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Great news about Nicky. I hope the progress continues. It hurts so much when our babies are hurting.

I was not meant to open morning coffee. Tried a few times and lost my signal every time I hit send. Maybe this will work.

Very windy here overnight. Actually got a weather warning on my phone yesterday evening about high winds from 11 pm until 10 am today. Not the normal time for them but works for me. For the most part I slept through them.

Got a couple pictures of lots of white pelicans overhead this morning. Love seeing them.

Just laying here in bed yet. Nice and cool overnight.

LA is on fire this morning! 100K people have been evacuated in northern LA due to a fierce wildfire up there that is 0% contained and taking homes and lives. It has jumped several freeways already. The winds have been very high out here the past couple days. Terrible situation! Feel so bad for those people! There were 3 other fires around LA yesterday. Haven't heard the status of those fires today tho. One of them went thru a mobile home park and destroyed over 75 homes there.

Calm, cool and sunny here in the desert this morning. Just planning to clean up the outside area of the house, deck, etc. to make the front look more presentable. Then off to work. I have the weekend off so more organizing and maybe something fun in between.

Dry (very low humidity) and breezy here though I think we are through most of big wind. Smoke in area from a controlled burn up the hill which was blown out of control. If its still smoky by evening I won't go to football game. Can't risk stirring up asthma.
On Shingles. I speak from experience. I've had Shingles 3 times! Once full blown, back in my early 20's and twice got symptomatic but was treated in time with anti-virals though still had some nerve pain. For quite a few years, I was told No don't get the shot, it might trigger a flare, by Dermatologist and my family Dr, as well as PhD in pharmacy. Now they are reversing that stance, yet I'm told months waiting list as its in short supply! What I did learn, before the last bout, was, Lysine, one of the amino acids, is very effective in stopping the replication of the virus involved in both Shingles and cold sores. In fact there are Lysine creams for cold sores, which are caused by virus. I began keeping Lysine capsules on hand. Last time I realized I felt tired and began to get the nerve pain that precedes Shingles, I right away got on Lysine with full doses several times a day while waiting for Dr to send in RX for anti-viral. It seemed to shorten the entire bout, including shortening the post heretic neuralgia , nerve pain. Then a few years ago, one day, Mel said his side hurt and burned and itched, could I look. Holy Cow, I exclaimed, you've got Shingles. I ran to the cabinet and gave him full dose Lysine, then waited for the Dermatologist office to open. Got him in, Dr confirmed my diagnosis and set him up to take anti virals. This was when his immune system was already compromised by cancer treatment. The Dermatologist said, the Lysine was the very best thing I could have done and to continue it as Mel took anti virals and healed, which he did faster than predicted for someone not on Lysine, and ESP for someone with immune system compromised. I don't get cold sores but I get a virus in the nerve in right side of my jaw near side teeth. It used to hurt for days, then break out on gum as I tiny ulcer, taking 10-14 days to go away. Dentist said not much we could do but use a steroid and anti inflammatory cream. Then I found Lysine. When I'm under stress that little virus pops up with nerve pain. Now days, soon as I feel it, I take 2,capsules of Lysine and repeat twice a day until pain is gone then once daily for few more days. Usually only have to take it a day or two and it goes away, instead of getting to ulcer stage and lasting weeks. My dentist said yes that works, use it. So, i recommend keeping Lysine on hand, in a dark cool dry place if you yet any type nerve involved virus, whether cold sore or other, because even the vaccine is not 100% effective. Hope this helps someone else, because I'm sure glad I found out and did my research on it years ago.
Velda

Velda, thank you for sharing your experience and research. I was also thinking of the virus that is thought to be behind Bells Palsy..... I think that my incident with Bells Palsy last fall was shortened by my recognizing the symptoms and being able to get in to my PA that afternoon and getting the anti-virals started so quickly. (I did also go in for an acupuncture treatment.) And similar to what several of you have mentioned, my PA really didn't recommend the first Shingles vaccine and it wasn't until the newer vaccine came out that she strongly recommended my getting it. And yes I had to put my name on the list at the pharmacy and then wait until the next shipment came in and got a call in to get my shot.

As of now, 3 of the fires near LA are somewhat contained, but 2 are still out of control. Tense situation out there.

