On Wed, 9 Oct 2013 15:42:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com wrote:



"John H" wrote in message
.. .

On Wed, 9 Oct 2013 13:49:36 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com
wrote:



"John H" wrote in message
. ..

On Wed, 9 Oct 2013 13:04:47 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com
wrote:


Have to go back to both docs in a week.

Terrific.



Sorry to hear about that. Hope the medicine helps.

I got my shot when they first became available, and I'm becoming
happier that I did.

---------------------------

It's funny because I had been considering getting a "shingles shot"
this year. I should have last year, I guess.
If the vaccine can prevent or even minimize an onset of shingles, I'd
recommend it to everyone as I am discovering what it's like to have
it. I'd describe it as more like torture that won't take a break.


My sympathies. Wish there was more I could do.

I can't understand something. Perhaps it's my news reader. When I hit
the Reply button for almost
any message, the message to which I'm responding is quoted. However,
this is not the case with your
messages. The only way my reply quotes you is if I copy and paste your
message in the reply.

Any ideas?

Greg - if you read this - you got any ideas?

Here's another response. I'm thinking the separator prevents your post from being quoted if your
post is a direct response to mine. When you responded to Greg, and then I responded to that
response, I got the separators and the quote.

Weird.
--

John H.

Hope you're having a great day!

On 10/9/2013 1:04 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
Thought you'd get a kick out of this based on recent conversations:


I just came back from my doctor's appointment. Told him the whole
story about being an idiot and installing fiberglass insulation over my
head without wearing any protection.

He looked at my still swollen eye and blisters.

Said, "that's not from insulation .... you have shingles."

Nah, I said. Too coincidental. Explained again that it all started
within hours after I was doing the overhead insulation installation.

He just grinned at me and said "you have shingles and I'll bet my
license on it".

I told him that I had googled up fiberglass allergies and had seen
pictures of blisters that look exactly like what I have.
He was getting a kick out of my self-diagnosis and asked me how I could
tell a shingle blister from one caused by a reaction to fiberglass.
I was catching on. "So, a blister is a blister?"

I said, "but I thought shingles usually happens on only one side of
your body ... and usually your chest or abdomen".

He told me It's not as common to get it on your face and when it
affects an eye it can be particularly serious without treatment with
possible blindness. It's also very painful because in addition to the
blisters, it can feel like you have a needle stuck in your eye. (That's
exactly how it feels)

He gave me prescriptions for a bunch of medicine to start taking and
then sent me immediately over to a nearby eye clinic.

I was still not 100 percent convinced, knowing that I once had a severe
reaction to fiberglass and fiberglass resins when working at Boston Whaler.
But as I recall, I didn't get blisters then. My face just swelled up
big time and was probably more a reaction to fresh resin.

So, the eye doc has me in his machine poking around and focusing strange
colored lights in my eye. I was telling him also that I still thought
it could be due to getting fiberglass dust on my face and in my eye.
He said, "does it feel like there's a pin stuck in your eye?" I
said, "exactly".

He said, "That's because you have shingles."

So, I was democratically out-voted by two doctors. I have shingles.

So, now I have steroid pills to take every three hours, steroid drops
to put in my eye 8 times a day and some other pill to take.

Have to go back to both docs in a week.

Terrific.



O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

"Hank©" wrote in message
eb.com...


O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

--------------------------

Right now I'd trade a colonoscopy a week for the next two months for
this.

Just noticed something that's almost funny. The doc said that
because the shingles virus follows nerve paths, you will only get it
on one side of your body at a time.

It's only my left eye and left side of my face that are affected, but
I have a bunch of blisters on the top of my scalp (under my remaining,
thinning hair).

I just ran my fingers over them and realized that they all start from
the centerline and go leftward. The right side is fine. Weird.

On 10/9/2013 2:24 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:


"Hank©" wrote in message
eb.com...


O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

--------------------------

Right now I'd trade a colonoscopy a week for the next two months for this.

Just noticed something that's almost funny. The doc said that because
the shingles virus follows nerve paths, you will only get it on one
side of your body at a time.

It's only my left eye and left side of my face that are affected, but I
have a bunch of blisters on the top of my scalp (under my remaining,
thinning hair).

I just ran my fingers over them and realized that they all start from
the centerline and go leftward. The right side is fine. Weird.



Poor woman across the street got it and it lasted for weeks. After a
week or so she was so bad they put her on Oxycontin and it didn't work
so after another week or so she just quit cold turkey, almost killed her
the withdrawls... She thought she was having a heart attack and went off
in the Ambulance... Be careful. Don't live in misery.. That's just dumb
in this day and age but talk to your doctor a lot about the pain control
meds, especially if you are bad enough to need dope.... Know what to
expect, and more importantly, have an exit strategy worked out well in
advance with him... or her....

