Promises Kept - My 1st Excuse - Shingles

I gave you lots of reasons that have prevented me from blogging so thought I would go into them now in semi-condensed version. Shingles - if you never had them, take my word and don't ever get them or at least try not to. No they are not contagious unless you have a tendency to suck icky looking pus pockets of their pus....then I am not making any guarantees. Condensed version: I broke out with my 1st cast of shingles on my sciatic nerve beginning December 28 through February 2011, then broke out with a 2nd case on my right facial nerve the beginning of February. It was painful aka pure hell. I could not sit. I finally went back to work in March of 2011.

Here is just a small area of the blistered area - now imagine this across both sides of my rear tushie and extending down to the bottom of the foot, up to the ankle and between the toes, totaling over 2000 of these.

Here is the whole story:  December 21st of 2011 I was working at one of our offices and I went to sit down on one of those rolling secretarial chairs and instead of sitting on said chair, it went across the room behind me and I landed on my behind. So I went into the Christmas holidays with a really sore rear end. December 23rd I made 15 dozen Christmas cookies and biscottis and did our usual 2000 cappelletti (like tortellini). By noon on Christmas eve we were at hub's parents house with a fully cooked turducken - for those of you who don't know what a turducken is: take a deboned turkey, put a layer of stuffing on it, then put a deboned duck on top of that then another layer of stuffing, then finally a deboned chicken on top of that then the final layer of stuffing. You sew this all this together to look like a turkey then bake. I also made mashed tators, glazed carrots, and cooked cranberry sauce, and 2 pumpkin pies. Meanwhile my tushy was still hurting. We came home and went to church then wrapped presents. (I know one day I will get my stuff together and have this all done way before Christmas even begins - maybe even before Thanksgiving :) So Christmas Day the kids came over and I made prime rib with au gratins and string beans. I started wrapping for the 26th at my dad's and started the 2 turkeys and the dressing for them.

Turducken before cooking:
 


Turducken after cooked and sliced:
 

By the time I got to work on the 27th, my tushie was really hurting. I got a massage but that didn't help. I went to the chiropractor and got an adjustment and that didn't help. So Wednesday night I laid on a heating pad all night. I have one of those old fashioned heating pads that need a towel on it (mine is good old fashioned plastic) but the towel didn't stay on said heating pad and I forgot to turn down the dang thing before I zonked. So I woke up with a total red blistered butt on both sides. I went to work and sat gingerly.

By the 30th with my tushie still hurting and said blisters were now going down my left leg to the knee. I hollered at husband to come take a look and to which he said you have shingles. Well, I tried to call the doctor who sent me to the ER. Guess they don't like people like me in the ER because I was rushed into a room and a doctor was there. I wasn't even allowed to strip. I had to stand because it was very painful to sit. The doc took one look at me and said you have shingles. Okay so there is a consensus. I had shingles. I was put on an antiviral medication and told to follow up with my doctor. 15 minutes in the ER - bill was over 6 grand and I owed a copay of $150.00. I refused a pain pill because I hate them.

Little did I know what shingles pain really felt like. I was still breaking out 2 weeks later so I called the doctor who saw me and rushed me in and out (fastest appointment I have ever been to) - charged me $30.00 and put me on another 2 weeks of anti-virals and since by this time I was not sleeping and had taken up channel surfing and crying for a living. I couldn't go into work. Heck, I had to use crutches to go to the bathroom because by this time I was breaking out on my foot and ankle and between my toes. I slithered in and out of bed wincing and crying every time I moved or even if the fan blew on my rear. I could not wear clothes at all. I was put on Cymbalta. Miracle drug. The pain went away.

So now it is the beginning of February 2012 and I stopped breaking out on my tushie and leg and ankle and toes and the 2000 some pustules began crusting. I took my last antiviral. 4 days later I was back on the phone with the doctor saying I was breaking out on the right side of my face. So I was back on the antiviral. I stopped breaking out just before hitting my eye area. But I began the painful process of re-learning how to sit.

By the end of February I could sit for at least 30 minutes at a time and could tolerate clothes so went back to work. I still have areas of scar tissue and still have to stretch after I sit for longer than an hour or two. But I will leave the Cymbalta story for another day.

Life is never dull around me.

My Advice: GET A SHINGLES SHOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!