Shingles Shot

Boo's Mom said:
Thank you for that! I'm done thinking about it then .... 50/50 effective rate.. PAIN .. and up to 45 days of it..??


(after never having had the flu in my life, and never getting the flu shot .. then deciding that maybe the flu shot wouldn't be a bad idea .. getting the shot and being sicker than a dog for a month!!!! ... maybe I've learned my lesson about these things.)
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It would be nice if others would learn too, but I'm not holding my breath! ;)
 

Any of these vaccines have many unwanted things in them. I would never get a vaccine. You can make a ton of colloidal silver for the price of the vaccine and if you spray it on the shingles and keep it wet it will go away very rapidly also good for so many other problem. I have personally see it used against antibiotic resistant infections and they disappeared.
 
From the Mayo Clinic:
Whether they've had shingles or not, adults age 60 and older should get the shingles vaccine (Zostavax), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although the vaccine is also approved for use in people ages 50 to 59 years, the CDC isn't recommending the shingles vaccine until you reach age 60.The shingles vaccine protects your body from reactivation of a virus — the chickenpox (varicella-zoster) virus — that most people are exposed to during childhood. When you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays latent in your body. For unknown reasons, though, the latent virus sometimes gets reactivated years later, causing shingles. The shingles vaccine prevents this reactivation.
The shingles vaccine isn't fail-safe; some people develop shingles despite vaccination. Even when it fails to suppress the virus completely, however, the shingles vaccine may reduce the severity and duration of shingles. Although there's hope that the vaccine will reduce your risk of severe, lingering pain after shingles (postherpetic neuralgia), studies haven't yet found strong evidence of that effect.
The shingles vaccine is a live vaccine given as a single injection, usually in the upper arm. The most common side effects of the shingles vaccine are redness, pain, tenderness and swelling at the injection site, and headaches.
The shingles vaccine isn't recommended if you:

  • Have ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin or any other component of the shingles vaccine
  • Have a weakened immune system due to HIV/AIDS, lymphoma or leukemia
  • Are receiving immune system-suppressing drugs, such as steroids, adalimumab (Humira), infliximab (Remicade), etanercept (Enbrel), radiation or chemotherapy
  • Have active, untreated tuberculosis
  • Are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
In some cases, the cost of the shingles vaccine may not be covered by Medicare or insurance. Check your plan.
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The medicine has a short shelf life... (refrigerated).. and many pharmacies don't carry it because of the expense.. In our case Medicare paid for the shot... (before Medicare D)... $200... our only expense was the administration cost of $6. After seeing folks in our retirement community suffer in agony over an extended period, I'd be willing to give up anything to avoid that kind of pain.
We did the Pneumonia shot too... a one time shot.
While I respect everyone's beliefs, naturopathy as an alternative to approved pharmaceuticals, is not one of mine.
 

Whether they've had shingles or not, adults age 60 and older should get the shingles vaccine (Zostavax), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although the vaccine is also approved for use in people ages 50 to 59 years, the CDC isn't recommending the shingles vaccine until you reach age 60.The shingles vaccine protects your body from reactivation of a virus — the chickenpox (varicella-zoster) virus — that most people are exposed to during childhood. When you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays latent in your body. For unknown reasons, though, the latent virus sometimes gets reactivated years later, causing shingles. The shingles vaccine prevents this reactivation
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I don't have much faith in what the CDC says or advises, and have less faith in their vaccines with their questionable ingredients...http://www.endalldisease.com/the-vac...hocking-truth/
 
One other devastating problem with shingles that hasn't been mentioned yet is that it is very dangerous if you get it on your face. It can spreads to your eyes and can cause blindness. My ophthalmologist has signs up in his treatment rooms recommending the shot.

I think for me, since I suffered through shingles and never want to do that again, and after much study on it I felt the shot was right for me. The deciding factor for me was last June when I had pain in the same place where it started before, wasn't sure if it was a pulled muscle or it was the beginning of another flare up. The doctor put me on the anti-viral med, and it never developed any further. That alone was enough to make a believer out of me.

