Ditto, Aunt Bea. I had the single shot about 5 years ago and will inquire about this one when I see my primary doc in a couple of weeks.
A friend is s-l-o-w-l-y recovering from shingles IN HIS BRAIN! No kidding. It took several weeks for the docs to even diagnose him. His symptoms included severe mental confusion, seizures, dizziness, inability to maintain his balance and more. This guy - early 60s - was as hale, hearty, active, robust and healthy as any of us could hope to be, and I'm here to tell you that this illness laid him flat. He was hospitalized for over a month and spent another month in rehab for physical therapy. Three months out of his life dealing with severe symptoms. He had to learn to walk all over again at least partly because his muscles wasted considerably during that time. He's upgraded from a walker to a cane, but can still barely get to the end of his driveway without taking a rest.
Even worse, he still has large gaps in his memory that we all hope will fill in with time. The docs can't tell him for sure how that will play out.
I'd never before heard of shingles affecting the brain, but medical reference sites confirm my friend's diagnosis. Coping with pain is one thing, but what my friend went through is beyond the pale. I have zero confidence that I will win the health lottery every single day. Vaccinations have saved a lot of lives. I don't believe everything modern medicine and big pharma says to me, however, I'm also unwilling to throw out the baby with the bath water.