Do you need to get both shingles shots or just the newer one?
I once had an upper respiratory infection that turned into a bad cough that I had for about 2 years. Couldn't get rid of it with anything. Then one day I bit my tongue really hard and my boss recommended I take L-Lysine to help it heal faster. I tried it and not only did my tongue heal within a couple days, but my cough went away!! Since then I take it to get rid of a lingering cough after having a sore throat, and of course, for cold sores and cheek or tongue bites. Great stuff!

You can still get shingles with the vaccine but it reduces severity.

Important thing is if you get a rash on one side of body, you need to get antivirals FAST!! That means getting to ER or urgent care same day as getting antivirals immediately reduces severity. Don’t even wait to get a call back or appt at your doctor!!!

Luckily I got to doctor fast and started drugs less than 36 hours of seeing rash. My case is going to be mild—already it looks that way. Spots are relatively small and blisters are drying up.

MandysMom wrote:Dry (very low humidity) and breezy here though I think we are through most of big wind. Smoke in area from a controlled burn up the hill which was blown out of control. If its still smoky by evening I won't go to football game. Can't risk stirring up asthma.
On Shingles. I speak from experience. I've had Shingles 3 times! Once full blown, back in my early 20's and twice got symptomatic but was treated in time with anti-virals though still had some nerve pain. For quite a few years, I was told No don't get the shot, it might trigger a flare, by Dermatologist and my family Dr, as well as PhD in pharmacy. Now they are reversing that stance, yet I'm told months waiting list as its in short supply! What I did learn, before the last bout, was, Lysine, one of the amino acids, is very effective in stopping the replication of the virus involved in both Shingles and cold sores. In fact there are Lysine creams for cold sores, which are caused by virus. I began keeping Lysine capsules on hand. Last time I realized I felt tired and began to get the nerve pain that precedes Shingles, I right away got on Lysine with full doses several times a day while waiting for Dr to send in RX for anti-viral. It seemed to shorten the entire bout, including shortening the post heretic neuralgia , nerve pain. Then a few years ago, one day, Mel said his side hurt and burned and itched, could I look. Holy Cow, I exclaimed, you've got Shingles. I ran to the cabinet and gave him full dose Lysine, then waited for the Dermatologist office to open. Got him in, Dr confirmed my diagnosis and set him up to take anti virals. This was when his immune system was already compromised by cancer treatment. The Dermatologist said, the Lysine was the very best thing I could have done and to continue it as Mel took anti virals and healed, which he did faster than predicted for someone not on Lysine, and ESP for someone with immune system compromised. I don't get cold sores but I get a virus in the nerve in right side of my jaw near side teeth. It used to hurt for days, then break out on gum as I tiny ulcer, taking 10-14 days to go away. Dentist said not much we could do but use a steroid and anti inflammatory cream. Then I found Lysine. When I'm under stress that little virus pops up with nerve pain. Now days, soon as I feel it, I take 2,capsules of Lysine and repeat twice a day until pain is gone then once daily for few more days. Usually only have to take it a day or two and it goes away, instead of getting to ulcer stage and lasting weeks. My dentist said yes that works, use it. So, i recommend keeping Lysine on hand, in a dark cool dry place if you yet any type nerve involved virus, whether cold sore or other, because even the vaccine is not 100% effective. Hope this helps someone else, because I'm sure glad I found out and did my research on it years ago.
Velda

Velda the benefits of Lysine for nerve pain made me wonder is it would work for Trigeminal Neuralgia! Is there any difference between L Lysine and Lysine? I have to drink my food through a straw when I have an episode and I always loose weight which I really don't need to do!!

An update: I am really doing fine today. I woke up with some pain, so I took a half of a pain med before heading off from Bend west. I figured I would drive as far as I could, and stop if I got too tired. The positive thing is that I got to bed early and slept well, which really helps.

After talking to my friend at length last night, I am appreciative that I was really lucky with my shingles. I imagine that this is because I had the shingles shot and got to the doctor fast for the anti-viral medications. (I even filled the prescription in the pharmacy in his building and took my first dose before I left.) My friend did not have shot and did not get to doctor early, so she had huge blisters that formed when all of the little blisters came together. Her small blisters were the size of fresh peas and the biggest blister was the size of a small tangerine. The blisters continually seeped, so she had to keep them covered with pain-reducing pads, which she changed a couple of times a day. She also had to keep changing her t-shirts and washed her towels every night to keep the yuck from spreading. It is hard to compare pain, but from her description, I imagine her pain level must have been horrible.

And I imagine your version must have been very painful also, Velda. There were no anti-viral drugs or vaccines when you had your first episode. And like my friend, you may not have had good pain meds, which was no doubt awful.

My shingles are more like small dots, no more than a millimeter in size each. I have four clusters: one in the front about 1.5" in diameter, a very small one on my side with only a couple of "dots" on it, one similar small cluster on my back near my spine, and a larger but more spread out area towards my back. It maybe has 20 spots. (If do a Google search for shingles and view the images, you will see the variety.) Also, I have had no fever, chills, nausea, or other symptoms, which most people have with shingles.

Also, mine were tiny blisters but seem to be drying up already. I have had no seepage whatsoever, I suppose because they are so small. And the pain seems to be a little better today also. Originally, I would get spasms that would start in the middle of my back and travel forward, making me have to catch and hold my breath until the spasm calmed down. I drove 260 miles today with a minimal of pain meds, but I will admit my shingles are a little sore tonight. I have to sit up to do some work online, but I know once I lay down in bed, they will feel better.

So, I am posting this detail because of the comparison of shingles with the vaccine and early meds and without it. If you look up shingles, it says the pain will last any time between two weeks and six months! I am hoping I do not have the six month version! I am taking three huge Valcyclovir tablets each day, and I also got a prescription for Acyclovir that I will have to take each day for a year as a preventative once I finish the Valcyclovir. Also, I researched lysine and even the NIH says it is effective on various types of herpes infections. I will have to get some for my cold sores.

It warmed up today even have water... yea for the while it will last. suppose to warmer for a few days into middle of next week I believe. I don't know that happened but just did it again wipes out all but a sentence and a bit... and my hand is no where near the delete button...
went to mom's but she was really tired had some friends take her out for lunch and dessert at DQ then grandson and family took her out for supper.. big day for someone who doesn't do a lot.
so today we did nothing sat and vegged out watching tv I watered plants and a couple weeks ago I had picked up a frozen cookie balls... there is a company in SLC that has awesome cookies and they have started freezing some of the kinds they make and selling them through Smith's so when I saw them I grabbed them and put in freezer... pretty good although I think I prefer them from the home base... She decided she would rather have supper next week.. stopped and saw the baby she isn't too sure of me I guess I don't stop and see her enough... but then on the other hand they don't stop and see me... so she isn't sure of me... getting to the stranger's are fearful stage..
then home I do have the furnace working not sure why but we will take it think though I will have it checked when I get to Q though..
sheila

Yes, Judy, my first bout of Shngles was very bad. Because I was so young, 23 years old, it was not recognized at first. In fact I worked an entire night shift at the Navy Hospital, before a senior nurse looked at me and made me admit I was hurting. In fact, they had me worked up for an appendectomy, when a young dermatology resident decided my blood work and X-rays didn't match appendicitis and rescued me from the surgical residents and sent me home with instructions to rest. By Monday, the rash had begun to appear, and I got big weepy blisters. I went back to the hospital, now suspecting Shingles, even though I'd never seen a case. He confirmed it and gave me something for pain, and a bunch of Burrows solution tablets, which I had to dissolve in warm water every few hours and use for wet soaks on my blisters. I think I was out of work almost two weeks. I felt bad because it put hardship on other nurses. The pain gradually went away over months, and when I went back to work after the blisters dried, I was not allowed to take pain pills because I was responsible for narcotic counts, as well as overseeing 30-120 patients while supervising 4 to 20 young corpsman who did the hands on care mostly. The second bout, I got anti viral, the only one available at the time, but pain lasted much longer even without blisters, nearly a year. Third time, using Lysine and antiviral, went quicker and less pain as I recognized it earlier. I'm one of the rare ones to get it multiple times. I'm still leery of the vaccine setting it off again, but my much trusted pharmacist friend assures me I'll be ok and has me on her list for next batch that arrives. I had a friend, in the paper crafting world, who had terrible long term nerve damage from Shingles, which Drs tried everything to treat. She died several years later in horrible pain.
Velda