If I had never had shingles, I don't know that I would have made the same choice about getting the shot.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I don't have much faith in what the CDC says or advises, and have less faith in their vaccines with their questionable ingredients...http://www.endalldisease.com/the-vac...hocking-truth/
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Wow... I didn't know this.
from the linked site:
Freedom of Information Act in the UK filed by a doctor there has revealed 30 years of secret official documents showing that government experts have1. Known the vaccines don’t work
2. Known they cause the diseases they are supposed to prevent
3. Known they are a hazard to children
4. Colluded to lie to the public
5. Worked to prevent safety studies
Those are the same vaccines that are mandated to children in the US.
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GeorgiaXplant said:
I got the shingles vaccine just this week and am insured with Kaiser-Permanente and there was no charge. I'll take my 50/50 chance after having seen and heard what some friends have suffered with shingles. And shingles absolutely CAN be life-threatening.
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Totally agree, Georgia, I was no longer working when friends began getting shingles, too many, plus my mom had it. My dr didn't encourage it, I asked for it and at that point she told me it was a very wise decision. I took the money out of savings to pay for it, it is pricey. If it had been 10 x more, I would have paid it, as I saw the immense pain and suffering it causes. Even if it only offers 50% protection, that's better than nothing. I don't remember any pain from the shingles shot and very little from the flu shot, just a bit sore for a day or so and darned well worth it to me.

As for the flu shot, I have never been sick from it and have had it at least 20 times. I can't get it done fast enough each year--anything that protects me from the worst types of flu , and it has done so all these years. Everyone has their own entitled feelings. That's just me.
 
I had the shingles shot when they gave it at the local Safeway. It didn't cost anything at all, the insurance covered it. I had no reaction at all either. I've had sore arms from flu shots in the past, but not from the shingles shot. If you can afford it, it's probably a good idea. Shingles is a pretty awful disease, from what I hear.
 
Had Shingles when I was 56. Was going through an intensely stressful period of time and I KNOW that`s why I got it. No doctor has ever been able to answer my question of "Do I need to get a shot now that I`ve had Shingles?" I doubt that I would get it again as the stress is over and I will likely never have that level of stress again but I would never,ever want to go through that pain again. I would sooner give birth (naturally,no drugs) every day for a month,than experience that again. Awful stuff. Also,Tip of the Day...if you DO get Shingles,don`t listen to your daughter when she tells you that she hears Capsacian crème will relieve the pain of Shingles. True,I should have read the instructions that warned against putting it on open sores-or showering with it on your skin. Omg,thought I was going to die!
 
I guess I was lucky when I got the shingles. It appeared about 3 inches above my left knee. No joint pain. No searing pain. No anything..except intense itching. I had no clue what it was. Looked like 15 skeeters stabbed me cuz that is how many bumps I had. Looked just like skeeter bites too. All swollen with a clear head on each "bite". So...I put neosporin on it. That didn't work. Then I began to rub aloe on it from my plant outside in the garden. That seemed to help a bit. But then those heads turned BLACK. Uh oh. No more swelling, but black heads? Angry ring around them? I went to the doc and he said Shingles. So he gave me some meds for it and it went away soon after.

Will I get the shingles shot? Doubtful. I might get it again, but I did a lot of research on it once I knew what it was. Seems that when you were a kid, wherever you had it (the virus hangs out in your spine), is where and how bad it will appear later on IF it does.
 
Come to think of it, Mrs Robinson....I was under a lot of stress as well when I got the shingles. It was right after my mastectomy due to Breast Cancer and my dog developing epilepsy. At the same time. They wanted me to do radiation. And chemo. I had to decide what to do. I decided to do none of the above and just take my chances. I am a year cancer free (so far).
 
SeaBreeze said:
Vitamin C is an effective treatment for shingles...http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?p=216683#post216683
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Let's know how well that goes for you when you get 'em SB.

I've had them, and know people who have and while it can be triggered by stress is caused by the same herpes virus that presents as Chicken Pox in children. It lies dormant, often for decades, and irrespective of how many Vits and supps you may be on when it activates it will hit the majority exceedingly hard.

I'm yet to find the proof that a vitamin ever killed a virus.

It's okay to be suspicious of the drug authorities, of the pharma consortiums, of whatever. But it's it's just as big a mistake to presume that everything they say is dead wrong as it is to trust them implicitly. Not ALL of it wrong!

Vaccination is a proven preventative to diseases which have wracked the World for millenia. India has recorded it's last Polio victim. What caused that do you think? Vitamin C supplements?

