Shingles

I have got the shingles!
Bloody Hell!
I had it many years ago and it was not too bad, as far as I can remember. This time it is awful.
For a week I suffered from occasional pains in the chest and back. It felt a bit like indigestion. I had no symptoms that suggested a heart problem so I was not too worried on that score.
Then it started to keep me awake. The pains became more intensive and I felt a bit feverish. It was time to seek medical help.
The doctor homed in on it straight away and told me that I would have a rash in the next day or so. He was correct. I now have pains, fever and an infuriatingly sensitive rash. At least I have the anti-viral drugs as well.

Shingles is a closely related to chicken-pox. It lies dormant in the body and re-appears when the immune system is weakened. Mine was weakened by the stress of caring for my senile father. I can identify the point at which I started to feel the pains and relate it directly to the stressful period. It can last for many weeks and this is worrying. I am in the process of preparing for an extended trip abroad. The thought of travelling for 6 hours is horrifying - two flights, changing at Zurich. I hate it enough when I am well! Then I have to adjust to living in a strange environment.


I have had to stop listening to some of my favourite pieces of classical music. You know the tingle that you get - hairs on the back of the neck, goose pimples etc. Well this effect drives a wave of pain through my shingles rash and detroys the pleasure. If I was a masochist I could enjoy it.

Illness is not on my agenda. I have lived free of it since being a child, no 'flu or colds etc., and it is a sobering experience.