Shingles are not for the faint of heart

Actress Bette Davis once said something to the effect that, "old age isn't for sissies." I am finding that to be true. This past week. the back of my left thigh became extremely sensitive to the touch. I couldn't understand what was going on and being unable to see the area myself, I asked Linda to check and see if it was red or anything. She said it wasn't red, but seemed to be swollen. I mean, I literally couldn't stand to be touched on the back of my thigh.

This went on for a couple of days before things got worse. I woke up Tuesday morning and my entire lower back on my left side had broken out in a rash that ran down my hip to the inside of my groin. This rash was also very painful. My first thought was that something had bitten me during the night--perhaps a spider, although I will admit it felt like it must have been a bunch of spiders. So I was in pain and in the dark as to what was going on. I was also feeling really tired and like I had a fever.

On top of that, I had been having trouble with my right ear and nose getting stuffed up to the point that I was having trouble with vertigo.

(This has been a recurring ailment with me. My doctor had previously prescribed motion-sickness medicine for me, which I hate because it makes me drowsy. If I don't take it at the onset of symptoms, I have a difficult time focusing. This had led to a bad experience back in February when Linda and I drove out to Colorado and I got dizzy on the way home. I ended up driving without being able to read the signs or being able to focus very well. Linda begged me to let her drive, but I am a notoriously bad back-seat driver when someone else is behind the wheel. I wouldn't wish me on anybody, especially not my wife, so I insisted on driving myself. The bad thing is we just kept on driving until we got all the way home, which was way late in the evening.)

And I was also having some pain, which to my mind indicated that I probably had something going on with my prostate gland. So Linda persuaded me to make an appointment with the doctor. I made the call and got an appointment for Tuesday afternoon at 2. Dr. Caswell's nurse met with me and took my vitals (blood pressure was good, low-grade fever) as she asked what was going on. It seemed like it took me quite a while to go over all my complaints, but finally I was able to say, "I promise that is the last thing I'm going to tell you."

Well, I did have one more complaint, which is kind of personal in nature, so all I'll say is that it made the act of sitting very painful.

Pretty soon the doctor came in and began his examination, starting with my ear. There was no wax to speak of, so the swelling was under the eardrum. That was no surprise. He put me on Flonase and told to me to get some non-drowsy Dramamine.

Then he looked at the rash on my back. He told me I had the shingles. He said it would only be on one side of my body. That has proven to be true. It has continued to spread down my left leg. For treatment, he put me on Prednisone. I wasn't all that happy to be on a steroid, but the pain was pretty uncomfortable. He also prescribed an antiviral since shingles are caused by a virus. In fact, it is the same virus that causes chicken pox. He told me I was contagious, so needed to stay away from young children and old people. Thanks a lot, Doc, I have a three-week old granddaughter living right next door.

After an unpleasant exam, he also informed me that I had an infected prostate, so he put me on an antibiotic. When he expressed surprise that I had so many ailments, I told him I tried to save them up in order to reduce my visits to the doctor. He had to laugh at that.

This past week I have felt pretty puny, so have tried to take it easy. Sitting is painful, but then, so is standing and walking; so, all-in-all, I have been pretty miserable. Good thing the shingles only last three to five weeks. Lol...

Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 09/07/2016