Ever Had Shingles?

[GailL1]

If you have ever had Shingles, could you describe it - how you felt, what happened (extent of the disease), how long did it persist, any lingering conditions?  Have you had it more than once?

I think a description might encourage others to consider the vaccination as long as they have no extenuating / contraindication to the vaccine.    Maybe . . . . . . 

I had Zostavax, the old singles vaccine (live vaccine) years ago -  it did protect me but scientifically it wasn't rated very high in protection for many people.  So now we have a new one - Shingrix.

I had the new Shingrix vaccine (given in 2-doses) in 2020.  Shingles isn't a disease that I want to fool around with - knew one person that had it spread to their eyes.

[JulieB430697]

Yes, in fact I will soon get my second vaccine. I had them twice, the second being the worse time. I felt pretty achy and run down after the first vaccine so I am a bit nervous about this second shot. Apparently I am quite sensitive to the virus!

[GailL1]

@JulieB430697 

But it sure beats having shingles.

Shingrix is 90% effective after the 2nd dose.

[aruzinsky]

Yes, about 13 years ago.  The skin pain wasn't nearly as bad as people in TV ads describe.  It itched more than hurt so I scratched it.  But, the muscles pain below the skin was bad and other people hardly ever mention it.

I got shingles while I was out of vitamin C which I normally take in large doses.  I don't think that it was a coincidence.

[AARPRachelA]

I'm glad you got vaccinated, @GailL1. It's also not something I want to mess around with. Like your friend, my grandpa had shingles that spread to his eye. He had to have it permanently sealed shut to stop it from spreading further 😳