anyone break out with shingles

fuzzytrouble
fuzzytrouble Member Posts: 212
edited March 2014 in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
I just broke out with a small rash from shingles and I was wondering if anyone else had the same thing happen to them? I have a call in to my Dr. so I will see what he tells me.

Living with hope,
Sharon

Comments

  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #2
    Not personally, but I read that it is fairly common.
    I read a book (non-fiction) written by a cancer care-giver that talked about his wife getting shingles when she was in treatment for cancer. In the book, the woman was told by her physician that it is common to get shingles when you are getting chemo if you have ever had chicken pox, and that shingles usually appear in times of stress and having cancer is stressful. I had them once years ago; they can really hurt. ((((((Sharon))))))
  • fuzzytrouble
    fuzzytrouble Member Posts: 212
    #3
    SHINGLES
    I have received medicine for the shingles and now my sleeping problems are gone. lol These pills make me sleep a lot. I got my case of chicken pox's at the age of 33, and have had outbreaks now and again since then but never this bad. The spot is right in between my breast and every time I move it hurts a lot. The blisters are huge too and haven't broken yet. I have to take the medicine for 7 days, 3x's a day. Can't wait for this one to pass too. Another bump in the road. lol
    I too have heard that it is very common for anyone on chemo to get them if they had chicken pox's.

    Living with hope,
    Sharon
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #4
    fuzzytrouble said:

    SHINGLES
    I have received medicine for the shingles and now my sleeping problems are gone. lol These pills make me sleep a lot. I got my case of chicken pox's at the age of 33, and have had outbreaks now and again since then but never this bad. The spot is right in between my breast and every time I move it hurts a lot. The blisters are huge too and haven't broken yet. I have to take the medicine for 7 days, 3x's a day. Can't wait for this one to pass too. Another bump in the road. lol
    I too have heard that it is very common for anyone on chemo to get them if they had chicken pox's.

    Living with hope,
    Sharon

    Sharon sorry about your shingles
    I am so sorry you are having such problems. Shingles can be so painful. I am glad you got some medicine for them. I hope the medicine helps. You may need some pain medication, too, if you don't have any. I have never experienced shingles myself, but I have taken care of many people who have had them. As Linda said they can appear when a person's body is stressed. You have definitely been under stress, and not sleeping also adds to the stress. Hope you can relax, get some rest, and feel better. HUGS to you.
  • fuzzytrouble
    fuzzytrouble Member Posts: 212
    #5
    Ro10 said:

    Sharon sorry about your shingles
    I am so sorry you are having such problems. Shingles can be so painful. I am glad you got some medicine for them. I hope the medicine helps. You may need some pain medication, too, if you don't have any. I have never experienced shingles myself, but I have taken care of many people who have had them. As Linda said they can appear when a person's body is stressed. You have definitely been under stress, and not sleeping also adds to the stress. Hope you can relax, get some rest, and feel better. HUGS to you.

    Thank you
    My shingles are almost gone now and the medicine I took was great except it made me sick once in a while but it worked and that's all I cared about. lol I don't want them back at all. Funny thing it helped me sleep better too I can get a least 4 hours straight now. lol
    Hope this finds you having a great day.

    Living with hope,
    Sharon
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #6
    fuzzytrouble said:

    Thank you
    My shingles are almost gone now and the medicine I took was great except it made me sick once in a while but it worked and that's all I cared about. lol I don't want them back at all. Funny thing it helped me sleep better too I can get a least 4 hours straight now. lol
    Hope this finds you having a great day.

    Living with hope,
    Sharon

    Sharon, glad you are feeling better
    Glad your shingles are better, and you are sleeping a little better. Hope it continues to improve for you. Take care. HUGS to you.
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #7
    Ro10 said:

    Sharon, glad you are feeling better
    Glad your shingles are better, and you are sleeping a little better. Hope it continues to improve for you. Take care. HUGS to you.

    I too broke out with shingles
    I was not feeling good Monday or Tuesday. Very nauseated and so tired. I had tingling in my abdomen and around to my back. Thought the nausea might be something I ate, although my husband was fine. Wednesday I noticed a small area like a rash on my stomach. Thursday it became bubbly. I suspected shingles.

    Luckily I had an appointment with a dermatologist today. She confirmed it was shingles and gave me medicine for it. If you start the medicine within 72 hours of the outbreak of the rash, it lessens the severity of the shingles. I hope I got the medicine within the 72 hours, and that I tolerate the medicine okay. I am allergic 6 different antibiotics.

    The nurse practioner asked if I had some pain pills. So that does not sound too encouraging.

