Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
is everyone here saying because someone got chicken pox as a child you are more than likely to get shingles ? I am a prime candidate then because I had chicken pox everywhere when I was a kid I even had them in my eyelashes yep covered from head to toe , No shot for the chicken pox back then . I sure hope that is not the case because I have already seen someone with the shingles and it is not pretty . A man in the line at the pharmacy and boy was he miserable .
If you could see the man's shingles, he should not have been out in public
I had chicken pox as child--no vaccine then and now I am 69
I developed shingles the summer after I retired from teaching at 55--very stressful teaching year as well as having my dad die and our dog of 12 yrs---stress on top of stress...
My son and daughter both had chicken pox as children-bad cases because there was no vaccine for them either
My son got shingles when he was around 10 ---he developed Hodgkin's Disease, a cancer of the lymph system which is statistically rare in children before puberty--and when I suggested that was the cause of his swollen lymph nodes and other symptoms his pediatrician and his ENT told he I was "foolish" because the odds were against that diagnosis
Heaven save me from doctors who can't diagnose from classic Hodgkin's symptoms and refused a chest X-ray because that was "too dangerous" for a child...
They were idiots
Son was going through heavy chemo therapy and got shingles on top of the side effects od chemo--damaged immune system...luckily has been cancer and shingles free for many years...
Everyone should get a shingles shot or get revaccinated for chickenpox if they had that vs the actual disease
Shingles can be ezcrutiatingly painful and of long duration...
I got a very painful shingles outbreak (first ever) at 56 and I'm sure it was stress related. It happened about a month after an extremely stressful period. I'm certain that stress can bring it on, confirmed by my doctor. It was crazy painful, took weeks to recover, and totally blind-sided me. Doc said that after you have an outbreak, you have an immunity from it for a couple of years, which is why he wouldn't approve me for the vaccination for now. But you can bet I'll be taking the shingles vaccine when I turn 60. Never want to feel that again! Insurance won't pay for the vaccine until age 60, and I understand that it's quite expensive without insurance.
my immune compromised mom had shingles TWICE .... before the shingles vax was available, I believe.... She had very severe rheumatoid arthritis and the medications she was taking to try to control that suppressed her immune system.....
Just from helping her with treatment both times she had shingles, you better believe I will be getting that vaccine in 3 years!! and as often as recommended afterwards.....
Had shingles at age 40, probably stress-related, but who knows and it doesn't really matter. I was completely healthy otherwise. Had chicken pox when a kid of course. It showed up on my face and eye. Interesting that because shingles tends to activate in only one nerve trunk at a time you could have drawn a pencil line down the middle of my face...one side affected, the other completely normal. Didn't know what it was until a few days into it. The anti-viral med acyclovir was newly available so the doc put me on that as well as a short term steroid. Results were fast and dramatic. I felt so much better in a couple of days and was fine in a week. The only bad part was the cost of the anti-viral. At the time my share of the payment ended up being about $480 . It was worth every penny and so glad to have had the choice at the time.
She is the 3rd Young Adult I have known to get it; far more than those of 60 vaccination or not. Her friend got it a 34 weeks before her wedding. My SIL got it at 32 right after his first child was born. See any stress related?
The only elderly person I have known to have had Shingles, including my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, inlaws, was my husband who had his vaccination. He got Shingles right after he had a heart attack. Stress, AND not being exposed to children and grandchildren with chicken pox.
Maybe Big Pharms need to change their marketing plans. EVERYONE, whatever age, needs to be vaccinated against Shingles, since they created the need for it.
I am 69 and I cannot believe all these young adult getting this. YOU are causing this Big Pharms. To quote my daughter 20 minutes, "Mom, you never catch ANYTHING" Leave your immune system ALONE and don't mess it up with drugs and vaccines. Dear Daughter, I bathed you, dried you, washed your clothes and bedding when you had chicken pox. I HAD my "Shingles Booster Vaccination". You never did being around children with it.
Chicken pox isn't what inoculates you to it. It's German measles. Shingles booster? I had a very minor shingles outbreak a few years ago, after my immune system had been low, due to years of another condition. I had chicken pox as a kid, but not German measles. Anyway, it's too late now for any vaccination or booster, from what I understand, since I've already had that little manifestation of it.
My husband's doctor would not give him a 2nd vaccination once he already had shingles. He told him that the vaccine is less than 10% effective after having the disease. Besides which, would Medicare pay for a 2nd vaccination? I doubt private insurance would pay for someone in their 30's.
My point is that these are YOUNG Adults getting this. My daughter's is the worst I have seen; far more than my husband's or SIL's. Their's was on their backs and they just wore a shirt to work. My daughter has it on her face, neck, and chest, but she said she is still going to go to work with it. "I cannot afford not to". Besides not being on her radar at her age, she certainly could not afford to go to a doctor beforehand and demand and pay for a $300 shingles vax.
Yes, it makes me mad. Yes, to that other poster, I am mad at Big Pharms for creating this problem for YOUNG Adults. My daughter, SIL, and others, are decades away from that age when they are supposed to get shingles according to all the medical professionals.
Again, just HOW is it that Big Pharma has created shingles in young people?
Seems to me, from former posts, that you're mad at "Big Pharma", the boogeyman, on general principles.
Thinking on this subject about WHY, people get this or don't get it. Perhaps some of us are born with a stronger immune system. I did get C.P. as a kid, had enough stress in my life, no vaccines and and no shingles but a lot of supps for some 25 yrs.
Why are some born with asthma, diabetes, more prone to cancers, arthritis. Could be a lot of the immune system and could be genetics.
I remember a lady at a place where I worked some yrs ago, was pregnant with a 2nd child from second marriage and she was maybe late 30's early 40's...and she would leave our office area to go out and smoke a cig WHILE being pregnant.
I just wonder how the baby turned out, asthma? If our mothers smoked while carrying us, chances are we will have weaker systems. My mom did NOT smoke or drink. But she baked a mean bunch of sugary stuff == arthritis food.
I've had shingles 3-4 times and had the shingles vac. but I don't trust my doctors office to keep the vaccine as proscribed. I have the pain from the spot just under my left shoulder blade.......but, I am blessed in that my episodes are not as bad as some peoples.(age 73)
My youngest daughter had her first episode at 15-16 and have had 2 attacks since then. She is 47.
Chicken pox isn't what inoculates you to it. It's German measles. Shingles booster? I had a very minor shingles outbreak a few years ago, after my immune system had been low, due to years of another condition. I had chicken pox as a kid, but not German measles. Anyway, it's too late now for any vaccination or booster, from what I understand, since I've already had that little manifestation of it.
1. Shingles is a reactivation of Varicella zoster i.e. chicken pox. German measles is not related to shingles.
2. Having had shingles in the past does not mean you cannot receive the Zostavax vaccine for shingles, anyone over 60 can receive the vaccine whether they have had shingles already or not
3. There currently is no shingles "booster" its a one time vaccine which unfortunately seems to last about 5-8 years, there are currently ongoing studies regarding a 2nd administration of the vaccine and its use as a "booster" is likely coming
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and as often as recommended afterwards.....
. It was worth every penny and so glad to have had the choice at the time.