The "Walking On Stones" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got off the phone with the nurse.  Had to make another appointment to see the doctor about this crazy case of shingles I still have.  Got them back at the end of April, two days after arriving in St. Martin for vacation.  Started first with a tingling sensation in my thigh.  Thought it may be too much sunburn from a day at the beach.  Then the next day I got a blister like rash on the rear of my left knee.  Both Carol and I thought that also was from too much sun.  But, I put 65 SPF lotion all over my body, so it had to be something else.  Then the next day it started to spread up and down from behind my knee.  Another day saw it reach my left rear butt cheek and down to my calf.  Big, no make that BIG, sore-like blisters that were really ugly.  Didn't hurt or bother me too much until they reached my butt and I had to sit on them.  By now Carol realized it was a full blown case of shingles.  We went to Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten (Dutch side of the island) to find a pharmacy to see if they had a cream to use on it.  Didn't, but the pharmacist asked to see them and said I should have a doctor look at them.  She made an immediate appointment for me at a clinic about two blocks away.  Told me they were waiting to see me as soon as I could get there.  Doctor told me that if he had seen me within the first 72 hours he could have given me an antiviral medication that would have stopped the virus from multiplying and would also have helped speed the healing of the skin lesions and reduce the severity and duration of the pain.  Too bad I missed it!!  The doctor told me there is nothing I can do but wait until the virus has worked it's way out of my body.  He continued by telling me that about 10% of those who get shingles develop postherpetic neuraligia which is a condition where people keep feeling pain and or discomfort even after their rash goes away.  Sometimes for months or even years.  Also told me the rash and resulting blisters travel along the nerves in your body.  Great, just GREAT!!  I'm telling you this in case you ever get anything that closely resembles shingles and can get to the doctor right away.  Don't delay.  This is HELL!  I made sure it didn't ruin my vacation by ignoring it as much as I could.  Had no trouble on the beach, since everyone who saw me steered clear of me.  Then the scabs started to develop.  Well, it's been a week shy of 3 months now and I still have trouble walking because of the pain in my foot.  My foot is partially numb and the part that isn't numb makes walking feel like I'm tramping on small sharp stones.  Socks feel like sandpaper when I have them on.  Did I mention that this is HELL!  Last Monday I went to one of my grandson's baseball games and my daughter-in-law's step-father told me that he is taking a drug to relieve nerve pain in his legs.  Told me he read that it is also good for shingles.  Called my doctor Tuesday morning and asked about it.  His nurse returned my call early afternoon telling me they had called a prescription into the pharmacy for me.  Shortly I stopped and picked up the pills.  Popped one in my mouth when I got home.  Supposed to take two a day.  Wednesday morning I took another one and went to work at the high school where I used to teach school and still do the in-house printing for the district.  By 11:00 AM I started to notice something strange happening.  Not sure what it was, but it was strange.  Seemed to be floating.  I told the fellow I work with that I wasn't feeling well and headed home.  By the time I got home I was getting dizzy and lite-headed so I parked the car in the garage, sat in my favorite recliner and woke almost 3 hours later.  Wow!  Called the doctor's office and reported my reaction to the drug.  Told me to only take the one in the evening, but I opted to stop it altogether.  Heading back to the doctor this afternoon to see if he has any other suggestions.  I'm taking a list of allegedly effective treatments that my friend Just Sue from State College mailed me after seeing it in her local newspaper.  Some of the treatments are: a numbing patch, antidepressants, anti-seizure and anti- ...... wait, that's just what I stopped, topical anesthetics, acupuncture, steroid injections, intercostal block and capsaicin.  Maybe just one of those might work so I can walk the boards on the Ocean City boardwalk next week when we travel there with our children and grandchildren for our annual week at the beach.  I'm sure that something will work or I'll just have to ignore the pain for the week like I did when I first got the virus.  Hope it works soon, because this is HELL!  Oh, yeah, I think I mentioned that, didn't I.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy