Shingles

I feel very sorry for your husband with the post HN pain. My mum had the same for a good 5 years (sorry to tell you that). She used to apply calamine lotion to half of her face every day and kept it in the fridge as it was more soothing. Any touch to her face was agony and sleeping was a trial for her.

Eventually it cleared up but left half of her top lip completely numb of feeling.

I hope your husband finds better relief from this debilitating condition. It made my mum feel very low at times. x

I had shingles last year in february, i had the pain and numbness for a few months afterwards,
My Dr gave me gabapentin, but it just made me dizzy,
I was recommended something called Virasoothe,which is for babies with chickenpox,it was a godsend,you can buy it in gel form or a spray, i tried both but mainly used the spray as it meant you dont have to touch the rash,and it really stops the itching, i just took ibuprofen for the pain
I hope something can help your husband, i think people often dont realise how painful it can be

I was given gabbapentin as well but with instructions to take it at night. So if it causes dizziness I was unaware of it !

It worked for me.

I had to take it 3 times a day, but it was quite a strong one,so the Dr gave me a smaller dose one which was better, but the pain lasted quite a long time,around my kidneys mainly
I wouldnt want it again, my side was numb for about 3 months i think, felt very weird

My sympathy to your DH. I had shingles many years ago, on a camping holiday in France. It was only a small area of rash but got more and more painful. I didn't go to a doctor until we got back. I can remember being on the ferry coming back and going on the deck to find a quiet place to have a cry. The doc gave me tablets but it took a long time for the pain to go. I hope he is soon feeling better.

Shingles is horrible. So painful and the rash is unsightly.

I think this is a reminder to us all to have the vaccination.
Unfortunately it is only available on the NHS for certain ages, but it is possible to have it done privately.

I knew how painful shingles can be so took up the offer of the vaccination as soon as it was offered.

I should have had the vaccination the year before i got it, but i wasn;t offered it and in fact didn;t even know it existed

My husband had exactly the same symptoms Dinahmo, and the same treatment apart from the Reiki. The gabapentin helped him to an extent , but took a while to build up and be effective. The Lidocaine patches really didn't do much . One thing he found was that he couldn't bear any clothes rubbing on his shoulder, so we covered the affected shoulder with clingfilm to prevent friction and it worked a treat . To be honest , it was time that did the healing . One year on , he still has mild PHN, but nothing like the initial onset. I would say he saw an improvement at the three month stage. We found wearing a sling also helped ease the pressure. I should add he didn't have the vaccine and regretted that decision !! I would urge anyone who is offered it to take it. The pain is horrendous and very little alleviates it .

This may sound crazy but it gave my hubby imediate relief ..lysterine mouth wash gently put on painful areas try it hopefully you will be as amazed as we were, good luck