    Don't know where these came from. I know stress can trigger them. I have had good stress with my cruise to Canada, trip to Niagara Falls and my return to Florida. I guess good stress is still stress. I just hope it doesn't last too long. In peace and caring.
  • Always Hopeful
    Always Hopeful Member Posts: 234
    #8
    Ro10 said:

    I too broke out with shingles
    I was not feeling good Monday or Tuesday. Very nauseated and so tired. I had tingling in my abdomen and around to my back. Thought the nausea might be something I ate, although my husband was fine. Wednesday I noticed a small area like a rash on my stomach. Thursday it became bubbly. I suspected shingles.

    Luckily I had an appointment with a dermatologist today. She confirmed it was shingles and gave me medicine for it. If you start the medicine within 72 hours of the outbreak of the rash, it lessens the severity of the shingles. I hope I got the medicine within the 72 hours, and that I tolerate the medicine okay. I am allergic 6 different antibiotics.

    The nurse practioner asked if I had some pain pills. So that does not sound too encouraging.

    Don't know where these came from. I know stress can trigger them. I have had good stress with my cruise to Canada, trip to Niagara Falls and my return to Florida. I guess good stress is still stress. I just hope it doesn't last too long. In peace and caring.

    Can you get shingles more than once?
    Dear Ro,

    I am so sorry to hear of your case of shingles. I had shingles about 8 years ago and thankfully I took the meds in enough time to prevent a major outbreak. One of the things that remained after the shingles, was post herpatic neuropathy. Every now and then, it acts up...same "itchy, burning bugs under the skin" feeling. I really never associated it with the chemo (since it had happened before) but I have noticed more symptoms within the last few months.

    I'm also wondering if you can get shingles more than once? For some reason I thought it was like chicken pox...once a lifetime, but some of these previous posts are making me think otherwise. Guess I'll do another google search tomorrow.

    My prayers for you to de-stress in Florida and have few to none shingle symptoms.

    Peace and hope, JJ
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #9
    Always Hopeful said:

    Can you get shingles more than once?
    Dear Ro,

    I am so sorry to hear of your case of shingles. I had shingles about 8 years ago and thankfully I took the meds in enough time to prevent a major outbreak. One of the things that remained after the shingles, was post herpatic neuropathy. Every now and then, it acts up...same "itchy, burning bugs under the skin" feeling. I really never associated it with the chemo (since it had happened before) but I have noticed more symptoms within the last few months.

    I'm also wondering if you can get shingles more than once? For some reason I thought it was like chicken pox...once a lifetime, but some of these previous posts are making me think otherwise. Guess I'll do another google search tomorrow.

    My prayers for you to de-stress in Florida and have few to none shingle symptoms.

    Peace and hope, JJ

    Some people do get shingles more than once
    What I read is that if your pain from shingles lasted more than 30 - 60 days, you had a greater chance to get shingles again. I never had chicken pox that I know of, but did get the chicken pox vaccine (one of the hospitals I taught nursing clinicals required the shot if you never had chicken pox). There were 6 kids in my family and my two daughters had chicken pox, but I did not ever break out with them. I hope you do not get them again. In peace and caring.
  • fuzzytrouble
    fuzzytrouble Member Posts: 212
    #10
    Ro10 said:

    I too broke out with shingles
    I was not feeling good Monday or Tuesday. Very nauseated and so tired. I had tingling in my abdomen and around to my back. Thought the nausea might be something I ate, although my husband was fine. Wednesday I noticed a small area like a rash on my stomach. Thursday it became bubbly. I suspected shingles.

    Luckily I had an appointment with a dermatologist today. She confirmed it was shingles and gave me medicine for it. If you start the medicine within 72 hours of the outbreak of the rash, it lessens the severity of the shingles. I hope I got the medicine within the 72 hours, and that I tolerate the medicine okay. I am allergic 6 different antibiotics.

    The nurse practioner asked if I had some pain pills. So that does not sound too encouraging.

    Don't know where these came from. I know stress can trigger them. I have had good stress with my cruise to Canada, trip to Niagara Falls and my return to Florida. I guess good stress is still stress. I just hope it doesn't last too long. In peace and caring.

