Hey guys! As promised on Instagram, I decided to write this blog post because during the very beginning of my time with shingles shingles, I found myself frantically searching the Internet for answers. I found a ton of information about people in their 50s, 60s and 70s with shingles but there’s not a ton out there about people in their 20s, 30s and 40s with shingles. So I wanted to write this in hopes of giving anyone out there who is searching for answers some information based on what happened to me. I’m not a doctor and you should always seek medical advice, but I can give you a day by day account of what happened to me.
Shingles in Your 30’s
Honestly I cannot believe I got shingles. I always thought this was something that affected elderly people. In fact, my dad has had shingles five times in his 60s. But something that I have found very interesting about the disease is that it’s so different for different people. For example, for my dad the first signs of shingles was muscle aches and fatigue. Where as mine was something completely different.
As you’ll see while reading my story, on day 8 I decided to share my experience on Instagram and I was absolutely shocked at the thousands of comments from people saying either they had it young or knew someone who had it young. So I think it’s a lot more common than people think.So here is what happened to me on a day by day timeline.
Day 1
The day I first noticed was that I was feeling a little itchy on my forehead and scalp. However I chalked it up to something completely different. It just so happens that on that day I was cleaning out some stuff in our garage and I pulled a bag of pillows out, which should never have ended up in the garage we must have mistakenly put them in there, and when I open the bag it was filled with a bunch of little bugs! Some of which flew out of the bag and I contributed the itching to feeling gross from that. I remember that night we went to put the kids to bed I told Kevin that I felt like I had to go shower before I laid in bed with Riley because I just felt itchy “from the bugs”.
Day 2
The next day I noticed some weird tingling in my forehead. At first I didn’t really pay much attention to it, so I just kind of thought it was across my entire forehead but then when I really started paying attention to where it was I quickly realized it was only on my left side. I even did an Instagram story asking my followers if they thought it could potentially be a complication from Botox. I was all worried because of my vanity that I had some sort of nerve damage in my face. As a day went on, the tingling got more intense. The best way I would describe it would be like a little electric shocks and I felt those electric shocks so much more when I would run my fingers over my forehead/eyebrow. I also noticed that if I rubbed my eyelid, it felt like I had a sunburn.
Around 3 PM on this day I decided to text my dermatologist. She is absolutely amazing and immediately FaceTimed me to help me diagnose what was going on. She quickly let me know that it wasn’t due to Botox and right away mentioned she thought it could be shingles. Shingles?! I was blown away at what she was saying. How could I possibly have shingles at 36 years old?
She told me she wasn’t 100% sure, but as a preventative measure she thought that we should start me on the antiviral medication, Valtrex. She basically said the benefit of starting the medication early is if it was shingles and we could catch it early, that it was greater than any potential downside of taking a medication I don’t need.
I here’s something you should know about me, I am not the type of person to take medication I don’t need. I’ll even hesitate before taking ibuprofen if I’ve been in pain. But my dermatologist told me that if it were her, she would start the medication just because shingles are no fun. Boy was she right.
My husband immediately went out to pick-up the prescription she called in to CVS and I took my very first pill around 4 PM on day 2 and then a second one at 8:30 PM – which I woke up to take. Yep, you read that right. I went to bed at 6 PM this day because I was so fatigued and exhausted. I woke up at 8:30 and took my second pill, even though technically you’re supposed to take them eight hours apart. She wanted me to try to get two doses in that day. Then get this, I slept until about 8AM the next morning. That’s 12 hours of sleep! Granted our house alarm did go off in the middle of the night which woke me up, but not for that long so I would say I got a good solid 11 hours asleep.
Day 3
On day 3 (which is when I started writing this so I’ll likely switch to talking about in present tense) I woke up feeling really tired and had my first visible sign of shingles. I had a little red dot that looked like a pimple above my left eyebrow. It may have looked like a pimple, but boy it didn’t feel like one. If I even slightly touched it, it stung like crazy! At this point I was so bummed out that it was on my face. Like really, on my face for everybody to see? But now that I know how sensitive the blisters are, I feel lucky that it’s in a place where I don’t have to put clothing over it. By the end of the day, the 1 pimple dot turned into 2 on my forehead.
