My First Time With Shingles

Good news? I got to go to the doctor today! Mystery rash problem has been solved!
(see the previous blog here: https://themultimom.blogspot.com/2003/04/name-that-mystery-rash.html)

Bad news? He says I have Shingles...

A little bit about Shingles for those who don't know (because I certainly didn't):
After one contracts chicken pox, the virus can lie dormant in sensory (skin) nerves for decades. It reappears when the immune system is weakened by age, disease or unmanaged stress. When events occur that decrease the immune system, such as aging, severe emotional stress, severe illness, or long-term usage of corticosteroids, the immune system cannot suppress the dormant organisms any longer and they become active again, causing infection along the pathway of the nerve. Painful skin blisters erupt on one side of your face or body. It can be excruciatingly painful, itchy, and tender. After one to two weeks, the blisters heal and form scabs, although the pain continues.

The doctor says that in my case, because the outbreak was in a not-so-sensitive part of my arm, that's why it feels a bit numb to the touch. It does itch like mad along the sides where it's spreading a bit. It doesn't really hurt, but it tingles, and it burns as if I've had a sunburn (but I'm not actually sunburnt). And I did almost feel like I was about to black out once in the shower. I held my arm up to the water to cleanse it, and everything started getting dark around my vision, and I became disoriented for a moment. I had to sit down to finish my shower :-/

As for the outbreak being due to stress, I imagine that's very correct. I've been told that because I don't make enough money at work, I'm about to lose my job, and my mom is laid off. So not only is there stress to try and make MORE money at work, but there is the stress that if I DON'T, then we're screwed. I've also been trying to become a vegan recently, so it could be that the lack of meat is putting my body under additional stress as well.

The pain of shingles is caused by an inflammation of the nerve that lies just beneath the skin's surface. Shingles originates from the same virus which causes chickenpox. The virus, after infecting the person with chickenpox, retreats to the nervous system where it remains dormant for many years. It reappears in the form of shingles, only if the immune system is weakened, or as a result of a more severe or lengthy illness, extreme stress, or a therapy involving suppression of the immune system.

To help get rid of it, I have been given Valtrex to take. I remember seeing commercials for this, but I had no idea that this is what it was used for. Here's hoping it works and does some good!