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Probably just got Shingles. Any advice for someone already dealing with major chronic pain?
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this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
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Sorry for the very late reply (I just found this community). Disclaimer: I am a medical student and my recommendations here are things to discuss with your primary care provider and are not a replacement for care and consultation from a provider that you see directly and is familiar with your full medical history.
Shingles is hella awful and I'm sorry you're dealing with it (I hope you haven't had a recurrence since you posted this). It is more likely to show up at sites of previous injury because it is a virus that hangs out in nerve endings that gets reactivated, usually when you are stressed out or your immune system loses control of it. If you had traumatic injuries to an area, the nerve endings there are going to be more susceptible to the viral reactivation.
You could/should ask about getting the Shingles vaccine, especially if you have other conditions that put you at higher risk for immune problems as it can still be at least partially effective in reducing the frequency, severity, and duration of future recurrences.
For pain management, heat is a good way to help improve circulation to the area to increase the number of white blood cells in the area to help with healing, and cold is a good way to numb the discomfort for a while. Over the counter pain medications are variably helpful, and if the pain is really bad, you can alternate Tylenol and ibuprofen on a schedule. Staying on top of pain is always more effective than trying to catch up to it. The OTC pain med alternation schedule I recommended when I was an assistant at a surgery clinic (based on the instruction/direction of the surgeons) is as follows: Example: Tylenol (Acetaminophen is the American generic name, Paracetamol is the European generic name) Ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil are the brand names)
(if it's extremely bad pain, set alarms to take meds in the middle of the night)
You can go down to 500mg of Tylenol and 400mg of Ibuprofen for each dose if it's less severe pain that is still constant
WARNING!! DO NOT EXCEED 3000MG OF TYLENOL IN A 24H PERIOD. Tylenol overdose can lead to serious liver damage and life-threatening complications if it gets bad enough. Warning: Take Ibuprofen with food and limit regular dosing of Ibuprofen to 3 days if possible as excessive use of NSAIDs like
Ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers, and long term use can cause kidney damage. Do not combine Ibuprofen with other NSAIDs including Aspirin, and do not take Ibuprofen if you have kidney disease and have been instructed to avoid it.
These medications are safe if taken as directed and as minimally as possible, but be sure to read the labels of ALL medications that you take as some over the counter products contain Tylenol or Ibuprofen without listing it clearly on the box. (It will be listed in the "Active Ingredients" section on the back of the box) Common products that have these as part of a cocktail are things like Midol or Dayquil.