Even though I slept 11 hours the night before, I still took a 2.5 hour nap on day 3. I don’t know if I am really just that exhausted or if I’m just letting myself relax because I have shingles. After all, they say you get it because of stress if you get it when you’re young. So I was really trying to let myself relax.
Here are pics of Day 3 – End of day.
Day 4
Last night I slept for 14 hours. Yes, 14 hours. I went to bed around 8 PM and slept until 10 AM the next day. I woke up briefly around 8 AM to quickly say goodbye to my kids before my husband took them to school, but then went right back to bed for another two hours. I am unsure if I’m sleeping so so much because I’m finally allowing myself to relax or if it’s because I stopped drinking coffee once I found out I have shingles, or if it’s just the shingles really taking me out. I’m sure it’s a combination of all three. But I find it hard to believe that shingles alone would cause me to sleep so so so much. So I also partially blame the coffee and just needing sleep and finally allowing myself to have it.
On day 4, I noticed more spots. The single pimple on my forehead had turned into four spots in a curved line going down my face. The first one was towards the top of my forehead the second one just a half inch or so above my eyebrow, the third one right below the inner part of my eyebrow and then the fourth one in the inner corner of my eye.
The eyelid one is most concerning. For that reason, I went to the ophthalmologist for an emergency appointment just because if shingles gets in your eye it can cause long-term vision problems. Here’s the thing, I had been noticing that the vision in my left eye had been getting worse over the past 10 days. I noticed the difference in my eye well before I knew about the shingles. Although I didn’t think too much about it because I had the same issue with my eye a year and a half ago.
Quick backstory, about a year and a half ago I noticed that my vision in my left eye rapidly deteriorated. I went from being able to see fine through my camera lens to one day trying to look through my camera lens and everything being completely blurry. I use my camera lens as a reference because I have to shut my right eye and only look with my left eye and that’s why I noticed it so drastically when it happened. I went to the doctor and got glasses and then two weeks later when they arrived and I put on the glasses, the prescription was way way way too strong. My eyes randomly improved within two weeks. That eye doctor chalked it up to being stress related and that my eyesight was likely related to deep fatigue from stress.
Funnily enough, shingles is brought on by stress when you get it when you’re young. So I went to the ophthalmologist to see if my eyesight was stress related, shingles related or both.
Day 5
Woke up with a swollen eye. Oye.
Although, on the plus side, I will say that the uncomfortableness of it all is either leveling out or I’m just not noticing it as much. Another plus side is that I’m not nearly as exhausted as I was for the first four days. I’m sleeping maybe 10 hours a night opposed to 14 hours a night. Ha! Still a lot of sleep but not as much as before.
I also noted that the swelling started out worse in the morning and was a little less by the end of the day. Not much less, but slightly.
So far I’ve been miraculously hiding this on social media. I don’t know why I’m not ready to share yet, I guess I’m just worried it could get worse and and until the point where it starts getting better I don’t know that I’ll share.
Day 6
More swelling this morning. My eye was definitely a bit crusty when I woke up. Also I woke up multiple times throughout the night and then finally at 5 AM for good due to pain. Not pain from the blisters, but such bad headache pain. I don’t know if it was from laying in bed for so long or what, but by the time I got out of bed around 6:45 AM, my back ached and so did other parts of my body.
I think at this point my biggest concern is that the blisters don’t really seem to get be getting bigger on my forehead or bursting. In fact, I don’t even see them filling with fluid so I’m a little worried that I’m going to be in this for the long-haul. Or maybe by chance I was misdiagnosed and this is something else. I’m sure it’s shingles, but part of me at this point feels there’s a chance it could be something else just because so many people including my dad, who has had shingles five times, seem to think that I should be getting better at this point. Or at least starting to have liquid filled blisters that burst and that doesn’t seem to be happening to me.
The headaches have gotten very severe today. They’ve always been severe in the sense that there is this super sharp stabbing pain that almost brings me to my knees. But what changed today, or really as the day went on, is they got progressively closer together. Before I’d have a sharp shooting pain maybe every half hour, but now I’m getting them every minute or so and it made it really hard to fall asleep. I find if I sleep on the side of my face that doesn’t have the blisters, the headaches aren’t as bad as if I try to sleep on the side with the blisters.
