ShadowsPapa
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Bill
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2019
- Threads
- 178
- Messages
- 29,086
- Reaction score
- 34,570
- Location
- Runnells, Iowa
- Vehicle(s)
- '22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
- Occupation
- Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
- Vehicle Showcase
- 3
- Thread starter
- #1
WARNING - it's long and detailed!
I had an "interesting" visit with my doctor yesterday. Went in to the urgent care place and it was my own doctor who was on duty then. I went for pain that's progressing from back around to side and forward on lower abdomen. It is in a place similar to location of kidney but more in the muscle area and outward. It had gotten unbearable and making it hard to sleep. It's moving in a straight line and severe at times. NOTHING helped - none of the OTC pain things be it aspirin or anything else sold for pain helped, not one lick. In a way it reminds me SORT OF, of the same thing that happened off and on months ago on my scalp and face and nothing conclusive was ever decided, I decided to ride it out - it got better but never went away.
Along with the face tingling and numbness, my scalp hurt like hell if touched and the wind moving what hair I have was painful. Along with that, there were severe headaches and joint and muscle pains.
I talked to the doctor about it being my back since I have a lifetime of lifting, carrying and bending over fenders and such - I have some spine issues. He said no, this isn't related and the pains I have aren't my back (not at this time anyway!)
He believes it's "internal shingles" (although technically that's the type that impacts internal organs, the term is loosely used for any that doesn't have the rash) - this is known medically as Zoster sine herpete (ZSH). No rash at all.
It's caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox - the varicella-zoster virus.
Interesting thing is that the virus' impact always follows nerve paths, for example, may impact only half of an area, like right half of scalp, but not left at all, or there may be numbness or tingling on right half of face, but the left is fine.
The lower side pain is also a straight line. Feel like I've got some sort of bad infection at times but never a fever and all tests come back 100% normal. Also accompanied with a lot of fatigue, can't keep moving - and moving hurts bad. It's painful as heck just sitting in a chair right now (after mowing for a bit - the jouncing on the lawn tractor was too much.
This version never has a rash, but causes severe pain in straight lines, tender to the touch and like a badly pulled muscle at times.
I had the shots - doctor said that's a good thing as if I hadn't, it would likely be a lot worse.
The vaccines are 97% effective and for those who still have it pop up, it reduces severity of the symptoms, so there's plenty of reasons to get the vaccine.
I did some research on the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo pages. The symptoms fit perfectly.
Wonderful - lasts from months to years, can be severe, not a lot can be done. The virus that causes it can't be eradicated, only kept at bay maybe.
What I have to look forward to ->
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a common complication of shingles. Research has shown that between 5 and 20 percent of people who develop shingles go on to develop PHN.
During a shingles outbreak, the nerve fibers where the virus has been dormant become inflamed. This leads to abnormal transmission of neural impulses. The result is pain.
However, once the infection has resolved, the pain can continue. This is known as PHN. It can lead to constant localized pain along with numbness and tingling for months. Other symptoms can include off-and-on pain and increased sensitivity to touch. In more severe cases, the symptoms can last for years.
Well, that explains the weird pains, tingling, etc. - and why nothing I take has any impact at all - even max doses of pain killers have zero impact and the doctor says "of course they won't because the virus attacks the nerves themselves causing false signals".
I had an "interesting" visit with my doctor yesterday. Went in to the urgent care place and it was my own doctor who was on duty then. I went for pain that's progressing from back around to side and forward on lower abdomen. It is in a place similar to location of kidney but more in the muscle area and outward. It had gotten unbearable and making it hard to sleep. It's moving in a straight line and severe at times. NOTHING helped - none of the OTC pain things be it aspirin or anything else sold for pain helped, not one lick. In a way it reminds me SORT OF, of the same thing that happened off and on months ago on my scalp and face and nothing conclusive was ever decided, I decided to ride it out - it got better but never went away.
Along with the face tingling and numbness, my scalp hurt like hell if touched and the wind moving what hair I have was painful. Along with that, there were severe headaches and joint and muscle pains.
I talked to the doctor about it being my back since I have a lifetime of lifting, carrying and bending over fenders and such - I have some spine issues. He said no, this isn't related and the pains I have aren't my back (not at this time anyway!)
He believes it's "internal shingles" (although technically that's the type that impacts internal organs, the term is loosely used for any that doesn't have the rash) - this is known medically as Zoster sine herpete (ZSH). No rash at all.
It's caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox - the varicella-zoster virus.
Interesting thing is that the virus' impact always follows nerve paths, for example, may impact only half of an area, like right half of scalp, but not left at all, or there may be numbness or tingling on right half of face, but the left is fine.
The lower side pain is also a straight line. Feel like I've got some sort of bad infection at times but never a fever and all tests come back 100% normal. Also accompanied with a lot of fatigue, can't keep moving - and moving hurts bad. It's painful as heck just sitting in a chair right now (after mowing for a bit - the jouncing on the lawn tractor was too much.
This version never has a rash, but causes severe pain in straight lines, tender to the touch and like a badly pulled muscle at times.
I had the shots - doctor said that's a good thing as if I hadn't, it would likely be a lot worse.
The vaccines are 97% effective and for those who still have it pop up, it reduces severity of the symptoms, so there's plenty of reasons to get the vaccine.
I did some research on the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo pages. The symptoms fit perfectly.
Wonderful - lasts from months to years, can be severe, not a lot can be done. The virus that causes it can't be eradicated, only kept at bay maybe.
What I have to look forward to ->
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a common complication of shingles. Research has shown that between 5 and 20 percent of people who develop shingles go on to develop PHN.
During a shingles outbreak, the nerve fibers where the virus has been dormant become inflamed. This leads to abnormal transmission of neural impulses. The result is pain.
However, once the infection has resolved, the pain can continue. This is known as PHN. It can lead to constant localized pain along with numbness and tingling for months. Other symptoms can include off-and-on pain and increased sensitivity to touch. In more severe cases, the symptoms can last for years.
Well, that explains the weird pains, tingling, etc. - and why nothing I take has any impact at all - even max doses of pain killers have zero impact and the doctor says "of course they won't because the virus attacks the nerves themselves causing false signals".
Sponsored