    Shingles
    Hi Ro, I am so sorry you had to go through the shingles it is no fun and you know that now. I was told that the virus hides in our nerves along the spinal cord same as chicken pox. I had shingles a lot and they are contagious to other people while you have break out, which I am sure you know. Any type of stress can trigger a outbreak or your immune system not up to par so every time I get a certain feeling I know it's the shingles. By the way I have been off chemo since March and so far everything seems to be going well. I still have the nodules in my lungs and some new one did show up in my last ct scan but not enough to worry about my doc said. He said we should give my body a break from chemo as long as we can.
    I hope you are having a better day today and more to come. Take care of those Shingles.
    Hugs to you from Oregon
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #11
    fuzzytrouble said:

    Shingles
    Hi Ro, I am so sorry you had to go through the shingles it is no fun and you know that now. I was told that the virus hides in our nerves along the spinal cord same as chicken pox. I had shingles a lot and they are contagious to other people while you have break out, which I am sure you know. Any type of stress can trigger a outbreak or your immune system not up to par so every time I get a certain feeling I know it's the shingles. By the way I have been off chemo since March and so far everything seems to be going well. I still have the nodules in my lungs and some new one did show up in my last ct scan but not enough to worry about my doc said. He said we should give my body a break from chemo as long as we can.
    I hope you are having a better day today and more to come. Take care of those Shingles.
    Hugs to you from Oregon

    Sharon good to hear from you
    Thanks for your comments on the shingles. Am I only contagious to anyone who has not had the chicken pox? I would think a year after chemo, I would have my immune system up to what it was before treatment. I know you have suffered with them before.

    I am so glad you have been off treatment since March. Sorry to hear about the new nodule in your lung. I am glad your body is getting a rest. I love the picture of your precious granddaughter. Hope you got to spend time with her this summer. Hope you too are having a good day. In peace and caring.
  • Always Hopeful
    Always Hopeful Member Posts: 234
    #12
    Ro10 said:

    Some people do get shingles more than once
    What I read is that if your pain from shingles lasted more than 30 - 60 days, you had a greater chance to get shingles again. I never had chicken pox that I know of, but did get the chicken pox vaccine (one of the hospitals I taught nursing clinicals required the shot if you never had chicken pox). There were 6 kids in my family and my two daughters had chicken pox, but I did not ever break out with them. I hope you do not get them again. In peace and caring.

    Confused
    Now I'm really confused. I thought you could not get shingles unless you did have the chicken pos. Since you never had the chicken pox was the vaccine a live virus, making your body "think" you had the chicken pox.

    I hope that you are not in too much pain. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

    Peace and hope, JJ
  • Always Hopeful
    Always Hopeful Member Posts: 234
    #13
    Ro10 said:

    Some people do get shingles more than once
    What I read is that if your pain from shingles lasted more than 30 - 60 days, you had a greater chance to get shingles again. I never had chicken pox that I know of, but did get the chicken pox vaccine (one of the hospitals I taught nursing clinicals required the shot if you never had chicken pox). There were 6 kids in my family and my two daughters had chicken pox, but I did not ever break out with them. I hope you do not get them again. In peace and caring.

    Confused
    Now I'm really confused. I thought you could not get shingles unless you did have the chicken pos. Since you never had the chicken pox was the vaccine a live virus, making your body "think" you had the chicken pox.

    I hope that you are not in too much pain. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

    Peace and hope, JJ
  • cathyK
    cathyK Member Posts: 93
    #14
    Always Hopeful said:

    Can you get shingles more than once?
    Dear Ro,

    I am so sorry to hear of your case of shingles. I had shingles about 8 years ago and thankfully I took the meds in enough time to prevent a major outbreak. One of the things that remained after the shingles, was post herpatic neuropathy. Every now and then, it acts up...same "itchy, burning bugs under the skin" feeling. I really never associated it with the chemo (since it had happened before) but I have noticed more symptoms within the last few months.

    I'm also wondering if you can get shingles more than once? For some reason I thought it was like chicken pox...once a lifetime, but some of these previous posts are making me think otherwise. Guess I'll do another google search tomorrow.

    My prayers for you to de-stress in Florida and have few to none shingle symptoms.

    Peace and hope, JJ

    Can you get shingles more than once?
    I was just visiting a dermatologist for pre cancer spots , asked him about getting shingles again, he said NO you can not get true shingles again, YES you can get herpies type shingles, that can return again and again, oh joy,. not sure which I had but did have shingles for around 2 weeks (outbreak with red rash) pain went on for around 1 1/2 months with no rash, and it all started with my arm , shoulder and armpit in extreme pain, felt like someone stabbing me with a LARGE knife! got pills 3 days after feeling pain, had 2 spots on my arm, which broke out across my upper back 2 days later. thank God it is gone, praying it is gone for good.
    I was told due to the low immune system the shingles loves to come visit !
    cathy K

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