I was diagnosed with shingles almost a month ago. I was hospitalized with it for 6 days before they realized what it was. They thought I had cluster headaches and then they thought it was a more serious condition called hemicrania continua. The virus attacked my left eye. The blisters showed up on my nose, forehead and in my scalp by day 6. I was put on Lyrica and other medications to manage the pain in addition to antibiotics. I am still recovering at home. Luckily it did not effect the vision however the eye is extremely sensitive to the light, it tears up constantly and the eye lid feels paralyzed. It doesn't want to open. It feels frozen like being at the dentist. My skin on my forehead feels numb. Has anyone experienced eye shingles? How long does it take to calm the nerves down? Did you where an eye patch? Did you ice the eye? Is there anything I should be doing to help in my recovery? I am still off work, it's been a month now. Feeling helpless and guilty.
Meu coração está com você, Lorco! Eu queria poder passar algum bom conselho. Tenho certeza de que alguém vai te dar boas informações para lidar com isso. Rezando para que você tenha alívio em breve!
Please go to the eye dr if you haven't already. Sensitivity to light is a sign it has gone into your eye, which can be serious.
I have it on my eye as well. It really stinks. Just started over the weekend. I've heard cold compresses help, but it didn't seem to help for me.
Sim, eu tive… feridas terríveis que afetaram toda a metade esquerda da minha cabeça e pescoço!!! Fiquei hospitalizado por um mês.
Óculos escuros muito escuros ajudarão… você pode remover a lente na frente do olho bom.
De maneira alguma se sinta culpado… elas não são sua culpa.
Depois que você se recuperar, vá ao médico e faça a vacina contra o herpes zoster.
Chuveiros frios… melhor ainda, banhos frios.
Seja gentil consigo mesmo… eu tive cinco vezes!
Atenciosamente
Judith
Hi Jodi, I saw an eye specialist when I was in the hospital and have since seen my optometrist as well. Luckily the shingles have not effected the sight so far, thank goodness but it has been a month and the eye will still not open. I feel like a vampire...cannot handle any light at all. I where sunglasses in the house and a baseball hat. There has been no improvement to the eye in terms of the nerves. I guess I need to be patient with it.
Hi Judith,
This has been the most horrific experience and most painful thing I have ever been through. I have 3 kids and would go through labour any day of the week! I could not imagine having this five times! I am so sorry to hear of your horrible ordeal! Shingles has been a wake up call for me. I was so stressed with work and life and not taking care of myself. This hit me because my body was screaming at me to slow down. I am dosing up on my vitamins and building my immune system so that I never get this again. I will get the vaccine for sure. My doctor said that within 2-3 years there is an immunity so chances are a person won't contract it again during this timeframe. is this the case? When did you get it again?
Thank you Donna. I guess I need to be patient with my recovery.
I've had shingles for two months. I have my left side around my eye my forehead to my hair. The headaches are unbearable I take Lyrica And Percocet. I'm also taking Vicodin and dilaudid. Nothing seems to take away the pain in my Head. The pain never go Away my left eye.I was told some last a month And sometimes it last 4 years.I was told that they will get it under control sometimes it just takes a while.Good luck I hope yours is not near as bad as mine
Olá Lorco.
1962, idade 11… início dos anos 90… 2011… 2012 e minha memória falha-me para o quinto.
Tenho uma doença autoimune (desde 1962) e estou em terapia por infusão (desde 2012), que suprime o sistema imunológico.
Então, não é como se meu corpo fosse um baralho completo.
abraços
Judith
Hi Lorco,
I am sorry I didn't respond earlier to your post. I have been moving, had no Internet connection, and been busy and exhausted.
Obviously, as you have already experienced, Herpes Zoster-Shingles in the eye and/or head is agonizing. As the eye is such a complex organ, it takes longer to recover from Herpes Zoster-Shingles than when it attacks the dermatome area of the skin.
Hopefully, you were seen immediately by the ophthalmologist and started on antivirals once they diagnosed you with shingles. It is difficult to get the pain under control, especially when the sensitive eye or ear is involved. Believe me, I know. If the pain is not controlled by the end of the first month, it turns into chronic pain, and the dreaded complication of Post Herpetic Neuralgia PHN ensues. If you are in severe pain still, I suggest you seek a consultation with a neurologist known for experience in pain management.
Usually, with Herpes Zoster-Shingles of the eye, you are followed by an ophthalmologist weekly.
Usually, the weakness of the facial muscles and numbness of the facial skin returns very slowly. The fatigue, exhaustion, malaise, headache etc can take months to fade ever so gradually. Please know that you just don't bounce back from this disease.
It is a process. Be patient with yourself. Allow others to help you. Do not go back to work full-time. Take teeny steps at first in the recovery process. Usually, and we all have done this, we tend to think we should rush back into normalcy, whatever that means, and we overdo it, and pay for it with increased pain, exhaustion, or a recurrence.
I am a Nurse Practitioner in the States. I have recurrent Herpes Zoster-Shingles in my right ear every three to five weeks for the past twenty years and twice in my right eye. I have autoimmune diseases. Please also Google stress and triggers of Shingles, the high Lysine-low Arginine diet to read to avoid more episodes of shingles.
The more you know, the more you can control what happens to your body for a healthy outcome.
Please let me know how you are feeling and doing....Again, my humblest apologies for not responding sooner. I know how scary and excruciating this is.
