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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,730
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,730 |
I had shingles 2 years ago....hit me and landed on my backside.....left @$$ cheek was solid blisters.....the worst part was driving in the UPS truck for 11 hrs a day riding in a pkg car....as far as pain goes?....not that bad....
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,000
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,000 |
All in all, Zostivax is a good idea. The 60+ age recommendation didn't come from research, it came from a bureaucratic decision (IIRC, it was the Feds) because there wasn't enough vaccine to get everyone down to age 50 (which was the age the research said was ideal). You can get the vaccine at any age if you're willing to pay for it, and at $200, it's not a huge expense.
The bottom line is that it reduces your chance of getting Shingles by about 50% (lifetime risk), but more important than that, it reduces the severity of pain and disfigurement by 60-70%, and there does not appear to be a lifespan on that protection. I don't know where that "5 year" number came from, I haven't seen anything to support that in the medical literature on that.
But yes, you can still get shingles if you've had Zostivax. It happened to me... I got shingles less than 6 months after I got the shot, in my left ophthalmic nerve. I reported it here on the 24HCF, but the summary is this: pain came on about bedtime, and by 0400 it was excruciating... burning, throbbing, stabbing pain in my temple area to the edge of my eye which I'd call a solid 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. I took a strong pain pill and it reduced it slightly (to 7/10), and in the morning I called an optometrist here on the 'Fire who called in a Rx for Valtrex. Within 2 hours of starting the Valtrex the pain dropped to 1-2/10, and stayed that way for 5 or 6 days. I went to an ophthalmologist and he said he could see a few very small Herpes zoster lesions inside my eye, but no lesions ever broke out on the skin, cornea or anterior chamber of the eye. He rechecked me a year later and there was no scarring and my vision was unaffected.
Comparison to pre-Zostivax results: my ophthalmologist colleague told me that prior to the vaccine, he had never seen anyone with ophthalmic shingles have as good an outcome as I had; and since he saw me, he's seen half a dozen more similar cases.
Consider that of the locations that shingles breaks out, the ophthalmic nerve is second most common (most common is the chest/high abdomen), and without question the most painful. I've had people on high-dose narcotics, steroids, and nerve agents for 6 months after an attack of ophthalmic shingles. No thank you, I'll take the Zostivax! The "five year" came from the CDC under "Vaccines and Immunizations" on their site. They suggest waiting till 60.
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 988
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 988 |
My wife and I got them last year. Both of our personal physicians recommended them strongly. No side effects from the shots whatsoever. Those TV commercials scare the crap out of me.
NRA Life Member "Use Enough Gun"- Robert Ruark
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,236
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,236 |
My bride and I both got the shot last year. I haven't got the shingles since I took the shot - of course I never got them before I had the shot, either. I had chicken pox twice as a child, about two years apart. Could that mean I had twice the chance to get the shingles as an adult? Or twice the antibodies to repel them?
Someday I hope to be the person my dogs think I am . . . The only true cost of having a dog is its death. Someone once said "a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." Shiloh Sharps . . . there is no substitute. NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 279
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 279 |
I recently got my shingles shot. I must have been asked 6 times when I made the appointment, the clinic when I checked in, the doctor and his nurse if I had contacted my insurance company in advance to get their approval/assurance they would pay for it. I had called them in advance and it was pre-approved. I suspect that my MD was being proactive in advising me to get insurance pre-approval since as others have mentioned it is about $200. (This is also the case with Medicare which will cover the cost only under pharmacy coverage (Part D) and not Part B for clinic services.) Perhaps he had patients in the past that thought their health insurance would cover it and later discovered this was not the case and complained to the clinic.
Part of my reason for getting the shot was that my mother had shingles at about 70 years of age around the bottom of her ribcage and I remember the the pain she experienced for several weeks.
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 53,303
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 53,303 |
Everywhere I look in this place there are single shots, and parts,/ pieces therefor.
Whoops, mis-read,...disregard my last.
GTC
Member, Clan of the Border Rats -- “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”- Mark Twain
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,843
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,843 |
I;ve not had it, but given it to a bunch of old geezers.
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,728
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,728 |
Damn wonderful news. I had Shingles early this year & its nasty. Get the shot.
Life Members SCI & NRA. NRA Instructor & RSO. What have YOU done to support hunting & gun rights?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 18,075
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 18,075 |
I had shingles in the 2nd grade on the right side of my face!
They gave me meds that kept me pretty goofy sleepy and my mom kept me slathered in calomine lotion.
Sucks doesn't do it justice.
Mike
God, Family, and Country. NRA Endowment Member
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