[Sue_Conard]

#1017996

Hey All…been a while since I’ve posted or had any questions. Dx in 2009 with GD & had the shingles AFTER the IV steroid tx. Since October 2010, I’ve had the shingles rear their ugly head 18 times…YES, 18 times! Every time I have any stress at all in my life, they decide to come back. The first time I had the shingles was with the steroid txs in 2009 and hadn’t had them again until 2010 when I started nursing school. Now, any stress whatsoever and they decide to rear their ugly head and they just are so painful. Can anyone tell me if this is just a side effect of a lowered immune system, if anyone else has this issue and will I just continue to suffer with every little bit of stress on my body? Guess I’m just looking for any direction to control of the awful symptoms of this disease!! Any assistance, any advice, any recommendations would be much appreciated:!:

[Ski]

#1062093

Are you talking about true shingles (caused by the same root virus as chicken pox), or pretibial myxedema (the autoimmune disease that is closely associated with Graves’ and occurs in a small percentage of patients, on their lower legs and/or feet)?

[snelsen]

#1062094

good question by Ski!’
If true shingles, have your doctor prescribed acyclovir for it? Please ask you doc.
Shirley

[Sue_Conard]

#1062095

Thanks Ski & all…I actually thought I had researched this good on this site, but found a post below dated 2002 on the SAME EXACT ? that Jake had answered…looks like others have suffered as I have with this issue. I appreciate all the responses as I am on Tapazole as well…
by odette » Tue Apr 30, 2002 1:41 pm

Does anyone know of any connection between shingles and hyperT? I have been taking Tapazole for about six weeks now, and have broken out with shingles twice in one week (and they’re coming again). Doc said "no connection" and questioned whether it’s actually shingles. (I’ve been having it for 20 years and KNOW what it is! But I don’t have enough experience with Tapazole to know if there is any influence.)odette

[snelsen]

#1062096

It seems to me that the real issue is being TREATED for your shingles, if, indeed, it is shingles. And the medicine that clears it up, takes away the itching and pain, is the anti-viral acyclovir. But this is something you should check out with your doc. However, you say that you have had shingles off and on for 20 years, so perhaps you know all this, and your question is not about relief from shingles, but simply if it is associated with Graves’. If you have been having shingles for 20 years, then it is probably not related to Graves’. Stress can exacerbate, cause a shingles outbreak. Basically, the virus lies dormant, then raises it ugly head, and there is another outbreak.
Have you had acylovir in the past 20 years for your shingles?

[mamabear]

#1062097

What dr. is treating you for this?
If the dr. doesn’t believe it to be shingles then what tests has he/she done to confirm it or state what the answer truly is?
Is this the same dr. that has been treating your for this skin condition this whole time?

I believe you need to get confirmation if this is truly shingles or not. Even if you had shingles 20 years ago, get testing done again to confirm it.

Shingles comes like the herpes virus that we get on our mouth.
Is the rash on one side of the body?
Is the rash along a nerve path? (example, like above your eye or across your eye to your nose)
Are the blisters like when you get chickenpox or does it look like something else? google chicken pox to see what they look like if you don’t know off hand.

I think the dr. is questioning the shingles because to have a case break out twice in a week is a bit odd. Usually it starts with a little tingling, then the blisters, then the blisters break open, cause pain and burning then the rash comes. It heals within a couple weeks and lays dormant again.

This has certainly peeked my curiosity. I hope you get answers. I would ask for a referral to a dermatolgist asap so they can see your rash asap. At least they might be able to confirm it.
DO NOT use any creams on it, creams make any rash burn. Ointment is better. Has the dr. given you the stuff to treat shingles? Or at least some hydrocoritsone ointment 2.5% I think is the prescription strength.

good luck and keep us posted.

[ShannonW]

#1062098

Isn’t there a shingles vaccine that is available? Is this an option to prevent shingles or is it a different strain or variation of the common shingles? I know I usually see signs for the vaccine at the drug store but have never gotten it because I work at home and don’t come into contact with lots of people that would put me at risk of getting it.

Edited 8/9/12 to remove spam link

[snelsen]

#1062099

Yes, there is. It is strongly recommended for people over 60. There have not been large studies in age 60 and below.
Here is a reliable reference from CDC.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shi … d-know.htm
Shirley

[Bobbi]

#1062100

Yes, there is a shingles vaccination. But it is a quasi-live virus injection. I think the technical word is "attenuated." Scientists weaken the virus but do not kill it completely. So, whether or not it is wise for someone who has shingles intermittently for years to add a weakened, but live virus to their system is a question for your doctors, not anyone here, or elsewhere online.

There is no connection, to my knowledge, between being hyperthyroid and developing shingles. It is not in any of my literature.

Another point: unless hyperthyroidism is currently making you ill, your immune system is not "weakened." We do not have a compromised immune system just because we have an autoimmune disease. Our immune system has made an antibody to thyroid tissue by mistake. But when antibody levels are high (healthy immune system) we are sicker; when antibody levels are low (illness, typically, but not always) our symptoms can go away.

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