Well That Was Fun...

4/22/2012

Thank you all for your kind comments about Shingles. What a zoster, huh? I feel like I've crawled out of a hole of sorts. Has two weeks really gone by?

I am fortunate to have not been hit quite as hard as some of you though I understand that the pain can arrive 3-4 weeks after the rash disappears.

At any rate, I'm still pretty worn out and not doing much. I've missed two weeks of teaching and I am far behind on everything else. So I won't be blogging much here till I get my sea legs again. And until my brain un-fogs.

But again, I appreciate all your kind and poignant comments. Chicken Pox came back to bite me in the neck all these years later. Who knew?

And for what it's worth, it hasn't been a high stress time for me, especially compared with other times in my life. I guess my body figured that the horrible cold that was brewing in my head and chest were an opportune time to introduce an old virus friend.

Be well my reader friends. Good health, solid rest, and kindness to you all. Now I'm going to lie down again!

4/22/2012 08:57:51 am

I'm so glad you are feeling better. Best wishes for a swift continued recovery.

Ottoline

4/22/2012 01:59:23 pm

Laura, Clarity's rank is at 18,000 at this very moment -- the best I've seen it. Congratulations! And please take good care of yourself.

KarenJ

4/23/2012 02:02:18 am

My doc has a poster near the front door of his office warning of the possibility of a shingles virus attack in older patients. And lately I've seen an ad on TV that dramatizes the symptoms (and probably advertises a medication, I haven't noticed what it is) -- is there an epidemic of sorts going on? Or are we all just getting older? ;-)

mistah charley, ph.d.

4/23/2012 02:11:56 am

The TV ad you've seen is for a vaccine. It's not that shingles is more common - it's that there's a new product on the market. More info from AARP, posted 4/16/2012:

Last year, older Americans were told that the shingles vaccine was effective at cutting their risk of getting the painful red rash caused by the chicken pox virus. The only problem: A paltry supply meant few people could get the shot.

This year, there’s not only ample supply, there are now TV ads urging people 60 and older to get the vaccine, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Drug company Merck, which makes the Zostavax vaccine, has begun running TV ads about the painful skin and nerve condition caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox.

Once you’ve had chicken pox, the virus, called herpes zoster, lies dormant in the spinal cord’s nerve roots and can flare up during times of stress or illness when we’re older.

Shingles typically starts with a small patch of red, bumpy rash that is extremely painful. If left untreated, the rash can spread, causing long-lasting pain and nerve damage, especially among those in their 80s. And, unfortunately, you can get shingles more than once.

The new television commercials stress getting the vaccine — without mentioning the drug by name — and that those who have had chicken pox are at risk for getting shingles. [snip]

http://blog.aarp.org/2012/04/16/shingles-vaccine-ample-supply-plus-tv-commercials/

Ottoline

4/23/2012 08:15:03 am

Dept of Coulda woulda shoulda #8794:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/16/us-usa-pulitzer-idUSBRE83F13L20120416

What would it have taken for one of the SP blogs to win the Pulitzer? perhaps going all the way in revealing the hoax, tying it to the enablers, explaining the connection to the fundies and far right, examining other recent dirty tricks used to sway an election (or try to), showing the disdain of MSM to do any of this spadework? Sigh . . . .

V-A

4/23/2012 11:35:53 pm

Hey, Laura! Glad you're better. And yes, I'm afraid we're all on the forefront of The Diseases with Expensive Cures. Our revenge on the YOUNGS will be our runaway health care costs and prescriptions. (My mom's recent open heart surgery courtesy of Medicare probably cost us taxpayers a few hundred thousand, a friend told me. At least. Her pacemaker, another grand or two.)

(Sorry to make your misfortune a soapbox topic. But the questionable Shingles vacc. makes me wince. I worked at a biotech firm for a grand 6 weeks. At an all-company meeting, they asked us for our suggestions of diseases and health problems to pursue, for which expensive new tests might be developed. This company had already put IBS and Celiac on the map and grown very large, very fast on tests for those "diseases.". They asked the employees for ideas! Since then, I suspect everything in medicine. Oh, by the way. My suggestion was for a cure of toenail fungus. So far, no cure.)

mistah charley, ph.d.

4/24/2012 03:23:18 am

V-A -

1)Re Heart Disease - I suggest you consult Dr Esselstyn's book and/or website - as you may know, although your mother's plumbing has been worked on, the disease process continues. Although the lifestyle modification Esselstyn prescribes is a major one (eating plants and NOT eating animal products) it has major benefits.

http://www.heartattackproof.com/

2)Re toenail fungus - a few years ago I had a complete physical at a local Kaiser Permanente center - the physician remarked that I had this, but said he wouldn't prescribe anything for it, as sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.

V-A

4/24/2012 05:07:31 am

MCphd, My mom does not have heart disease. She had her mitral valve repaired. Otherwise her heart and system is clean as a whistle. She is 84, a yoga instructor, a longtime wise eater and active liver. Hallelujah for that. Nevertheless, when Medicare is paying, I do wonder about the prices of these surgeries. When I told my mom the price tag, she gasped. She had NO IDEA.

Laura Novak

4/24/2012 12:57:09 am

I never watch commercial TV. But I happened to not switch channels fast enough the other night and boom, there was an ad for the Shingles virus! Wow, what curious timing! I won't be getting that live virus any time soon. And I understand it's expensive. But I guess if you're old enough and worried enough and your doctor thinks...then yes, it can make a Big Pharma richer. I am not adverse to skepticism about industry and its intentions. Was just run down with a cold and the virus saw fit to invade or emerge.

I hope your mom continues to heal, V-A. Health care costs in this country are a nightmare!

V-A

4/24/2012 01:16:03 am

Hey, girl. Glad to hear you sound so sanguine. We live in the age of fix-it, so it's hard to be accepting of misfortune. (God Grant Me the Serenity. . .) We watched Dickens last night, and Lord, I got reminded fully of how misfortune and good fortune are the human conditions.

Are Life.

Rolando link

4/27/2012 01:46:19 am

Hi Laura. My life has been so hectic that I'm just learning now you have been sick. I'm glad you are recovering. The chiken pox virus can lie dormant for decades in our bodies and then reactive when we are older and weaker to produce shingles. Thankfully we have now ways to treat this that are more effective than in the past. Please get better! : ^ )

Abilene Girls link

7/9/2012 07:08:12 am

I created a weebly blog after seeing how simple it looked.

Genesis link

2/23/2013 05:49:26 am

Thanks for sharing a very informative article

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Laura Novak

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