Shingles, Swelling, and Loss of Muscle Mass

[TractorGuy]

A few questions for those who may have had a similar experience with Shingles.

I am 66 and entering week 7 of having the Shingles for the first (and hopefully last) time. It began with a pain in my left side followed several days later with a rash. The rash hasn't been that bad and consists of 4 spots about 3" in diameter. The first is under my navel and they are spaced a few inches apart with the last being on my left butt cheek. The pain has hovered between 6 and 9 and feels like I have a huge lump in my side. In the last 3 weeks the lump has increased and I have an obvious bulge that has my navel pushed over about an inch off center. Just this morning I noticed my skin starting to sag on my forearm. I assume I am losing muscle mass from inactivity. I am fairly slender at 5'11" and a usual weight of 166-168 lbs. My normal waste size is 33". I have lost 12-14 lbs and gained 5" around the midriff.

Has anyone had the shingles along with swelling like this?

Long Version:
I was feeling pretty good some weeks back and pulled an all day work project. Started with modifying my push trimmer by adapting a blade and sawing all the brush and small trees off a 500' fence line. Moved to the front and pulled several trees up with my backhoe then cut them all up and moved them to a burn pile. A couple of days later the pain developed and I feared I had another hernia. It was several days later when the rash began and several days after that before I made the connection to it being Shingles.

I tried with no success to get an appointment with my primary health care doctor and finally went to the urgent care center. The doctor there passed it all off as Shingles related and gave me something for pain. My bowel movements stopped and were not coaxed with an over the counter laxative. The pain and knot feeling increased so the next week I went back to urgent care. The doctor that saw me for that visit had an x-ray done and said I was constipated with a possible blockage. Several more doses of laxative in both ends got the bowels moving so I ruled out a blockage. The pain persistently increased so my wife took me to the emergency room. They did a CT scan and said they saw no indication of blockage or hernia. They gave me something a little better for pain and sent me home. The following week was when the swelling increased so I got the surgeon that fixed my hernia some years back to work me in. He looked me over, pulled up the CT scan results, and said he thought it was all Shingles related.

I guess I am in denial that this big lump in my side could just be nerve related but according to 4 different doctors, an x-ray, and a CT scan that is what is causing it.

FYI: I had the Shingles vaccine in 2012. Apparently is was ineffective.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Sorry to hear about getting the shingles. Per some the vaccine can cause shingles.

 

[ultrarunner]

I thought I had a case of poison oak... mentioned it to one of the Docs at work who had me pull up my shirt right there... he said you have Shingles... standing in front of a mirror it was clearly defined on one side only...

I couldn't recall being anywhere around poison oak but who knows... because that is what it reminded me of.

He gave me an injection of something and I went on about my day and didn't miss any work... actually it was one of the nurses who said to drop my pants... I said we work together and Doc said my arm would be fine...

Never had the vaccine but Doc was kind of on the fence about it....

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I keep asking about the vaccine because my mom had shingle in her late 60's. I am now 57 and they won't pay for the shot until 60 years old.

I have not heard about swelling or constipation like you are having. Keep on top of it.

 

[ning]

The swelling doesn't sound at all like shingles. I'd see a different doctor, ASAP, and don't volunteer that you think it's shingles related. Let the doctor come to their own conclusion.

I got shingles when I was 40, and it was the worst pain I've ever had. Drugs I tried wouldn't touch it, or made me itchy, so I did my best to just sleep through it for almost a month. Mine started with a strange skin sensitivity, and as I researched it I came to the thought that it was shingles... before I saw an actual rash I'd convinced a doctor who gave me acyclovir (antiviral used to treat herpes - shingles is a herpes virus); whether or not it did any good I don't know (if it did, I'd say the pain without it may've killed me).

As far as what I could see - the rash I had looked like a bad case of poison oak just below my chest on the right side, almost from the mid-line reaching around almost to my back. The pain felt like a knife in my side, literally. It still aches now, 12 years later, but at least someone took the knife out. Other than the rash, there was no outward sign, and the rash really looked like a nasty bit of poison oak (minus any weeping).

Strange thing - my sister also had shingles at 40; the more common age is 60ish as far as I know. We're both otherwise quite healthy.
Maybe we had some less-than-usual chicken pox strain as kids? We lived in Europe then, which apparently has higher shingles rates than USA and a lower typical onset - so that's my guess, and my mom doesn't remember us ever having chicken pox anyways...

 

[ultrarunner]

One very serious aspect of Shingles is when it affects an eye... this is what Doc was concerned about lucky for me I didn't have that problem.

I agree... having severe poison oak at various times, my first thought was poison oak but the tell was the rash was only on one side... right the middle and out... the other side was 100% untouched.

 

[Bird]

My wife and I got the Shingles vaccination 6 years ago. I'd heard from a friend who had Shingles, and last year our 87 year old neighbor had the Shingles; he told me it was the second time he had them. It's certainly something you want to avoid if at all possible.

 

[Turbys_1700]

From what I have gathered from folks around here that have had the shingles...
1. The shot is not 100% effective in prevention of shingles...I don't know the effective rate of prevention is...
2. Insurance will pay for the shot after the age of 60...
3. A friend in his early 50's recently had the shingles...The diagnosis was caught very early and treatment was fast...His pain was minimal...
4. Another co-worker got the shingles...Most painful experience of his life...He highly recommended taking the shot at age 60...He was in his 60's when contracting the issue...
5. The problem is early diagnosis...Most doctors and folks don't think it is the shingles virus...They treat for something else...
6. I am 58 and will be 59 in September...I am still on the fence about the shot...

 

[ultrarunner]

The above could have been my saving grace...

I had this rash that popped up and the next day I mentioned it to one of the Docs at work... the diagnosis took less than a minute and 5 minutes later his nurse gave me an injection...

Had I not had not been working in a Hospital I would not have been seen/treated for days or maybe never.... thinking why isn't this poison oak going away... and I have had cases of poison oak with my eyes 100% swollen shut for days.

That said... Doc never said I should get the vaccine... he is not one to tow the line with everything marketed by Pharma.... that is why I like him.

It is not that the Drug companies don't try... he could have free lunch everyday of the week if he was that kind of Doctor...

 

[oosik]

About twenty years ago I had a case of the Shingles. It was a very mild case - about 6 to 8 red blisters around me - just above the belt line. Looked like bee stings. BUT - the PAIN was unbelievably intense. Could have NOTHING even touching the blisters. Went to the Dr - he called in all the nursing staff for viewing. Thank God the rash was above my waist. He gave me some form of pain pills and in about ten days the incident was all over.

Fifteen years ago I got an injection and have not had any further problems.