Day 7
Slept 10 hours last night! I normally sleep about 8 1/2 or 9 hours since I have an angel of a husband that gets up with the kids, so 10 hours isn’t that big of a difference for me. So I definitely think the extreme exhaustion is well over. It really was only the first few days.
For the first time today I feel like I’m seeing improvements. The blisters on my forehead are no longer sensitive to touch and they feel very dry so I believe that means they’re crossing over. My eye also isn’t as swollen this morning as it’s been other mornings.
Although, I will say the nerve pain in my head seems to be getting worse. It doesn’t feel like it’s on my skin, it feels like it’s in my brain and it gives me these sharp sharp sharp headaches. I’m nervous because I finally shared on my Instagram today that I have shingles and I’ve gotten hundreds of DM’s, maybe even over 1000 DM’s, from people saying that the pain lingered for them for months after the visible signs of shingles went away. I’m really hoping that’s not the case for me.
Day 8
More improvement today. I still woke up with a piercing headache, but visually my blisters seem to be clearing up. I’m super grateful for that because I really want to hug my son. I haven’t been able to hug him for over 8 days because he’s not vaccinated for the chickenpox vaccine. I don’t believe I’ve already said this, but shingles is essentially the chickenpox virus that has been lying dormant in your system since you had it as a child and is then reactivated.
Headaches continue to get worse and I’m having trouble sleeping now.
Day 9
Some good news and not so good news. I’m happy to report that my blisters are really really clearing up today. They don’t hurt at all anymore to the touch and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re completely gone within a couple days.
That said, the headaches continue to be intense. I wish I had better news for everybody reading this. If you did find me from a Google search in your first few days and were hoping that’s as bad as it’s going to get, unfortunately that didn’t seem to be the case for me. My appearance looks so much better, so for anybody looking at me they would think I was fine. but the pain in my head is intense. Sometimes it’s sharp and quick and only lasts a few seconds but then sometimes it’s sharp and lasts 20 to 30 seconds and it’s unbearable.
Postherpetic Neuralgia
I’m no longer dealing with shingles so I just wanted to put a break in this to make it clear for anyone reading this that the pain I felt from this point forward isn’t really considered shingles pain anymore because my shingles blisters have all dried up. There may be some of my scalp that I can’t see, but I don’t know. So at this point my doctors are calling what I have postherpetic neuralgia. It’s funny, I definitely felt like I had some pain with the shingles but I didn’t quite understand why I was getting messages from people saying it was absolutely excruciating because it just wasn’t that way for me. Now I understand. The pain for me really started after the blisters were mostly gone. I’m so sorry for those of you reading this who are in the early stages who are hoping for relief later on. Know that not everybody gets postherpetic neuralgia. From what I read, I believe it’s around 20% of shingles patients. But if you do get it, it’s almost unbearable. I wish I had better news.
Day 10
The nerve pain has been getting so bad that my doctor prescribed me some hydrocodone yesterday. It maybe helped a tiny bit, but not much. In fact I barely slept last night. I had to keep coming downstairs to change up my ice pack because I had to have an ice pack on my head all night long. So my doctor decided to put me on Gabapentin. Because the pain was getting so much better around day 7, I started scheduling things for this week and now I’m realizing that this might be my worst week.
Day 11
Didn’t leave bed all day except to go to the doctor because the pain was so bad. The doctor put me on an intense Vicodin and gabapentin medication regimen to help manage pain. I also got a B12 shot and another shot. I honestly don’t remember the name of it I just know it was like “strong Advil” to work with the Vicodin.
Day 12
Went to the eye doctor again this morning because my left eye is starting to get really painful. They checked my cornea and everything looks good, but given the pressure behind my eye and the fact that I’ve had huge fluctuations in my eyeglass prescription over the last month and really the last two years (that’s a whole other story I’ll blog about at some point.) both my eye doctor and my primary care physician feel I should get an MRI so they scheduled that for tomorrow evening.
I also did acupuncture this evening. I’ve read so many things about the benefits of doing it to help with pain. I have to say, during the treatment I felt like I was floating or something – and I felt minor relief which was amazing. But once the needles came out and I was home, I was right back to the same pain. But I’m gonna go everyday this week in hopes that it helps.
Day 13
I have great news to report. I woke up with some relief this morning. Don’t get me wrong, I still have the sharp pains and it still sucks, but it sucks just a little bit less this morning. I’m so so so hopeful that the worst might be over and hopefully I’ll get a little better each day.
