valtrex keeps me outbreak free!

A week ago Sunday I woke up feeling like I had been kicked in the ribs on my right side. I thought this strange since I did not remember getting kicked in the ribs. The next day I discovered a sore bump on my back to the right of my spine and two more small bumps on my side- those ones not as sore. I thought they might be pimples or bug bites.

The week continues and I am sore on the entire right side of my torso- front and back. I am coming down with a cold and attribute the pain to that. Friday night I sewed until 3:30 am (more on that in another post if I don't have things like loving my children and strange diseases getting the way of my regularly scheduled posting). Many times while sewing I would have to stop and wrap my arms around my body and hunch over because I was hurting so much. By this time I knew the spots on my back and side were not pimples or bug bites. They were rash like and the one on my back hurt. A lot.

This morning I finally decided to get an appointment with a dermatologist to find out what was wrong. After calling six in my area and being told I couldn't been seen for weeks (one told me April or May at the earliest. Hello! It is not like a want a clearer complexion. I am in PAIN people!) I called my regular MD and got an appointment for this afternoon.

The diagnosis? Shingles. I was like WTF? Only old people get shingles! Well the doctor said people with weakened immune systems are susceptible, i.e.- old people, people with AIDS, and people that are stressed and tired. That last one is so me. Whenever I am stressed and sleep deprived my immune system goes AWOL. Like when I was pregnant with Sutton, I was constantly sick with something. If I drove my car next to someone with a cold I was sick three days later. It sucked.

Anyway, so I have shingles and the doctor tells me that shingles are basically the adult version of the chicken pox and that once you get the chicken pox you always have the chicken pox it is just dormant. It hides out in the spinal cord waiting for the right moment to spring on you. After being on medication the shingles will go back in to submission and I will be fine. The doctor said that I could have residual pain for several weeks and up to a couple of months though. I am not stoked about that.

The best part about all this is that the doctor gave me a prescription for Valtrex. Yep, the herpes medication. Haha. I said "what am I going to tell my husband?" He laughed and said, "I can send home a note saying that it is not for herpes."

I know it is silly but I felt embarrassed to take the prescription to the pharmacy. It wouldn't have been so bad but I found out the cost would be $60 (with insurance, $300 w/o- those poor non-insured herpes people!) so I started asking if there was a generic drug. The pharmacist came over to talk to me and asked if I had an outbreak. "No! I don't have herpes!" I practically shrilled.

I am supposed to take it easy and get lots of sleep. Hard to do when your 4.5 year old wakes up at 3 am each morning and comes to your room because he "is lonely". At least I will be outbreak free in ten days. Wahoo!



***UPDATE. I no longer find it amusing that I am talking Valtrex. I HATE Valtrex. The package insert says the common side effects are dizziness, headache, nausea, vomitting, diarrhea. The only things I don't have are vomitting and diarreah. But hey, today is only the first day on the meds. I have nine more to go! I felt so much better yesterday or even all of last week when the pain was the worst. I also feel like I have taken a sleeping pill. I can handle pain and still function normally but all of these symptoms at the same time are too much. I can't just contiue on with my days as normal. I can hardly stand up!

I am finding Shingles to be surprisingly common. As I tell others about this they first thing they say is I had Shingles or my so-and-so had shingles. The next thing they say is that Shingles is horribly painful. I guess I am very tough when it comes to pain but quite weak when I am sick.

On the upside it get to be taken care of by Michael. He called his sister and she came and got Sutton. Liam is staying with a friend after school for a few hours. Michael did research online about how to boost your immune system. Then he left work and went to the store to buy me loads of healthy immune system strengthening food. He told me a list of things I can't have like sugar and caffeine and told me to go to bed. I will obey him because I love when he is bossy and takes care of me. It is so sweet and cute.