Small Pox is found only in research laboratories now. Was that achieved through magic, prayer, magnesium doses, coconut oil or vaccinations?

For every child who dies of a preventable disease through lack of vaccination a few scaremongering anti vac people should be taken out and shot.

Sorry but I take it personal. My own mother never had me immunized for Polio because some idiot woman said she knew of a child who "caught it from the vaccination." It was utter rubbish. Years later it emerged that many children who had Polio were given the vaccination a last ditch attempt at treatment. There wasn't much known about it back then, it was at the very start of the Salk Vaccine roll out, but I never forgave my mother for putting my life at risk on the word of an idiot. Never.

I had to be taken out of Sydney for a severe tonsilitis infection which required surgery because no hospital would take me as there was another outbreak of Polio going on and I wasn't immunised. I had to be sent to a country town with no cases reported. I only just made it, the infection spread to my kidneys causing nephritis while we looked for a hospital who'd take me in, it took months to recover and I was never quite as fit as I should have been again. Ever.
For some reason as well as being pumped full of penicillin I was given massive doses of sulphur, which rotted my newly emerging teeth and did God knows what else to my system. I'd have rather have just had the Polio shot!
Had I had the Polio vaccination the tonsilitis would have meant a simple procedure and few days to recover. Thanks a lot Mum.


And believe me, any out there who haven't had Shingles would prefer to have the vaccination too! Trust me on that!

Fran's is the only 'mild' outbreak I've ever encountered. The worst was a woman I knew who's whole torso looked as though it had 2nd degree burns, blisters and all! Mine was caught early and 'mid range', but I've heard of deaths from it and I can well believe it. It seems like a pretty good cure at the time.

For every sad and scary story you read on those loony anti-vac sites there are millions who have benefited, and owe their lives to vaccination.
How many should die of a disease before the anti vac mob are satisfied that nobody is going to die of the vaccination? It's just loopy.
There are no guarantees in life, just the choice to take whatever opportunity offers us the best chance of surviving it.

.. aaaand. Don't believe unquestioningly everything you read on Internet Sites! ... the UFOs will get you!
 
:dito:

Di. I was a 'practise ' baby for the polio vaccine, my Mum agreed to enter the trials before it became nationally available, so I ended up with 5 shots instead of 4.
i was once told by a homeopathic 'doctor', that all vaccines were unneccessary; and I let rip!
we had the MMR scandal over here, where one doctor told parents not to have the jab; consequently we have had several severe measles outbreaks since; and he has been totally discredited.
back to shingles; the vaccine tends to be given to older people as they have less resistance, take longer to recover, and the UK can't afford to vaccinate everybody, so they draw a line, somewhere.
the excipients in vaccines have been reduced and reduced, but they have to remain stable, and a few other necessary reasons are there for the others.
the virus has to be grown in something, often eggs, so people allergic to eggs are advised against it.
I say that people should make up their own minds; but smallpox has been eradicated, and WHO is trying very hard to eradicate polio...I regard this as progress.
 
Di's first paragraph explains very well the pathology of shingles. It is truly a dangerous disease with the possibility of several serious consequences, including permanent nerve damage, blindness and possible death.

If you have symptoms of shingles and get on an anti-viral drug within 72 hours of the beginning of the flare up, it will often result in a milder case with shortened symptoms. The problem is that shingles can manifest it's self in various ways, so by the time the rash appears that window has often passed.

My own case appeared as excruciating pain under my right shoulder blade causing me to think I had severely pulled a muscle, or was possibly having a heart attack. Every time I took a breath it felt like I was being stabbed with a knife. I presented myself at the emergency room and after tests for a heart attack proved negative, was diagnosed with a pulled muscle. By the next day the rash began to develop and and I instantly knew what was up. My family doctor confirmed it and immediately got me on a regimen of Valtrex. Nonetheless, it was a very painful experience that took two weeks to run it's course before the nerve pain and severe itching from the rash began to subside.

Once you have a case of shingles future flare ups are common, so I had the vaccine last year. I feel the choice was right for me because I would rather take my chances with a vaccine than suffer debilitating and often permanent side effects of the disease. If you have ever had nerve pain of any kind, just imagine going through life like that with no relief.

Even at that, prevention with the vaccine is not guaranteed, with only a 50°/o efficacy rate.

