Shingles update (not a new roof lol)
 Many of you may remember that I have been trying to recover from the shingles (see brags and birthdays wendy1976, old english......) since Easter time.
Today I went to the dr and he said I am coming along ok. My right eye is closing better then it did a couple of weeks ago, but still is a little slow. My tongue and gums look better, but the problem he said is not what he sees it is what I feel. Because the shingle virus attaches itself to the nerve, the pain may increase, which it has. My lips on my right hand side are still paralyzed to an extent. I can't smile and still need to use a straw when I drink any fluids. I can talk a little bit, but at times, hard to understand what I say. My skin on my chin is till very sensitive, so have to be careful in the heat or wind. I go back to the dr in three weeks. I would like to thank everyone who has asked about my recovery. It is very thoughtful of you. As long as I have my pain meds I can carry on. lol 
Take care and thank you! |
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| Helen,
You are in my prayers. I hope you recover from this 100%.  |
Helen, I can't imagine what you've been going through.  I'm so glad to hear, though, that things are slowly improving. Keep the faith, and always feel free to come here to vent! |
| Shingles are so nasty, and so slow to recover. I'm sending prayers your way, that you are feeling better soon. |
| Helen, you are in my thoughts and prayers daily for a speedier recovery
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You hang in there, Helen! You have a much better attitude than I would if I was going through what you are. |
| I'm glad you are getting somewhat better. It sure beats getting worse!
Chewie sends you some licky kisses to help you continue to mend! |
Hang in there Helen.... it sounds awful.... at least there is improvement though. May a full recovery be just around the corner  |
| Helen, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope you continue to improve and things start getting back to normal! |
| Helen, hoping and praying you get better soon |
| I'm sorry! At least it sounds like there's a little improvement going on...FEEL BETTER SOON! |
| Wishing you continued recovery and comfort.
Shingles is so difficult. 
We are here to support you!!! |
| I am so glad to hear the Dr says you are improving. I just wish it was a lot quicker. |
| You are so in my prayers to get better. |
| OMIGOSH! I don't know how I missed this saga! Why would this be posted in brags and birthdays?? I don't generally read that section.
Shingles sounds horrible and it is so awful that you are going through this. Sounds like pure agony. I hope you get some relief soon!! |
| I had forgotten who it was.........but I was thinking it was an oes.org person who was suffering with shingles. So glad to hear there is improvement. It takes so long.......and is so painful.
I hope you recover completely!! People don't realize that just a breeze on the skin can be extremely painful! s. |
got sheep wrote: I'm glad you are getting somewhat better.
It sure beats getting worse!Chewie sends you some licky kisses to help you continue to mend! Ahhh I feel better already. Hugs back to Chewie Thank you for you good wishes. |
Valerie wrote: OMIGOSH! I don't know how I missed this saga! Why would this be posted in brags and birthdays?? I don't generally read that section.
Shingles sounds horrible and it is so awful that you are going through this. Sounds like pure agony. I hope you get some relief soon!! Val: I had posted it in brags and birthdays because I was bragging about what great Forum Members we have here. I was bragging about Wendy1976, Old English and Pepsi's Mommy. They have been keeping my spirits up through this whole ordeal. They would post messages to me and my husband would read them when I was to ill to get to the computer. I wanted to brag about what great people they are. That is why that is where the original post is. Thank you very much for you kind words. |
 I would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers regarding my Shingle experience. They really are appreciated and lift my spirits on my worst days. I am very lucky to have found such a great group of people as we have here on the forum.
Thank you again! |
| Helen, Im glad youre on the mend!! Hope the rest of the recovery goes fast and smoothly! Its a really good thing that your fingers are still intact....Id miss talking to you!
xo |
| hi Helen
hang in there we will talk again soon
wendy and gismo |
| Helen,
You poor thing. I know the pain and misery shingles can cause. I hope you continue to improve. (((Hugs)))) Lori |
Helen we are still thinking of you and hope this ordeal will settle down soon and you will be back to your normal self, I can't imagine the pain factor there, but I imagine extremely painful, so mend up soon. 
Sending sheepie hugs from the otherside of the world. |
| Wow,
I had always heard that shingles were extremely painful but hearing the details it really puts it in perspective! I hope you get better sooner rather than a prolonged process as it has been so far. Hang in there Helen, we care! Hannah and Copper (thought that cute Chewie had a good idea) and send you their too! And Hannah sends a special  too. |
| UPDATE June 15 07..........
It has been a week or so since I have updated you with my shingles. I am sad to say that I still have them. Yes, it has been over two months. There are improvements though. I can now talk for a little while without my tongue swelling so much that it hurt and I couldn't be understood. I am still on pain meds every three hours. Most of the pain comes from my jaw, chin, and tongue. The gum pain is starting to ease some. It is very diffecult when you have jaw pain because there is not much you can do to relieve the pressure or position on the jaw. The paralisis of my right side of my mouth is getting better. I can do a half smile on that side now. My lips are still swollen and very dry. and numb. The skin on my chin and cheek are still very painful. Sensitive to heat and to wind. So I am still staying in under a/c. I do go to the dr this Wed so I will be out with my babooska wrapped around my face. lol Things will get better it is just going to take a while. I would like to thank everyone who has kept me in their prayers and thoughts. I have really enjoyed all the Sheepiefest/sheepiepalooza pics and stories. Everyone have a wonderful summer and plz post your vacations. I do indeed enjoy hearing about them. lol |
| Helen thanks for the update, can't wait till you have a full smile on your face. Still keeping you in our thoughts and the girls send loads of sheepie hugs and say hang in there it is getting better. SLURP SLURP from Brie and Kelsey. |
Geez, Helen! You really need to catch a break here. This is a nightmare.  I'm sorry. Hope you are better REALLY soon! |
| Hang in there. Keep taking those pain med and be grateful for them. Two months! What patience. (like there's anything else you could do)
susan |
| Helen the best of luck to you on your recovery |
| Mulligan offers his slurps too, but on the pain-free side. |
| Sorry to hear that you are experiencing such a bad case of these. I didn't know you could get them anywhere on your body. I hope you get better very soon! What a bummer! |
| udate:6/20/07
Well, I went to the dr this morning. I am making a very slow recovery. I am going to be back on Steroids for 12 days. The down side is they make me sick to my stomach, oh well, pain/paralysis of the face or upset stomach. My right eye is starting to respond more and so is my right side of my mouth when I smile. My skin is still sore, so going to use Hydracrotazone to help. So we'll see what happens. I can talk a little bit more, but can't talk for long or my tongue swells. The dr says it will take a while to get better so my next appointment is not until mid August. Of course if I need to come in before then I can. The big downside is my granddaughter is coming down to spend the summer with us in a week. I'm not going to be very much fun. Thank God she has a fun Papa and Uncle. lol Thank you for all of your prayers and good thoughts......I really do appreciate them. Take care and when there is an improvement I'll let you know. Enjoy your summer. |
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I hope the steroids will help quite a bit! I don't know, but perhaps taking them after and with food will help? Hydrocortisone is an older steroid (it's the one Joan uses, a glucocorticoid) and is a little on the short acting side. I'm a little surprised that you're not going onto prednisone or dexamethasone. Anyway, I'd take it with and after food (eat some then take with more food, like milk) to try to protect the tummy. Of course if anything I've written contradicts your doctor, go with your doctor's advice. |
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