A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Showing posts with label shingles aftermath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shingles aftermath. Show all posts
Monday, February 18, 2013
Meditation and aftermath of shingles (PHN)
Three months ago, I decided I would use my daily breathing meditation to try to impact the aftermath of shingles or technically: Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN), which has been my constant companion of itching, aching, an unpleasant presence and swelling for more than four years now.
I started by focusing on the nerves stretching from my brain to my eye—and discovered the feelings got worse.
I switched to a focus on whatever was the plague of the moment, say an itching eyebrow. That targeted itch would stop, moving instead to my forehead or scalp.
So the meditation approach is not a magic bullet for an immediate cure or cessation of sensations.
What I have discovered is that temporary relief comes from Motrin or applying a hot compress to my left eye.
Monday, March 15, 2010
SHINGLES AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF
Based on my experience what to expect after 18 months with shingles:
The shingles attack on my left eye began on Sept. 15, 2008. In the aftermath, I still have itching, aching (sometimes feeling like some one punched me in the eye, swelling, soreness, an unpleasant pressure, and numbness on my eyelid, above the eye, along the left side of my nose, on the left side of my forehead, and in the scalp. In addition, I get fatigued rather easily.
Oh, by the way, the little miseries of the aftermath are a 24-hour-a-day constant.
How have I improved? Within the past two weeks, I found I could read in bed again. I have been reading in bed for a half hour to an hour since my earliest boyhood. So I lost that pleasure for about 17 months. I have returned to limited reading, watching films again on cable, using the computer, a more restricted writing schedule, and exercise—although not as heavy as before shingles.
When this process began, my doctor told me not to expect a quick cure; that was followed a few months later with the doctor telling me to expect the aftermath to last from six months to a year. This past December, the doctor told me the aftermath probably would continue for another two to three years. That last diagnosis could be on the mark because I am 75 and people my age have been known to die in two or three years.
My great hope is to wake up one morning symptom-free. As an alternative, I would settle for diminished itching, aching, etc.
The shingles attack on my left eye began on Sept. 15, 2008. In the aftermath, I still have itching, aching (sometimes feeling like some one punched me in the eye, swelling, soreness, an unpleasant pressure, and numbness on my eyelid, above the eye, along the left side of my nose, on the left side of my forehead, and in the scalp. In addition, I get fatigued rather easily.
Oh, by the way, the little miseries of the aftermath are a 24-hour-a-day constant.
How have I improved? Within the past two weeks, I found I could read in bed again. I have been reading in bed for a half hour to an hour since my earliest boyhood. So I lost that pleasure for about 17 months. I have returned to limited reading, watching films again on cable, using the computer, a more restricted writing schedule, and exercise—although not as heavy as before shingles.
When this process began, my doctor told me not to expect a quick cure; that was followed a few months later with the doctor telling me to expect the aftermath to last from six months to a year. This past December, the doctor told me the aftermath probably would continue for another two to three years. That last diagnosis could be on the mark because I am 75 and people my age have been known to die in two or three years.
My great hope is to wake up one morning symptom-free. As an alternative, I would settle for diminished itching, aching, etc.
A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)