Di, your case is a testimonial of a very good reason to have preventable vaccines. I'm sorry you had to go through such unnecessary agony, and were lucky enough not to have to suffer polio as a result of an uninformed decision by your mother, whom I'm sure at the time thought she was doing what was best for you. Thankfully, you survived the folly.


Mrs. Robinson, only you can make the decision as to whether the shot is right for you, but two of my family doctors and my optomologist advised me to have the vaccine after talking it over with them. By the way Mrs. R., welcome to the Seniors Forum, our little corner of the world.
 
Diwundrin said:
Let's know how well that goes for you when you get 'em SB.

I've had them, and know people who have and while it can be triggered by stress is caused by the same herpes virus that presents as Chicken Pox in children. It lies dormant, often for decades, and irrespective of how many Vits and supps you may be on when it activates it will hit the majority exceedingly hard.

I'm yet to find the proof that a vitamin ever killed a virus.

It's okay to be suspicious of the drug authorities, of the pharma consortiums, of whatever. But it's it's just as big a mistake to presume that everything they say is dead wrong as it is to trust them implicitly. Not ALL of it wrong!

Vaccination is a proven preventative to diseases which have wracked the World for millenia. India has recorded it's last Polio victim. What caused that do you think? Vitamin C supplements?

Small Pox is found only in research laboratories now. Was that achieved through magic, prayer, magnesium doses, coconut oil or vaccinations?

For every child who dies of a preventable disease through lack of vaccination a few scaremongering anti vac people should be taken out and shot.

Sorry but I take it personal. My own mother never had me immunized for Polio because some idiot woman said she knew of a child who "caught it from the vaccination." It was utter rubbish. Years later it emerged that many children who had Polio were given the vaccination a last ditch attempt at treatment. There wasn't much known about it back then, it was at the very start of the Salk Vaccine roll out, but I never forgave my mother for putting my life at risk on the word of an idiot. Never.

I had to be taken out of Sydney for a severe tonsilitis infection which required surgery because no hospital would take me as there was another outbreak of Polio going on and I wasn't immunised. I had to be sent to a country town with no cases reported. I only just made it, the infection spread to my kidneys causing nephritis while we looked for a hospital who'd take me in, it took months to recover and I was never quite as fit as I should have been again. Ever.
For some reason as well as being pumped full of penicillin I was given massive doses of sulphur, which rotted my newly emerging teeth and did God knows what else to my system. I'd have rather have just had the Polio shot!
Had I had the Polio vaccination the tonsilitis would have meant a simple procedure and few days to recover. Thanks a lot Mum.


And believe me, any out there who haven't had Shingles would prefer to have the vaccination too! Trust me on that!

Fran's is the only 'mild' outbreak I've ever encountered. The worst was a woman I knew who's whole torso looked as though it had 2nd degree burns, blisters and all! Mine was caught early and 'mid range', but I've heard of deaths from it and I can well believe it. It seems like a pretty good cure at the time.

For every sad and scary story you read on those loony anti-vac sites there are millions who have benefited, and owe their lives to vaccination.
How many should die of a disease before the anti vac mob are satisfied that nobody is going to die of the vaccination? It's just loopy.
There are no guarantees in life, just the choice to take whatever opportunity offers us the best chance of surviving it.

.. aaaand. Don't believe unquestioningly everything you read on Internet Sites! ... the UFOs will get you!
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The polio shot wasn't around during the epidemic and I caught it. Thank God it was a mild case, so no iron lung or limp...just weak leg muscles. My mom never stopped talking about how much she regretted not having the shot available and my year of pain and having to be home schooled.

I personally know 3 people who have had shingles twice, so no way under the sun would I risk it. I've never heard of such a mild case as described on the knee either, tho some are ridiculously far worse than others.

I view it much like the flu shot, ..if there is protection out there, why take the chance? And I know of at least a half doz people within the last year or so who WISH they had been immunized. Unfortunately, they found out the hard way.
 
Well,I`m glad to hear that some of you have gotten an answer about whether or not to have the shot if you`ve already had Shingles! I could never get an answer-although a couple of docs did tell me no,that you can only get it once. That I knew wasn`t true because I know people that have had it as many as 6 times! I did ask one doc,when she mentioned that it was too bad I didn`t get in there sooner,why anyone WOULD come in sooner? For the first several days,mine was nothing but an annoying little tickle on my back. I told her I would never go to the doctor for something like that,who would? She said "Oh,you would be surprised....". It wasn`t until I started having severe pain under my ribs and realized I had a rash running from my back around to my front that I went to the doc. He diagnosed me without even looking at the rash,just from me describing my symptoms. I had no clue that it could be Shingles-it really surprised me. But yeah,I`m going to be sure to get the shot now.....
 