I also did acupuncture again today.
And lastly, I got an MRI this evening. My doctor just wanted me to get one to make sure that we’ve checked all boxes since I’ve had a lot of health issues lately and some vision issues over the last year, like I mentioned above. Thankfully it was all clear!!!
Shingles vaccine.
A lot of people have asked me if I was going to get the shingles vaccine. And then I’ve also heard from a bunch of people who are under 50 who said their doctor said they could not get it. Personally, my doctor told me that I can get it and she recommends that I get it about 8 to 10 weeks from now. She said that all of my antibodies fighting shingles are at high alert right now and then we’re basically going to give them a booster with the vaccine in 10 weeks. She did however tell me that because I’m not 50 or older my insurance will not cover it but she thinks it’s around $220. And after all the pain I went through that’s worth every single penny! So right now I’m scheduled to get one in October and I will let you guys know how it goes.
I might update more…
Here’s the thing, I am feeling SO much better now, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all over. I might come back here and add more to this blog if anything changes or there’s something notable that I learn. If you didn’t know much about shingles or are suffering with them as well, I hope that this helps you feel a little less alone and also gives you the perspective of someone much younger than what information is available online. Thank you so much for all your kind words and well wishes! It means so much.
Ali I am so happy that you wrote this. My husband went to the doctor today and has shingles. If I haven’t seen your posts the last few weeks I wouldn’t have known the symptoms so thank you!
I seriously think you got shingles from the covid vaccine. There are thousands that this happened to. I am one of them. I wish you would use your platform to discuss this! 😍
The covid vaccine cannot “give” you shingles, please do not spread misinformation! Anecdotal evidence is not fact and could be very dangerous for people!
Actually Doctors have admitted that shingles are a side effect from the C vaccine.
The Covid shot is absolutely well known for spreading shingles as well as causing acquired immune deficiency. Proof? Here you go. Enjoy some truth for a change. https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/
That’s fine. But why the hostility? Such negativity from you and the other girl above. So unnecessary. There’s a better way to say what you want to say.
Amy, dearest, those are conspiracy theorist that have been disproven (and actually gotten in trouble with their state medical boards in certain instances). Please provide better references LOL.
Agreed!
The vax only give you a heart attack or bleeding on the brain.
I’m so sorry you suffered through that! Headaches are the worse. Also stopping caffeine abruptly can lead to severe headaches with caffeine withdrawal. So poor you probably had severe headaches from not only the shingles but caffeine withdrawal. Glad you’re on the upside now!
I had shingles when I was 10! Fourth grade! I remember staying at my grandma’s for a week while she cared for me. I had a huge scab across my abdomen. My shingles tigers are still high 30 years later. So any age is possible!! I’m glad you’re feeling better. 🙂
Hi Ali,
I recently got diagnosed with shingles to! I’m 32 years old and have a compromised immune system, so I believe because of that is why it came out so early for me. So far for me I have blisters on my left side of my stomach and left side of my back, I dont have any nerve pain in my head like you did, but my blisters hurt to touch, but not near as bad the pain you were describing. I am managing mine with ibuprofen and Tylenol. Im hoping my blisters start to clear up soon, im on day 4 of 7 of my medication. Thank you for sharing your story and I’m so glad you are feeling better!
Kristina
After watching you go through this, I immediately went to a pharmacy to get the shingles vaccine. I am 56. Unfortunately, Found out I can’t get the vaccine because I take Humira injections for arthritis. I literally cried. So glad you are feeling better!
Really? I consulted with my dr and humira specialist and was advised no conflict with getting vaccine. I got the shingles vaccine last week. Was it your dr who stated you couldn’t get it? Did they give you a more in-depth reason? They said it was fine to me since shingles vaccine is not a “live” vaccine.
I was advised by my doctor over a year ago to get the shingles vaccine. I kept putting it off, but seeing your stories….I immediately went over to CVS and got it taken care of. So thank you !
