Well, life sure is full of new adventures. I thought I had come through Saturday's St. George marathon relatively unscathed, but today the doctor confirmed my self-diagnosis of shingles, most likely triggered by the stress of running the marathon. For my own future reference, here is a summary of the diagnosis and treatment: Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso. Left side for me.
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles. Shingles is more common in older adults (such as 51) and in people who have weak immune systems. It can also be triggered by stress (such as running a marathon).
While it isn't a life-threatening condition, shingles can be very painful. Vaccines can help reduce the risk of shingles (I saw a sign at Rite-Aid today offering Shingles vaccinations, too late for me), while early treatment (what I’m hopefully getting) can help shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications. (My dad lost vision in his right eye from a bad case of shingles. Permanent pain after the infection is gone is also a possible complication.)
My Treatment:
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) – 1 (blue horse-pill sized) tablet 3 times a day - suppressive therapy of shingles (herpes zoster). Also helps in controlling the spread of the virus.
Kenalog injection: a corticosteroid hormone to reduce the body's immune response. (When I jokingly asked if the steroids would help me buff up, the doctor did say that my sore joints might feel better.)
Lyrica: to treat nerve pain after shingles. The doctor wants me to take these at night (because they cause drowsiness) for 3 weeks. All of these drugs, of course, have potential negative side effects (permanent dementia, spontaneous gender change, increased risk of alien abduction, the feeling of being drawn and quartered, etc.). Time will tell how my body will respond. The doctor told me that my body is fighting a major infection and that I should avoid stress and rest whenever I feel tired. I'll probably work from home mixed with resting for a few days. Life is full of adventures/adversities. This is my new one for now. It should be interesting. I’m curious to see how it goes. I hope to endure well. | 