My New Diagnosis

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Specializes in Too many to list.

Since Sunday, I have been noticing what I thought were two scratch marks on on my right forearm, and what seemed to be vesicles on the scratch lines and a few elsewhere as well.

I felt a few near the inside wrist, two about 5 inches above that, another 4 inches to the left of it, two about two inches higher, the two scrack marks with vesicles on the outside of the arm from that, and one at the elbow.

They both burn and itch. I have not been exposed to poison ivy or oak. I do have a cat that get meds twice per day, and she is not always happy about it. She may have scratched me, I thought, but why the other bumps?

I wear a white lab coat to work in psych so I don't think I got this on the job. I decided to go get it checked at my local walk in clinic thinking infected cat scratches, contact dermatitis or insect bites. I didn't know. I just felt miserable with the burning and itching which I was afraid to spread by touching the area. I also worried that it would be contagious.

So I see a very nice nurse practitioner. She says, "oh, that looks like shingles!"

I'm saying, "no! It's on my arm! How can that be? There's little bumps in different places!"

She says, "OK, let's call in the doc and not tell him what I am thinking"

He says, "Shingles!"

Meanwhile, (I'm not proud of it), but I am literally cursing about the diagnosis, and they are laughing and patting me on the back.

Dang! I am just not believing this. Shingles on my arm?

Can I ask for some good luck this year for a change? Meanwhile, I have to call Employee Health tomorrow to see about working on Friday. I will be on medication for 7 days.

The pharmacist was impressed with my arm as well. He even came out from behind the counter to help me pick out a calmoseptine/benadryl product that I think is clear and not the pink stuff.

I guess I will live, but I am not taking this well at all. It does not help to know

that I am in denial, and it is the other things that can be associated with

shingles that concern me. Time to clean up my act, and get healthier...

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care, Cardiac, EMS.

Oh, wow. I am so sorry. That stinks.

And boo for the condescending giggling hand-pat false sympathy from your healthcare providers. :down::down:

Hope you feel better soon. Shingles suck.

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Specializes in Too many to list.
Oh, wow. I am so sorry. That stinks.

And boo for the condescending giggling hand-pat false sympathy from your healthcare providers. :down::down:

Hope you feel better soon. Shingles suck.

Not really condescending. They were actually pretty nice considering what I had to say about the Dx.

I keep thinking that they are wrong but will take the meds anyway five times per day for 7 days.

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Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

Shingles tend to follow a nerve line, and not to be very scattered. Very painful/itching. You don't mention what med they put you on, usually an anti-herpetic. Can occur anywhere.

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Specializes in Too many to list.
Shingles tend to follow a nerve line, and not to be very scattered. Very painful/itching. You don't mention what med they put you on, usually an anti-herpetic. Can occur anywhere.

Acyclovir is the med.

It is kind of wierd where the vesicles are located, and that is why I questioned the dx. Now they are starting to weep. I am using a calmoseptine/benadryl cream that really helps with the maddening itchy/burny feeling. Found some more vesicles between thumb and index finger but everything ends at the elbow. I set my alarm every 4 hours to take the antiviral.

I suppose I will live, but I was very surprised by this. I do work nights and my job situation is very stressful. My immune system may be telling me that it is time to move on.

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I suppose I will live, but I was very surprised by this. I do work nights and my job situation is very stressful. My immune system may be telling me that it is time to move on.

i'm sorry to read about this, indigo.

i heartily agree that your body is talking to you.

please be good to yourself.

leslie

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My husband had this recently. (I felt stupid that I didn't recognize it.) He was given neurontin for the pain, along with the valtrex.

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My very first thought was shingles.

You had chicken pox as a kid? Singles.

Hang in there, Indigo.

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Specializes in Too many to list.
My very first thought was shingles.

You had chicken pox as a kid? Singles.

Hang in there, Indigo.

I'm hanging.

Horrible pox as a kid back to haunt me now. Who knew?

Employee health says I can work as long as I keep them covered up, and the vesicles don't touch anyone or contaminate anything. I am not due in until Friday night. Meanwhile I'm swabbing away with the calmoseptine/benadryl, and downing pills q 4hr.

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Specializes in Too many to list.

(I felt stupid that I didn't recognize it.)

Same here, although now that we are at the weepy stage, it is starting to look more familiar.

Still looks a lot like the dozen cases of poison ivy that I've had.

I thought these things were supposed to follow some logical order. This does not look very logical to me. I guess, I am still not accepting this yet. Denial dies hard.

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

I wish I'd known that you had the shingles, as I was able to get a magical cream when I had it, from the acupuncturist whose treatment, I think, shortened the duration of the shingles I had. It stops itching, stinging, burning, and most pain from skin surface lesions and even arthritic problams. It's MSM cream, and is made by Natural Innovations, in Washington state by a "Willy Wonka" kinda guy, Glen. It's cheaper and more effective than products I've found in "Health Food" stores, and certainly less expensive - $10 for 8 oz.

I gave some to a HH patient with shingles (getting an order for it from his doc), and he reported that his pain was gone afterward. However when I went for his last home visit, he complained of having pain again. I asked if the MSM cream didn't work any more, and he said "No, it came back, so I stopped using it". So I explained that most pain remedies only work when they're used.......:1luvu:

By the way, shingles recurs, so take the vaccination....... after the H1N1 vaccine. That reminds me that I need it, too.

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Specializes in Too many to list.

For what it's worth, the doc that I work with took a look at my arm this morning, said it did not look like shingles to him but more like an allergic reaction to poison ivy or other plants native to our area. Of course, he is a psychiatrist now, but not a one trick pony (as one of our patients likes to say), and he did other types of medicine in the air force.

I might try your suggestion though for the residual discomfort that I do have with pruritis if it works for that. I never really had pain, another reason why our doc thinks it was not shingles. It's all drying up and peeling like a sunburn now. Wierd...

I'll never know for sure, and I was never truly convinced of that diagnosis.

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