I am also dealing with shingles right now I had COVID real bad in November was hospitalized for a few weeks I am still on oxygen and have bad type 2 diabetes and have to take insulin now never had that before. Most days I can barely walk because of pain so of course now I got shingles on my back and arm never felt pain like this before it’s been two months since first shingles episode and pain is still bad. I hope you get rid of it soon and have no lasting effects hang in there ❤️
Glad you’re better! I got it at 35, in the ear and inside of my mouth and on the cheek. The pain was so intense I was screaming into a pillow at one point. Worse than birthing my twins lol. What finally helped was amitryptilene. All other pain meds failed me. That one worked in 15 minutes and continued working until it resolved. Big hugs to anyone going through this.
You aren’t the only one who’s had shingles Ali! Many have had them even earlier than thirty. It’s very painful, excruciatingly so.
Okay so your thirty.. you got shingles , it happens. Fact is…Many have had them worse than you.
That being said…
Thanks for sharing your experience and making people aware about the disease.
Through your stories I hope you’ve made people aware that it’s not just a rash. It’s so much more and it’s debilitating at its peak.
It’s a pain you don’t forget.
Thank you Ali for sharing your experience. 😊
Thanks for sharing your story! I was just diagnosed with shingles on Sunday. Excruciating left low back pain for about a week, 2 nights of no sleep, finally went to ER. I had thought blisters were bug bites since they were itchy. Dr put me on anti-viral and gave pain meds so i finally got some sleep. Still super tired and pain creeps back. I’ve been supplementing with ibuprofen. So painful – burning, stabbing, gripping pain unlike I’ve ever had before. Hope it ends soon! I’m 55 and had gotten the shingrex vaccine 2 yeats ago!!
I’m so glad you posted your experience.
I’m terribly sorry u have/had shingles. Maybe I missed it, but how does one get shingles?
Hopefully your feeling better.
Nadine, Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes Chickenpox. Once you recover from Chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in your system. Often it triggers on by stress.
If you have open sores from shingles, you can transmit the virus to someone else which would cause them to get chickenpox.
So many people in their 20’s and 30’s get shingles. You are not the only one. A quick google search has a wealth of information on specifically ‘shingles in your 30’s’.
Not day by day accounts of what happens when it’s on your face (very different). I couldn’t find anything like that. I search for hours and only found 1 extreme case. What did you find? Can you share links?
You’re absolutely right Ali. There are not many day to day blog post. This was super helpful and thank you for your honesty. It’s not easy putting yourself out there because people can be so rude and judgemental. Just know even if you help 1 person you’ve done your job. And guess what? You have! So thank you!
Please PLEASE read about gabapentin and coming off of it!!!! It can be very very scary!!!!!
I am off of it now 🙂
Hi Ali
I was diagnosed about a week ago with shingles. I am 57. I was first prescribed Prednisone and Valtrex. I just got a refill on the Valtrex today. Shingles are on my lip. It is so painful.
Ugh. I am so sorry!
Hi Ali,
I am so sorry you have had to deal with this, but happy to hear you are better.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, it’s nice to know we are not alone in health struggles.
I look forward to seeing your Friday blog soon!
Wishing you a speedy recovery!!
Ali,
Very possible this is from the covid vaccine. Many have complained of shingles after the experimental jab. Please look into this.
Please read and stop with the conspiracy theories. https://time.com/6092368/americas-frontline-doctors-covid-19-misinformation/
It is awful so many people are suffering such bad side effects after being forced into getting the covid jabs. It is bad many still do not recognise the link between receiving the vaccine and the decline of their health. Get well soon.
Ali went out of her way when she wasn’t feeling well and wrote this blog for us. Stop making her feel bad, stop the rude comments and for the last time: You CAN’t get shingles from ANY vaccines. The shingles virus lies dormant in your body and can be triggered by stress, pregnancy, a low immune system, or if you are ill. Let’s stop all the dangerous and ignorant conspiracy theories. Thanks for this blog, Ali. It was the only thing that got me through my shingles and I’m 25.