Diwundrin said:
Let's know how well that goes for you when you get 'em SB.

I've had them, and know people who have and while it can be triggered by stress is caused by the same herpes virus that presents as Chicken Pox in children. It lies dormant, often for decades, and irrespective of how many Vits and supps you may be on when it activates it will hit the majority exceedingly hard.

I'm yet to find the proof that a vitamin ever killed a virus.

It's okay to be suspicious of the drug authorities, of the pharma consortiums, of whatever. But it's it's just as big a mistake to presume that everything they say is dead wrong as it is to trust them implicitly. Not ALL of it wrong!

I had to be taken out of Sydney for a severe tonsilitis infection which required surgery because no hospital would take me as there was another outbreak of Polio going on and I wasn't immunised. I had to be sent to a country town with no cases reported. I only just made it, the infection spread to my kidneys causing nephritis while we looked for a hospital who'd take me in, it took months to recover and I was never quite as fit as I should have been again. Ever.
For some reason as well as being pumped full of penicillin I was given massive doses of sulphur, which rotted my newly emerging teeth and did God knows what else to my system. I'd have rather have just had the Polio shot!
Had I had the Polio vaccination the tonsilitis would have meant a simple procedure and few days to recover. Thanks a lot Mum.

And believe me, any out there who haven't had Shingles would prefer to have the vaccination too! Trust me on that!
.. aaaand. Don't believe unquestioningly everything you read on Internet Sites! ... the UFOs will get you!
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Well, I don't plan to get shingles, and hopefully I never will. I have had some minor issues with cold sores in my lifetime, from the Herpes Simplex virus, which also lies dormant until something aggravates it. I have completely eliminated them for many years now, by utilizing the amino acid L-lysine, when I suspect there might be a flare up.

I never claimed that everything the drug authorities said was dead wrong, but I research the pros and cons, and make my own decisions for myself. I'm sorry you went through so much as a child. I respect everyone's decision to do what they feel is right for them, and although I may offer some alternative information, I never push anyone to follow my lead. I have no right to tell them what to do with their bodies.

....aaaand I don't believe unquestionably everything I read on internet sites, so don't need any UFO warnings. I'll never be the type of person who says 'if I want your opinion, I'll give it to you'. :rolleyes:
 
Ozarkgal said:
Mrs. R...

I would run fast and far from a quack that told me that. I would immediately lose any faith in them.
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I know for a fact that it is not true you can't get it again. Over the holidays I met a lady who has had it twice. She insisted on a 2nd opinion because she had been told she couldn't get it again. She did and it was worse the 2nd time. To me that speaks louder than anything a dr may say.
 
CeeCee said:
yes, the Jerk had it on his face and neck...we had just been at a watermark the day before and at first we thought it was a bad sunburn but turned out to be shingles...he took Lyrica with it and you aren't supposed to drink alcohol but he did.and stopped the Lyrica cause of the side effects ....the pain was horrible!

After seeing that I spent $200 on a shot because I wasnt insured at the time.
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I so rarely take them, I'd forgotten I'd taken a Lyrica tab for burning nerve pain a few yrs ago. Stopped by a friend's house and had a glass of wine. Within 10 minutes I felt as if I'd chugged the entire bottle and had to lie down. Haven't taken a Lyrica since, cuz ya never know when ya might have a glass of wine! LOL Alcohol + Lyrica = asking for trouble!
 
Ozarkgal said:
Mrs. R...

I would run fast and far from a quack that told me that. I would immediately lose any faith in them.
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I never did see any of them again. Sadly,where I live, the doctors come and go constantly. We are too isolated from the "city life" so they never stay. I will definitely be getting the shot now-not sure why I didn`t before because I KNEW you could get it again. I guess I was just wondering if the shot would/could prevent you from getting it again...
 
Mrs. R...the shot has a efficacy rate of about 50 per cent. It will not stop you from getting it, but the symptoms may be lighter, if you do get it.
 

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