On 10/9/13 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.




Geez, how awful. I wouldn't wish shingles on even...John Herring or
PsychoSnotty. My outbreak went from my navel around to my back on the
right side. So painful, I had to sleep sitting up for a couple of days.
Saw the nurse practioner the other day and she said it was healing up
and the fact that I had the shot some months ago kept it from getting a
lot worse, and that I was not likely to be "attacked" again.

It's really miserable.

Have a good and swift recovery.