Hi Ali So happy you are this I am 55 and I recently had shingles it is the most cruciate in pain I have ever been through I have given birth to 2 beautiful kids and I’d rather give birth and having shingles I had it and tap on my scalp electric shock and then my forehead and my eye was so puffy. I had antibiotics and I am slowly recovering. Once again Ali thank you for sharing your post on your journey from shingles🥰
Dear Ali,
I had been looking forward to writing to you for some time when I heard that you had shingles, but I was so concerned about going back to school that I could do it at ease. I am sorry for what happened to you even though I found it hard to believe that a woman so young and as beautiful as you, or more exactly as sublime and as dazzling as you, could suffer from such a disease. Also, I would never have believed in such a situation if it had not been reported to me, about three years ago, that my niece had shingles (characterized by itching, blisters, pain, etc. .), at the age of thirty. When I heard this news it was like a storm that took everyone around me by surprise. As I live in Paris, that is 2000 km from my niece, I cannot tell you exactly how and how much she must have suffered during this time and felt alone. Shortly before, she had successfully graduated from an engineering school with the vocation of becoming an engineer in the field of medical equipment expertise. However, it’s been five years after graduation and she still hasn’t had access to her first job given the crisis many young graduates are going through. Before she had shingles, her mom started to worry when she noticed that next to the isolation, her daughter complained of great unexplained fatigue, insistent migraines or intense nodding, problems vision as well as stomach aches. In addition, today she still suffers from dry eye syndrome (Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome). Although some of these symptoms may suggest that it is a possible beginning of depression, my niece has always declined the idea of having depression by refusing to see a psychiatrist while wanting to be strong and sure. of her (certainly because of her vanity as you mentioned). Today, I think she is starting to face the facts and admit that if her state of health has become so fragile, it is mainly because of her fears about the future and her permanent stress that she wanted to hide.
All this to tell you, Dear Ali, that your dermatologist, whom I congratulate, has seen correctly: you can have shingles in your 30s. May be because, in all likelihood, it is from this age group that stress begins to act on the body. But, as you say, the disease can manifest itself differently from person to person. Besides, I’m starting to believe that if some people under stress escaped illness in their 30s, it’s to pay more for it later. It is no coincidence that many adults live or have lived badly in their forties, which I did by developing what is called panic disorder or panic attacks. But that is another long story …
What is interesting about you is that no one could have imagined your inner suffering. You are so radiant, always so smiling and ready to spread happiness around you even beyond the Atlantic … Your blog is worthy of a romantic love story. Your regular post, written with great care and in such profusion, arrives like a ray of sunshine coming through the window to illuminate the mind and the heart. No, Ali! You are not vain. Every day I discover one more quality. The appeal of your face and your grace is only in the touching of your soul, and your enchantment in the naturalness of each word, and the truth of each impression. I will always remember your response to one of my comments where you expressed your emotion. Do not mistake yourself! I experienced it that day as a climax of enjoyment.
Besides, your generosity and your perfect style, dedicated daily to your family and beyond, seem to be the source of your stress. From this point of view, your testimony on this disease is precious. It reflects both your generosity and your courage. This will only rekindle my worship for you.
I take this opportunity, on your birthday, to tell you that you are the best incarnation of this sentence written by Victor Hugo:
“Love is a sea of which the woman is the shore. ”
Happy Birthday Ali!
Fathi
Hi Ali,
My story sounds similar to yours. I was 39 and my red welts were all over my scalp and I scratched them open. My dermatologist removed them and stitched them up. I still have hair missing in those areas. I am 46 now and had forgotten about the welts, intense migraines, swollen lymph nodes and TMJ until I read your post. I am reminded that I need to get the vaccine so thank you. I’m so glad you’re feeling better.
Thank you so much for posting this! I’ve spent the last 7 days with Shingles in exactly the same spot and your day by day account has kept me sane! I hope you’re feeling 100% better x
Hi Ali,
I have a question about you saying to drink celery juice. I just had blood work and the inflammation count in my body is so so high, will the celery juice help that?
I have read many reports of shingles after being vaccinated for covid. The reports can be found on the CDC VARES reporting site. I would be a million bucks this was vaccine reaction as she was vaccinated not long before. People don’t get shingles this young period.
Ali, Many thanks for sharing your pictures and journey with shingles. I am 46 and have not been feeling well the last couple of days. I have had swelling around my eye and thought my allergies were flaring up. I also noticed a minor rash developing in a couple of spots on the right side of my forehead… I wasn’t sure what was going on. I came across your pictures this afternoon and realized that I may have come down with shingles based on what you shared. Thanks to your post, I went to the emergency room this evening and they confirmed it for me. I started my antiviral meds this evening and I’m hoping that it isn’t too severe. Your blog has helped me tremendously to know what to expect and to mentally prepare. Thanks again for raising awareness about shingles. It is making a difference!!
