What Now?
As if life wasn't crazy enough, I have shingles now...
Thursday night, I noticed I had a bump on the back of my head. I didn't think anything of it at first because I thought it was just a pimple or something? I don't know...
Later that night, as I was laying in bed I noticed that the bump really hurt since I was laying with the back of my head on the pillow. I decided to ignore it and tried to go to sleep.
The next morning, I got up and the bump felt HUGE! It was definitely a big knot at that point. Not having hit my head or anything, I couldn't figure out what it was! So I started feeling the back of my head and I noticed that there was a second bump starting to form. I immediately knew what it was.
Back when I was 16, I had shingles on the back of my head and they were AWFUL! Back then, it also started with a mysterious knot on the back of my head. By the time it got big enough to be alarming, I went to the doctor, but it was too late. The bumps/blisters had just started to form and there was nothing they could do about them. Since shingles is a virus that comes from having chicken pox, there isn't a medication for them.
Since I have had them before, I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd be absolutely miserable, so I called my doctor and they wanted me to come in immediately!
So Dr. P took a look and said it could have been a skin infection, but because there were 2 spots he was pretty positive it was shingles.
He gave me a steroid shot, and I'm on this anti-viral that's supposed to help. It won't make the shingles go away, but it should lessen the intensity and how long it lasts. I take ONE GRAM pills, three times a day! How insane is that?! I've never taken pills that weren't measured by milligrams before! Also, the pills are royal blue. How strange!
I won't gross you out by putting a picture of someone with shingles on here...
Randy made the mistake of looking it up yesterday and he kept saying I was "icky" hahah.
Fortunately, shingles aren't contagious! And they don't cover your whole body. They follow nerves, so you usually don't have too big of a spot, unless you get them on your side/stomach. Those can be HUGE! However, I can give someone chicken pox if they haven't had it before! I won't be contagious until the blisters form, though. Right now Dr. P said I'm not contagious :)
Update: as of Sunday, the 24th, I'm starting to get a few blisters :( they're not painful yet, though! Only super itchy! It's only a matter of time now before they feel like fire ants...
Also, I went to my physical therapy evaluation on Thursday and it went really well! The physical therapist thinks I need major therapy! She also thinks I probably have fibromyalgia. She has had tons of patients before and she said my symptoms sound very much like things she has heard before - even the seizures! That was pretty refreshing - I'm so used to having doctors say, "I've never seen anything like this!"
Since she's not a doctor she can't diagnose anything, though. She is recommending to Dr. Fred that I begin individual physical therapy once a week, and also going through this program that they have where I'll go in every day for 3 weeks from 8am-3pm. I see Dr. Fred on March 6th, so I'll fill you in on all that later.
My nightmares have settled down as well! I'm so grateful for the answered prayer. I may still be having them, but I don't remember them, and I'm not waking up frightened anymore!
God is so good! He has seen me through all of these trials. I definitely wouldn't have made it without Him!
I'm also super thankful for my amazing husband. He is such a blessing to my life. He is so good at making me feel loved and he just makes me feel better in general. I would be lost without him. Thank you, Randy! You're the best!
Thursday night, I noticed I had a bump on the back of my head. I didn't think anything of it at first because I thought it was just a pimple or something? I don't know...
Later that night, as I was laying in bed I noticed that the bump really hurt since I was laying with the back of my head on the pillow. I decided to ignore it and tried to go to sleep.
The next morning, I got up and the bump felt HUGE! It was definitely a big knot at that point. Not having hit my head or anything, I couldn't figure out what it was! So I started feeling the back of my head and I noticed that there was a second bump starting to form. I immediately knew what it was.
Back when I was 16, I had shingles on the back of my head and they were AWFUL! Back then, it also started with a mysterious knot on the back of my head. By the time it got big enough to be alarming, I went to the doctor, but it was too late. The bumps/blisters had just started to form and there was nothing they could do about them. Since shingles is a virus that comes from having chicken pox, there isn't a medication for them.
Since I have had them before, I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd be absolutely miserable, so I called my doctor and they wanted me to come in immediately!
So Dr. P took a look and said it could have been a skin infection, but because there were 2 spots he was pretty positive it was shingles.
He gave me a steroid shot, and I'm on this anti-viral that's supposed to help. It won't make the shingles go away, but it should lessen the intensity and how long it lasts. I take ONE GRAM pills, three times a day! How insane is that?! I've never taken pills that weren't measured by milligrams before! Also, the pills are royal blue. How strange!
I won't gross you out by putting a picture of someone with shingles on here...
Randy made the mistake of looking it up yesterday and he kept saying I was "icky" hahah.
Fortunately, shingles aren't contagious! And they don't cover your whole body. They follow nerves, so you usually don't have too big of a spot, unless you get them on your side/stomach. Those can be HUGE! However, I can give someone chicken pox if they haven't had it before! I won't be contagious until the blisters form, though. Right now Dr. P said I'm not contagious :)
Update: as of Sunday, the 24th, I'm starting to get a few blisters :( they're not painful yet, though! Only super itchy! It's only a matter of time now before they feel like fire ants...
Also, I went to my physical therapy evaluation on Thursday and it went really well! The physical therapist thinks I need major therapy! She also thinks I probably have fibromyalgia. She has had tons of patients before and she said my symptoms sound very much like things she has heard before - even the seizures! That was pretty refreshing - I'm so used to having doctors say, "I've never seen anything like this!"
Since she's not a doctor she can't diagnose anything, though. She is recommending to Dr. Fred that I begin individual physical therapy once a week, and also going through this program that they have where I'll go in every day for 3 weeks from 8am-3pm. I see Dr. Fred on March 6th, so I'll fill you in on all that later.
My nightmares have settled down as well! I'm so grateful for the answered prayer. I may still be having them, but I don't remember them, and I'm not waking up frightened anymore!
God is so good! He has seen me through all of these trials. I definitely wouldn't have made it without Him!
I'm also super thankful for my amazing husband. He is such a blessing to my life. He is so good at making me feel loved and he just makes me feel better in general. I would be lost without him. Thank you, Randy! You're the best!
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