Shingles
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Apparently I have it. I was woefully ignorant about what it was... as in, I thought shingles was some all-body "hive" reaction you get when you visit a rain forest and get bit by an insect. Ok, maybe not that ignorant, but close enough.
Anyway... maybe TMI, but last Wednesday I felt like I had a mosquito bite or something near the top of my head (under hair), a little itchy, no big deal. The next day, my lymph nodes were a bit swollen behind my ears, but otherwise no other symptoms, weird. I didn't connect the two events.
Then day 3, 4, and 5, I was getting dry skin or a small rash on my forehead on my left side above the eyebrow. Didn't hurt, a little itchy, but figured it was an odd rash... Days 4 and 5 I had a tremendous headache (where you can sometimes feel your blood pulse...each beat causing a "squeeze" of your head).
Still, being an idiot, I figured it was some immune response to whatever gave me the rash. But on Day 6 my wife said... I think you have shingles. Yes, I quickly learned that it's a dormant virus (same as chickenpox, that I had as a kid) that can reappear later in life as shingles, usually for folks over 50 but not always.
Luckily I was able to have a video visit with my doctor who prescribed antiviral medicine that I've been on since. I was a little worried (still am a bit) with how close it was to my left eye... shingles can cause eyesight complications if left untreated... now to let everything heal.
I feel like I look a bit like Tom Hanks on the stand in Philadelphia....
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Tends to be pretty painful. Keep close watch on the eye.
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Ouch, that sounds miserable. As others have said, recover quickly.
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Thanks all - I didn't mean to post for sympathy although ya'll are a nice bunch!
@kluurs yeah my wife said she knows a few people who got it and "it was the worst pain in their life", for me it's more of an annoyance (pain a 2 out of 10)... and slightly concerned early on about the "what if" if the eye was compromised, but so far it seems to be just a close call.
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Glad you were able to get some treatment and hope all resolves quickly. My case was very similar to yours and resolved fairly quickly but was pretty painful in the scalp area especially, no lasting after effects here but I know everyone is different. Again glad you are doing okay!!
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Speedy recovery 89. Have several friends and former colleagues who had a bout with shingles. Majority recovered without any long term side effects - those that suffered side effects were already over 65. So you should be okay. I got my Shingrix vaccine last year in the hope of avoiding it down the road in my 70s
