Monday, May 25, 2009
Shingles is a Pain!
I have somehow managed to contract Shingles. Over the years I have heard of older people with Shingles and I knew it wasn't good and that it was somehow related to chicken pox. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about the disease. Shingles is extremely painful and because it is located in the nerves of the skin many things can effect it; moving air, fabric that touches it, or a change in body position that forces the skin to move. My greatest challenge is clothing. Because the outbreak is centered around my waist anything with a regular waistband is out of the question as are any stretch knits. I stumbled upon wearing my Lycra pants over the weekend because they sit more on my hips and the fabric stays in one spot. I have four separate clusters of blisters. Sometimes just one of them is in pain and sometimes all 4. It could be a movement I have made or for no reason at all a wave of pain just rolls through. It might hang around for a couple minutes or much much longer. I move very slowly when changing position from sitting to walking or vice versa. Then there are other times that I feel just fine and have no pain whatsoever. I've never been one for surprises and surprise pain is the worst. I guess the thing that bothers me the most about this whole ordeal is that the onset is caused by stress or a compromised immune system. I know the latter is not the case and to tell you the truth, there have been other times this year that I have felt a lot more stressed than I have the past couple weeks. Like when I'm sitting at lunch and suddenly realize that grades have to be closed out at 3:00; that's stressful. As I have gone back through my mind I really couldn't come up with any time that I had felt out of control stresswise. Perhaps that means I am totally out of touch with my body or maybe it's just the culmination of all the new experiences this year. Whatever it is, I hope it passes quickly and that it never happens again. The positive side is that I am learning to rest. I have learned that the couch is very nice place to be.
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4 comments:
Tere, I am sorry you are having to go through this. My sister just had a bout of it and said all the same things you did. The only good thing I know about it is that if you get it you will never get it again!
Be well soon,
Cari
You are truly an amazing person to be putting up with such tremendous pain and have such a clear head about it. I'm hoping for the best that this will pass quickly for you, so that you can enjoy getting out this summer just as much as ever before. However, now is a fantastic time to enjoy the couch and all of its wonders-- I'm right there with ya! :)
You will get through this!!! Surprise pain....that is without doubt the worst! Your body does accumulate stress, case in point: your Father's heart problems. His took years, your's months. Learning to rest is a good thing. Go with it!
Love you, Mom
I am cognizant of the passing of all things painful and know that many people are in much worse situations than a simple case of shingles. I would definitely take this over heart surgery! As I go through my day I am becoming more aware of thoughts, their longevity and the feeling or body reactions that accompany them. Hopefully I can learn from this pain and turn it into a positive. I certainly do not want to go through this again:)
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