"Charlemagne" wrote in message ...


Poor woman across the street got it and it lasted for weeks. After a
week or so she was so bad they put her on Oxycontin and it didn't
work so after another week or so she just quit cold turkey, almost
killed her the withdrawls... She thought she was having a heart
attack and went off in the Ambulance... Be careful. Don't live in
misery.. That's just dumb in this day and age but talk to your
doctor a lot about the pain control meds, especially if you are bad
enough to need dope.... Know what to expect, and more importantly,
have an exit strategy worked out well in advance with him... or
her....



The doc asked me if I wanted something for pain. I said no. He said
if I change my mind, just give him or his office a call.
I don't like pain but I can tolerate it. My wife says I have a
"high" pain threshold. I am not sure there is such a thing, but I
don't like strong painkillers either.

I am somewhat of an old fashioned curmudgeon about medical related
things I think. It's probably because I've been very fortunate to
have been very healthy throughout my life without over doing the
doctor thing, so why take chances that may screw it up? I don't go
to the doctor nearly enough as is recommended, sometimes for many
years at a time. The receptionist at my doctor's office claims that I
have the skinniest medical file of any of their long term clients. I
know it's stupid but old habits die hard.

When I went to the eye clinic today, it was the first time I've seen
an eye doctor since I left the Navy in 1978. Part of the exam
included a standard eye chart test with equipment that looked out of
Star Wars to me. My right eye was 20/25. The eye affected by
shingles, being all swollen and inflamed was 20/30 but the doc said
it would be better again, once the inflammation and swelling is gone.
That's not too shabby for a 64 year old. I could probably still
qualify (sight wise) for F-18 fighter training, except I'd probably
throw up on take off.

The eye doctor nurse had to take my medical history, since I was a
"new" patient. Here's how it went. Kinda funny:

Nurse: Any major surgeries?
Me: Tonsils when I was 12, appendix when I was 22 and a hernia
repair in my 40’s.
Nurse: That’s it? Nothing more recent?
Me: That’s it.
Nurse: Any history of diabetes, heart disease, cancer or pneumonia?
Me: Nope.
Nurse: High blood pressure?
Me: Used to be a little high but it’s fine now.

(I don’t think she believed me, so she took my blood pressure. It was
122/80 she said was excellent for my age.

Nurse: What kind of medications to you take regularly?

(They must assume anyone over 60 *must* be walking around with a pill
box in their pocket)

Me: None.
Nurse: You don’t take any kind of medication?
Me: Oh, well, yeah ... aspirin.
Nurse: Ok ... do you take the baby aspirin, the 350 milligram or the
500 milligram?
Me: I guess the regular 500 milligram. Usually take two.
Nurse: (looking up at me) You take *two* 500 milligram aspirins a
day?
Me: Hell no. I take two once in a while if I have a headache.
Nurse: So you aren’t on a daily aspirin regiment?
Me: What’s that?

Hey, it's worked so far.

On 10/9/2013 10:37 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:


"Charlemagne" wrote in message ...


Poor woman across the street got it and it lasted for weeks. After a
week or so she was so bad they put her on Oxycontin and it didn't
work so after another week or so she just quit cold turkey, almost
killed her the withdrawls... She thought she was having a heart
attack and went off in the Ambulance... Be careful. Don't live in
misery.. That's just dumb in this day and age but talk to your doctor
a lot about the pain control meds, especially if you are bad enough
to need dope.... Know what to expect, and more importantly, have an
exit strategy worked out well in advance with him... or her....



The doc asked me if I wanted something for pain. I said no. He said
if I change my mind, just give him or his office a call.
I don't like pain but I can tolerate it. My wife says I have a "high"
pain threshold. I am not sure there is such a thing, but I don't like
strong painkillers either.

I am somewhat of an old fashioned curmudgeon about medical related
things I think. It's probably because I've been very fortunate to have
been very healthy throughout my life without over doing the doctor
thing, so why take chances that may screw it up? I don't go to the
doctor nearly enough as is recommended, sometimes for many years at a
time. The receptionist at my doctor's office claims that I have the
skinniest medical file of any of their long term clients. I know it's
stupid but old habits die hard.

When I went to the eye clinic today, it was the first time I've seen an
eye doctor since I left the Navy in 1978. Part of the exam included a
standard eye chart test with equipment that looked out of Star Wars to
me. My right eye was 20/25. The eye affected by shingles, being all
swollen and inflamed was 20/30 but the doc said it would be better
again, once the inflammation and swelling is gone. That's not too shabby
for a 64 year old. I could probably still qualify (sight wise) for
F-18 fighter training, except I'd probably throw up on take off.