Hi. So glad you’re feeling better. I was just diagnosed with shingles the other day and started on valtrex immediately. Like you, I’ve noticed that the bumps are not becoming blisters or filling with fluid. Did yours ever do that? Right now I have one big one and it hurts to the touch. Any info would be greatly appreciated!
I am not your normal follower but I am glad that I found this blog post. I am 34 and going through this, your day by day is spot on with what I’m going through. I am on day 6 with shingles on my face as well.. oof wish me luck!
THANK YOU ALI
I’m on day 6/7 but no blisters yet, just the rash still. Started the anti viral meds yesterday. My stupid GP said it was “probably just a allergic reaction” in day 4. Anyone think the blistering part may still come, Pain is subsiding slightly, but that could be due to the numbing jelly I got. Also currently 27 weeks pregnant. This is truly a horrible experience.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I am almost 30 and was just diagnosed with shingles about 3 weeks ago.
I luckily had it on my left upper leg, hip, butt and inner thigh. The nerve pain was extremely painful.
I still have some slight itching and have read that can be a continuing thing even though the spots were not that itchy.
I am extremely disappointed in the lack of information for people under the age of 50.
I am going to ask a doctor about the vaccine as my insurances cover it completely together.
Now I am at the stage that I think it is making my period late as it is due to show and nothing. It was delayed after having covid by about 25 days so hoping this is the same case. Just wondering if you noticed anything similar. I am not on contraceptives but definitely not pregnant.
I keep getting stressed out that it’s going to return 🙁
Hi Ali,
I’m 35 with shingles on my face right now. My headaches are unbearable. How long did it take for your headaches to completely stop?
Thank you for sharing! I was diagnosed with shingles a few days ago I am 42 and thought what in the world! Started on lower back and down buttocks and this morning 3 days in its now on my face around both eyes and my nose. I have been so upset and in pain. I am losing sleep wish I could sleep. Reading this lifted my spirits and I will be getting the vaccine as soon as my dr clears me. This pain is awful and I would not want anyone to endure it.
Currently going thru face shingles
I’m on day 7
You described the pain perfectly. The pain medicine prescribed did not help me
After watching several YouTube videos, I decided to take 4000 mg of vitamin C on day 4, in addition to the antiviral I had been prescribed
Next morning I woke up and the sharp pain had noticeably decreased- about 80%
I continue to take 2000 mg of C in the morning and again late afternoon. It has elevated the pain
Hope this may help someone else
Katie
Sorry meant to say vitamin C has greatly “alleviated” the pain for me.
I’m right at the three weak point where I woke up one morning and I felt like a truck hit me. I stayed in bed for the next four days and I’m extremely active person I didn’t eat for 4 to 5 days. I still have a headache that comes and goes but basically that sickly stuff is there all the time the side of my nose is numb and I have some sort of weird sinus involvement. Maybe there are blisters inside my nose. My eye on the left is sore and very blurry. Keep in mind this is three weeks. I don’t even know what to do. At this point I’ve been to the ophthalmologist, the dermatologist and another Doctor Who said it’s gonna take a while I noticed I get cold really easily and that usually means my fever is coming back. This is so weird I I hate it. Anybody have these symptoms
I’m sorry but this rash is absolutely not shingles. Idk who diagnosed you but your commentary and pictures do not show signs of shingles. It’s EXTREMELY PAINFUL and the rashes are in the form of a line that go on a nerve pathway. I have it right now and it’s not whatever your displaying. This crap HURTS! This story is so misleading it’s cruel. It does affect people differently but there are definitely similarities for everyone. The pain and the horrible patches of of blistering bumps all on one side of your body or face. Please take this down. It’s dishonest.
I would love to connect with someone to talk to about shingles in the face and eye. I am 33. Headache started Feb 1. Blisters followed Feb 6 where they finally diagnosed me with shingles (third ER visit). It’s now March 22 and still battling postherpetic neuralgia. This has been a long, painful road that includes a lot of gabapentin that makes me tired all the time. The pain was worse than childbirth. Also, I was told I couldn’t get the shingles vaccine since I’m not 50 or immune compromised? Anyways, looking to connect with others who can relate, empathize, and share their stories. Nerve pain is no joke. This is taking longer than I ever thought!
