 per year down to 1-2. In any case I had one about 1-2 weeks after I started tx. I was real curious to see what the effect of the drugs would be. The drugs stopped the shingles outbreak in its tracks. The initial severity was greatly decreased and the healing started within a couple of days not weeks. I believe that now that my body is saturated with these anti-viral drugs, that I can't get shingles. I am curious to see if this lasts after the treatment. Incidently, in the for what its worth category. I have taken valtrex and acyclovir and neither was nearly as powerful or effective as the interferon/ribavarin combo.

[Califia]

First of all, welcome back, Silvermoon!    Since you're taking your first shot next Monday night, I know everyone here will join me in wishing you all the best,  especially given everything you've been going through of late.  (And this doesn't even include that past shingles experience....)

I second Cuteus's comments on that description.   We can see now how modest Texasgal's first shingles report is.  Aaargh. Poor baby!

BTW, interferon has been known to cause outbreaks of shingles--a member of that fine upstanding family of Herpes viruses--and it is most likely  the culprit here.  That's why Texasgal's doc is consulting with others to make sure that keeping you on interferon therapy won't exacerbate the outbreak.   You don't want it to spread to other parts of the body.  

But hey, the virus is messin' with a Texan, so it just may not have a chance.

[silvermoon]

Thanx so much  for you kind words, and for excusing all the typos!!   I obviously didn't  spend too much time proof reading..  sorry.., but my time online now is very limited!!    
hoeny, I posted to you  over on oob..  but CONGRATULATIONS, again!!  
Shingles is one of those things that you cannot appreciate nor understand and describe unless you have had the horrid experience.!!
  As for my asthma, I had bronchitis for 3 months which of course complicated the asthma..  it has been a long rough road...  I have been so damn sick, and been on so many meds, and had side effects from  each one that required another med.. I actually had to make a chart to keep track of when what and how..
, OH... and the edema and 'moonface' from the prednisone was a real added treat!!  the thrush was another little 'bonus'..and talk about metallic mouth!!!   well, at least I have had a preview of treatment!!   I have been  well broken in!!!  LOL!  and I can STILL laugh about it all.. That's an accomplishment in my book!!  they say 'attitude is everything', right??  LOL !!
  I am CAUTIOUSLY happy to say that I am MUCH better, still have a little left over that should resolve itself in another month or so... but it feels SOOOO good to be able to take a deep breath again without pain and without coughing my lungs up!!  I have been given the all clear by the Pulmonologist to start Tx on the 17th, as long as my lungs stay clear!!
I stay away from people, public places , as much as possible, to keep from picking up any germs.., so,  if all goes well.. Monday night is IT..  boy, am I looking forward to sticking needles in my legs !!    yehaw!!!! LOL!
   I DO appreciate the kind words and support from those of you who know what I have been dealing with for a long time now...
  and califia, my dear, sweet friend....a special thanx to you..you are such a special person..  love ya, girl...
   gotta run now..  will check in when I am able..  
  ya'll take care now, ya hear???

[Califia]

Thanks for your kind words and the belly laugh.  Your treatment  preview remark is right on the money, as we Merikans say.  Yep, you're ready all right!  (Maybe not prepared yet for the Andy Rooney eyebows, but that's still a few months down the pike.)

[TnHepGuy_]

Thank you very much for the kind words you mentioned below. Glad to have you on board here, too.

How are you holding up under the drug saturation these days?


Take good care.


TnHepGuy

[silvermoon]

.."Andy Rooney  eyebrows"???  say it ain't so !!  LOL!.. well,  I guess my skills with a pair of tweezers will come in handy, eh???..  By the time it's over I'll be able to add 'tweezer artist" to my resume!  At least it will give me something to do when I am too drained to get out of bed!   Hey, maybe if I save them I can use them in a piece of artwork???? Now, there's a concept!!!

[Califia]

Silvermoon:  Make light of it if you will!  Just you wait, young lady....