The eye doctor nurse had to take my medical history, since I was a "new"
patient. Here's how it went. Kinda funny:

Nurse: Any major surgeries?
Me: Tonsils when I was 12, appendix when I was 22 and a hernia repair
in my 40’s.
Nurse: That’s it? Nothing more recent?
Me: That’s it.
Nurse: Any history of diabetes, heart disease, cancer or pneumonia?
Me: Nope.
Nurse: High blood pressure?
Me: Used to be a little high but it’s fine now.

(I don’t think she believed me, so she took my blood pressure. It was
122/80 she said was excellent for my age.

Nurse: What kind of medications to you take regularly?

(They must assume anyone over 60 *must* be walking around with a pill
box in their pocket)

Me: None.
Nurse: You don’t take any kind of medication?
Me: Oh, well, yeah ... aspirin.
Nurse: Ok ... do you take the baby aspirin, the 350 milligram or the
500 milligram?
Me: I guess the regular 500 milligram. Usually take two.
Nurse: (looking up at me) You take *two* 500 milligram aspirins a day?
Me: Hell no. I take two once in a while if I have a headache.
Nurse: So you aren’t on a daily aspirin regiment?
Me: What’s that?

Hey, it's worked so far.



All I am saying is in this day and age, there is no real reason to
suffer with pain in a situation like this... I don't know how bad it is
for you guys, but when Mrs got it, sometimes I could hear
her moaning across the street and she is 75 year that grew up on the
streets of Chicago as a young black girl... Tough as nails, this thing
took her to her knees.... It was heartbreaking...

On Wed, 9 Oct 2013 22:37:27 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com wrote:



"Charlemagne" wrote in message ...


Poor woman across the street got it and it lasted for weeks. After a
week or so she was so bad they put her on Oxycontin and it didn't
work so after another week or so she just quit cold turkey, almost
killed her the withdrawls... She thought she was having a heart
attack and went off in the Ambulance... Be careful. Don't live in
misery.. That's just dumb in this day and age but talk to your
doctor a lot about the pain control meds, especially if you are bad
enough to need dope.... Know what to expect, and more importantly,
have an exit strategy worked out well in advance with him... or
her....



The doc asked me if I wanted something for pain. I said no. He said
if I change my mind, just give him or his office a call.
I don't like pain but I can tolerate it. My wife says I have a
"high" pain threshold. I am not sure there is such a thing, but I
don't like strong painkillers either.

I am somewhat of an old fashioned curmudgeon about medical related
things I think. It's probably because I've been very fortunate to
have been very healthy throughout my life without over doing the
doctor thing, so why take chances that may screw it up? I don't go
to the doctor nearly enough as is recommended, sometimes for many
years at a time. The receptionist at my doctor's office claims that I
have the skinniest medical file of any of their long term clients. I
know it's stupid but old habits die hard.

When I went to the eye clinic today, it was the first time I've seen
an eye doctor since I left the Navy in 1978. Part of the exam
included a standard eye chart test with equipment that looked out of
Star Wars to me. My right eye was 20/25. The eye affected by
shingles, being all swollen and inflamed was 20/30 but the doc said
it would be better again, once the inflammation and swelling is gone.
That's not too shabby for a 64 year old. I could probably still
qualify (sight wise) for F-18 fighter training, except I'd probably
throw up on take off.

The eye doctor nurse had to take my medical history, since I was a
"new" patient. Here's how it went. Kinda funny:

Nurse: Any major surgeries?
Me: Tonsils when I was 12, appendix when I was 22 and a hernia
repair in my 40’s.
Nurse: That’s it? Nothing more recent?
Me: That’s it.
Nurse: Any history of diabetes, heart disease, cancer or pneumonia?
Me: Nope.
Nurse: High blood pressure?
Me: Used to be a little high but it’s fine now.

(I don’t think she believed me, so she took my blood pressure. It was
122/80 she said was excellent for my age.

Nurse: What kind of medications to you take regularly?

(They must assume anyone over 60 *must* be walking around with a pill
box in their pocket)

Me: None.
Nurse: You don’t take any kind of medication?
Me: Oh, well, yeah ... aspirin.
Nurse: Ok ... do you take the baby aspirin, the 350 milligram or the
500 milligram?
Me: I guess the regular 500 milligram. Usually take two.
Nurse: (looking up at me) You take *two* 500 milligram aspirins a
day?
Me: Hell no. I take two once in a while if I have a headache.
Nurse: So you aren’t on a daily aspirin regiment?
Me: What’s that?

Hey, it's worked so far.