I believe the C vac enabled the shingles. Odd how younger people are getting after it right? Too many. Read reddit. Of course big pharma would deny the link, they want their to profit from the Covid vaccine.
Your story is helping me. My shingles started so much like yours!
I feel all of this, literally! I get trigeminal ocular shingles about 2 times a year for about 6 years now (I’m 41) I have a weakened immune system and a couple of stressful and exhausting weeks will set it off- the pain, fatigue, and appearance wrecks havoc on you physically, emotionally & mentally. Stay healthy and pay close attention when you run yourself down- the tingles are shingles in the making 😔
I’m on day 5 of shingles on my face. Started on my forehead. Then below the eyebrow. Then in my cornea. And now in my hairline. The eye pain is excruciating.
I was just diagnosed with Shingles this week. Started with a rash on my eyelid that I thought was from a new skin cream until the headache startec. After 24 hrs and starting to get pain on my scalp I went to Urgent Care and was told it is Shingles. The worst part is the constant headache, it’s been 5 days now, the electric jolts on my scalp that feel like they are in mybrain and the pressure/aching in my eye, jaw and ear.. The rash is just starrting to really get red and hasn’t blistered yet. Went to the eye Dr today and it is not in my eye thankfully. I am taking Valtrex and.
Prednidone and getting minor relief with ibuprofen and Tylenol for the headache. Hoping it clears up quickly! Side note, I had Shingles at 13 on my torso. My cousin who I got the chicken pox from also had Shingles as a preteen. Wonder if it was the strain of chickenpox we had. Interesting
Thank you for sharing your experience with shingles. I’m 40,It’s day 3 for me and it really helps to know you’re not alone and to relate with someone who’s gone through what you are going through. Take care an God Bless
Alicia
Thank you so much for writing this.
I’m not really sure if I’m on day 5 or 6 and like you it’s on my head and like you, mine isn’t filling with fluid at all or spreading and this is the first account I’ve found where it sounds like what I’ve got. the swelling is also worse in the morning and got bigger again today. Thankfully I don’t have the pain you experienced. Your account is the first one that’s given me hope that this may not actually get worse from an appearance perspective and just be that it’s presenting slightly differently.
I can’t tell when this was written but I truly hope all that pain is now behind you!
I have been diagnosed w internal shingles. I’m 63, no c vax. 10 nights ago i had severe back & side pain i couldn’t sleep. Each day it got progressively worse & my side became swollen, tender, no feeling in my skin. Kept progressing in a larger area. Day 8 i went to the ER. They eliminated everything else after many tests. I have 6 tiny blisters on my back. They gave me triamcinolone to rub on & gabapentin to take. It doesn’t even touch the pain. I have never felt anything so excruciating. I also have fibromyalgia so as tired as i am i cannot sleep or lay in bed very long. My side is like i am carrying a 10# ball inside. It is hard, protruding & so very painful. I never knew there was internal shingles. It can actually affect your organs. Thanks for your post. I feel pretty alone here.
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this. I’m 38 and on day 4 AND 35 weeks pregnant. My symptoms don’t look like others I’ve searched for, but actually resemble yours a lot. I’ve been feeling frustrated because my blisters are getting flat and smaller and never really burst, so I had that same feeling that this is going to take a long time to get through. I also have a lot of swelling on my forehead, and haven’t seen any of that in my google searches. Hopping I don’t get the excruciating pain afterwards as I won’t be able to take pain meds pregnant, but super thankful that you shared your story. Thank you Ali. ♥️
Thank you. This is me, minus the excruciating pain & mine started like a swollen pain on my eyebrow that I thought was just a huge pimple or boil. Mine has been very mild, more like a buzzing on half of my face by week two & only a little weird radiating ache/ pain in first week. Highly itchy on forehead, middle hairline and upper left forehead. Eye doctor did it diagnose me & only paid attention to swollen lid & clogged lid glands, not the ultimate cause of that. I nearly hit a sty from the swelling. My new dermatologist said it was an allergic reaction. But I figured this out in my own by day 7; I check all the boxes, but really mild. Such a crazy thing. I fear a relapse or something new.
Thank you for sharing your story! You’re right when you say there isn’t much information online regarding this issue in your 20s/30s. I’m dealing with a major stressor in my life right now and can now connect the dots because of your post.