TheHepGuy:  Thanks so much for asking.  Here's the official 6-month report.  As my endocrinologist joked yesterday, if I survive through the end of treatment, I just might clear this virus.  The 24-week PCR shows "undetected."   The LFT's are nice and low--and as an old-school type, I am quite pleased with that.  Platelets and WBC's are completely normal.  Now, I expected thyroid problems, but I never thought I would end up taking (gasp) 225 mcg of hormone replacement.  As I understand it that's a fairly astronomical amount--and I'm still not within "normal range."   So inevitably the depressive states come and go, I am fairly fatigued, and my hair has begun to  hit the floor--all standard sx of hypothyroidism.  Curiously, the thyroid storm occurred at week 10 shortly after I presented with anemia.  However, the latter responded after a month to Procrit, and I've been cruising ever since.  I just do shots every other week to keep the Hgb levels up--not bad at all.   Rash has abated, headaches are milder...and I have retained my sense of humor.  Most of the time, that is...

David, I truly hope your work schedule permits some time off for R & R and recovery.   All blessings to you!
You've more than earned it.  

[Terry2465]

      I have hep c and have been fighting with making the decision for treatment. I hear that the side effects of Interferon are horrible! I also watched a friend go through it and he died a year or so later for it did not work. He died waiting for a liver transplant.  I also suffer from that dreaded shingles. I wonder if most of the people with hep c have shingles also, maybe the hep virus brings it on?  Anyhow I just wanted to say good luck to everyone in treatment and I pray to God it works for you!!!  

[Marcia2202]

Thank you and welcome to the forum Terry!

Side effects differ for everyone. Most people seem to be able to kind of go on with their everyday life and even work and go to school. It is certainly no stroll in the park.

Please stick around the forum. There are many very helpful and knowledgeable people here and this has been a life saver for the vast majority of us.

I cannot answer your question about shingles, as I do not have it.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend and wish to extend my condolences.

[CoWriter]

Anybody can develop shingles whether they have Hep C or not.  It usually happens when you're immunocompromised.  If they are not treated quickly, you can end up with the pain even when the blisters are gone.

Co

[Mary4now]

Oh yeah, shingles are usually associated with stress, compromised immune system, and they hurt like hell, also you can end up with post herpetic neuralgia that can last for years.  There was a study done that claimed tai chi was as preventative as the vaccine, yes you can get a vaccine now for shingles, and they suggest it for everyone over 60 who has had chicken pox.  But tai chi is supposed to improve the immune system.

Not everyone gets post herpetic neuralgia, but you must take the anti viral within 24 - 48 hours for best results.

Good luck with it, think happy immune system, I had moxi bustion done on me when I had it ( took the anitviral within 48 hours) and the chinese medicine seemed to help as well.

best of luck....... do everything you can to have a happy immune system.  

[merryBe]

sorry to hear you are having this nightmare but you need to act quickly with this complication. I have 2 friends who had it, one knocked it out with immediate treatment the other did not and went on to suffer for years unbearably.

The steroids are used because they help the immune system to deal with the disease, in fact your body makes it's own steroids every day to deal with inflammation and other issues, the added hormone (steroid) helps halt some of the nerve damaging inflammation..... but how much you could use with HCV and liver damage is the question.
It will depend on your stage/grade at biopsy and age as to whether your docs will chance giving them to you, and even then the dose needed may not be achievable while the liver is already dealing with the HCV drugs.
The thing is, I'd look into the use of valtrex, steroid or anything else WITH HCV TX and see what the literature says. You obviously don't want to throw in the towel if there is any other way and it may be possible to knock back the shingles without an extended treatment IF the tx is begun immediately.
I really feel for you...they wanted me to quit when my GB almost burst, instead I had them sliced me open, fry my liver, and serve me up with onions, but I did not go quietly into the stop treatment approach. Still you need to heed what your liver doc says, my surgery wasn't without risk while treating but it was not likely to cause my liver to fail, whereas the shingles tx may have that concern...but even here, there are maybe some drugs less toxic that would work.

mb