I take a cholesterol pill and a baby aspirin. Heart disease runs in the family - both sides. Smoked
for 39+ years. Doc says the heart risk is too high not to keep the cholesterol down. The aspirin is
a safety measure.

But, I'll be 70 in a few months. The LDL cholesterol is down in the 70's, with the Lipitor. That's a
good thing.

You're at the age I was when I started with the meds. Doctor had been pushing for a couple years.
Golf got the cholesterol from 136 down to 100, but the doc wanted it lower.

Don't fight the docs too long, and start getting the annual physical.
--

John H.

Hope you're having a great day!

"Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com wrote:
"Hank©" wrote in message eb.com...


O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

--------------------------

Right now I'd trade a colonoscopy a week for the next two months for this.

Just noticed something that's almost funny. The doc said that because
the shingles virus follows nerve paths, you will only get it on one side
of your body at a time.

It's only my left eye and left side of my face that are affected, but I
have a bunch of blisters on the top of my scalp (under my remaining, thinning hair).

I just ran my fingers over them and realized that they all start from the
centerline and go leftward. The right side is fine. Weird.

You realize that Shingles is a version of Chicken Pox. If you did not have
CP as a kid, likely not to have Shingles.

"Califbill" wrote in message
...

"Mr. Luddite" nowayalso.jose.com wrote:
"Hank©" wrote in message
eb.com...


O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

--------------------------

Right now I'd trade a colonoscopy a week for the next two months
for this.

Just noticed something that's almost funny. The doc said that
because
the shingles virus follows nerve paths, you will only get it on one
side
of your body at a time.

It's only my left eye and left side of my face that are affected,
but I
have a bunch of blisters on the top of my scalp (under my remaining,
thinning hair).

I just ran my fingers over them and realized that they all start
from the
centerline and go leftward. The right side is fine. Weird.

You realize that Shingles is a version of Chicken Pox. If you did not
have
CP as a kid, likely not to have Shingles.


separator

I knew that but it's about all I knew about shingles. Here's some
things I learned today:

My age group (and probably several others here) were of the pre-
childhood inoculation era.
We were expected to go through the normal chickenpox, measles, mumps
thing like a right of passage.

At some point childhood disease inoculations started. I am not sure
when, but I know all our kids were inoculated and never had any of the
childhood diseases.

Contrary to myth, shingles is not contagious. Someone with active
shingles *cannot* infect someone else. The only exception is that
someone with active shingles *can* infect a person who has never had
chickenpox *and* was never inoculated for chickenpox. In this case,
it is possible to transfer the virus from someone with active shingles
to the other person, except he/se won't develop shingles. They will
develop chickenpox. This is very rare.

Shingles hits people of all ages. Many have developed it in their
20s, 30s and upward. It's not an "old person" virus. It ranges from
very mild to very severe and life threatening. Many people have had
very mild bouts of shingles and never knew it. If they even noticed,
they assumed it was just an allergy based rash that might be itchy but
is painless and eventually goes away. Then there are cases like
mine that are more severe and you *know* you have something. Even
still, I originally thought it was a fiberglass allergy reaction. A
nurse said it was pink eye which is a bacteria based infection. The
anti-biotic eye drops she prescribed and I was initially using is
worthless against a viral infection. The eye doc told me to throw it
away.

But the two doctors I saw confirmed it was shingles. The clue is the
only affecting one side thing, because it's a viral infection that
follows nerve paths. You won't get shingles on both sides of your
body (face, scalp, chest, back, etc.) at the same time because each
side of your body has separate nerve pathways. That blew my mind.
The left side of my face, my left eye and the left side of my scalp
are affected. The right sides of each are clear and unaffected. It's
painful but so far nothing I can't tolerate.

As Harry mentioned, a vaccine was released for shingles in 2006.
It's currently about 60 percent effective in preventing a break out or
repeat break out. If it doesn't prevent a breakout, it will
typically minimize the severity and duration. I'll be signing up for
it as soon as this episode is over. Doc said now is not the time.

In article , "Mr. Luddite" says...

"Hank©" wrote in message
eb.com...


O'Bamacare's got you covered.
When you recover from this, go get that colonoscpy that's overdue.

--------------------------

Right now I'd trade a colonoscopy a week for the next two months for
this.

Just noticed something that's almost funny. The doc said that
because the shingles virus follows nerve paths, you will only get it
on one side of your body at a time.

It's only my left eye and left side of my face that are affected, but
I have a bunch of blisters on the top of my scalp (under my remaining,
thinning hair).

I just ran my fingers over them and realized that they all start from
the centerline and go leftward. The right side is fine. Weird.

I wish you a speedy recovery.