Carly, I had shingles too - about 10 years ago. They said it was in a
strange place, on the outside of my thigh. Back then they used different
meds. I forget what it was called, but it was the same as for genital herpes
(which shingles & chicken pox are, not genital, but herpes zoster) & when I
went to the pharmacy, I stressed that it was for SHINGLES. Don't really know
why, since so many people have the other kind, it really shouldn't be
embarrassing. Even my doc has it, from his ex-wife, & I knew he was having
an outbreak when he slept in his underwear. Wait, that didn't sound good -
we dated for 2 years & almost married. Another thing that's important; stay
away from pregnant people! You can infect the unborn baby, which can cause
some serious birth defects. I know, that's difficult to do, especially when
you were probably contagious before you even knew it, & impossible to know
who in a store or other public place may be pregnant. I too had chicken pox
in high school (yeah, yeah, I also had my tonsils out then & all my buds
teased me to no end when they visited me in Children's Hospital), but I only
had 7 lesions. Keep your chin up - my shingles lasted about a week and a
half. It can be much more serious, however, I know someone who died after 2
years with it. But she was extremely unhealthy to begin with.

Candi

Carly:

I too have lupus and am now suffering through shingles for the second time!
It sure didn't hurt this much the first time around.  The pain is sometimes
unbearable!!  I asked the same question of my rheumatologist.  With lupus
they put you on medications and it leads to other problems......anyway, he
said it is MUCH more important to get the proper treatment than to worry that
a weeks worth of medication will cause kidney damage.  I hope you are feeling
much better now.  As for me....it only started last week, I imagine I still
have a long road to recovery, and pain-free!