Best Wishes,
Merry Juliana
Hi Merry Juliana,
My apologies for the delayed response. I don't get on here much because of the eye strain. It took them 5 days when I was hospitalized to understand what it was that I had. They at first treated me for cluster headaches, and pumped me full of narcotics, none of which I responded to and then on day 5 the blisters appeared. They treated me with Lyrica and Acyclovir. They have not done anything for the eye. I have seen an eye specialist twice now, going again Dec 15th and they don't say much other than to ice it. It is still hypersensitive to the light. I cannot drive, even with sunglasses on, it clamps shut. The eye lid and forehead are also sore and sensitive to touch and every night I scratch my scalp, now 2 months into the virus. The insurance co, and my Doctor are working on a plan to get me back to work before Christmas (I think they are tired of the paperwork to be honest) which sucks because I don't feel ready to go back at all 😔 I am terrified this will trigger another bought of the virus. I am also concerned that after 2 months, my vision is still blurry in the left eye and light sensitive. Is this normal for zoster Opth.? You have so much knowledge about this awful disease. I can't believe you have been afflicted by this multiple times. Let's hope once the new vaccine is available, it nips it in the bud once and for all!
Laura
sorry for for the delayed response Judith. There is such a misconception about shingles and how rare it is for reoccurrence. Even my family Doctor said to me that the chances of it coming back is slim.... She needs to read these blogs!!!
I hope you are doing well and feeling better 😀
Laura
Hi Joseph,
They gave me Lyrica when I was in the Hospital and they also treated me with Acyclovir as well. I believe, before they knew what it was, they gave me Dilaudid and it didn't help with the pain. My issue now is the blurred vision and hypersensitivity to the light 2 months into the virus. I fear damage to the retina. I have seen an eye surgeon twice and went to my Eye Dr. As well. I would think that they would tell me that there is permanent damage if they could see it???They just tell me to keep icing the eye. AND, like you said...it could take a few weeks, to a few months or longer. Every case is different and each person will heal at their own pace.
I hope you you are feeling better and have your pain under control.
Laura
Olá Laura,
Você não tem nada pelo que se desculpar… como está seu olho… você realmente precisa de um oftalmologista.
Sim, estou ciente de médicos que acham que o herpes zoster é uma coisa única.
A similaridade que percebo é o estresse prolongado combinado com imunossupressão.
Não se sinta culpada, não se sinta impotente. Eu sei o quão difícil deve ser cuidar de uma família. Meu coração está com você.
Tente o gelo e tente o curativo, porque o repouso mantém as transmissões nervosas baixas, o que ajuda a controlar a dor.
Abraços suaves e calorosos
Na década de 90, foi o lado esquerdo da minha cabeça e pescoço… Fui hospitalizado e meu médico me disse que minha cabeça estava quatro vezes maior do que o normal… Fiquei em tratamento com aciclovir intravenoso duas vezes por dia por um mês… mas tenho herpes zoster desde então.
Minha oração é que o Shingrex nos dê imunidade contra quaisquer novos episódios. Para mim, tem sido uma vez a cada década… Estou pronto.
Um comentário à parte: meu humor vítreo está se desprendendo, me disseram que pode levar nove meses, não é doloroso, mas o grande flutuante se movendo para frente e para trás como um limpador de para-brisa pode me deixar louco. Tenho que ficar atento porque o humor vítreo pode arrastar a retina junto com ele. Uma vez que a descolamento estiver completo, me disseram que não vou notar diferença.
Abraços grandes para todos!
Hi Laura,
I am so sorry you are still suffering, but it doesn't surprise me that you are. I firmly believe that your severe painful spasms of your eye, the lancinating, boring eye pain needs to be gone, and the fatigue needs to be diminished before you return to work part-time. What is your occupation? The physician can refer you to a neurologist for better pain management.
Did the ophthalmologist place you on antiviral ophthalmic drops? Corticosteroids?
The neurologist could prescribe medications such as Cymbalta and Neurontin for the neuropathic pain if the Lyrica isn't helping. The physician can taper the dose up. I will post more later.
Best wishes
Merry Juliana
Thanks for the reply. Ice does seem to help for sure. Thanks for reading and responding. This is such a great forum and support group. It is nice to vent and share our thoughts and experiences with those who have gone through it and understand how challenging it is to have shingles. I wish you all the best over the holidays and good health in the coming year.
Hi Merry Juliana,
Oddly enough, I was not given anything for my eye other than comfort drops..no prescription eye drops. I was only given Lyrica for 4 days and Acyclovir for 2 weeks. I haven't been on any medications for weeks now. I take extra strength Tylenol for pain. My Doctor prescribed Mar-Amitriptyline to help me sleep at night (also used for Fibromyalgia) because I still scratch my forehead and scalp every night. However, it just made me feel drugged up and sluggish all day. I went to a Naturopathic Dr. Last week and I am on vitamin B shots, I am taking Adrenal Pro and some homeopathy and it seems to be helping. I really want off of the meds.
I work as a consultant for multiple clients in HR and recruitment so my job is very high stress. I work from home which is actually a curse because it is so accessible. I will need to show restraint and not pull the 12 hour days I was before. I will be gradually returning to work starting next week. So I will stick to just a few hours a day.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and stress free!!
Thanks for your great feedback and advice
Hugs
Laura
Good afternoon, I'm over 3 month with Shingles. I've been taking 150 Milligrams of Lyrica 3 timed a day, taking 10 milligram of Percocet 3 times a day, I'm taking 30 milligrams of Cymbalta once a day. Yesterday I didn't take anything until about 7 o'clock I took one Lyrica because I felt so bad. Today I've been taking my Lyrica and my Cymbalta and I feel better. I think it might be the Percocet making me so tired. I can't seem to get off the sofa. I'm thinking about going to it another doctor I hear that vitamin B shots may help?
Estamos sempre aqui para você… meu olho está firme na zona de “vai me deixar louco”… abraços