zomg PAIN!!!!!
Stupid chicken pox virus!!!
Apparently I'm stressed enough about the upcoming comps exam and probably job-search stuff in general (and I'm sure my long term low-level depression that's recently been on the upswing didn't help, either) to weaken my immune system enough that the chicken pox virus lying dormant in my system was able to express itself as shingles.
It started as a little rash late Thursday night, and I thought it was probably just some poison ivy that I'd gotten on myself without noticing while doing some yard work.
Then it over the next couple of days it spread, and the initial part got worse. My dad raised the possibility of shingles, which was confirmed yesterday afternoon at the doctor's office.
It tends to vary from extremely itchy (which I can't scratch), to burning, to just plain sharp jabbing-needle-like pain. I don't know if it's the natural progression, or if the medicine is hurrying it along, but as the rash nodules get dried up, all of the sensations have become more intense. I can take 2 nerve-pain pills a day, but I'm trying to save those for when it's more in the needles-variation than "just" the super-itchy or burny.
The patches of rash go from between my stomach and groin around the left side to the lower back part of my spine. It's frustrating to have to try to sleep in one particular position. Oh, and the swollen lymph node on the side of my hip is also driving me crazy... it's kinda like gas pains that won't go away. That's cut my sleep short.
And just what I needed, lots of pain to make it hard to concentrate on studying for that exam to add to the difficulty in being motivated while depressed. :P
Apparently I'm stressed enough about the upcoming comps exam and probably job-search stuff in general (and I'm sure my long term low-level depression that's recently been on the upswing didn't help, either) to weaken my immune system enough that the chicken pox virus lying dormant in my system was able to express itself as shingles.
It started as a little rash late Thursday night, and I thought it was probably just some poison ivy that I'd gotten on myself without noticing while doing some yard work.
Then it over the next couple of days it spread, and the initial part got worse. My dad raised the possibility of shingles, which was confirmed yesterday afternoon at the doctor's office.
It tends to vary from extremely itchy (which I can't scratch), to burning, to just plain sharp jabbing-needle-like pain. I don't know if it's the natural progression, or if the medicine is hurrying it along, but as the rash nodules get dried up, all of the sensations have become more intense. I can take 2 nerve-pain pills a day, but I'm trying to save those for when it's more in the needles-variation than "just" the super-itchy or burny.
The patches of rash go from between my stomach and groin around the left side to the lower back part of my spine. It's frustrating to have to try to sleep in one particular position. Oh, and the swollen lymph node on the side of my hip is also driving me crazy... it's kinda like gas pains that won't go away. That's cut my sleep short.
And just what I needed, lots of pain to make it hard to concentrate on studying for that exam to add to the difficulty in being motivated while depressed. :P