<p>I was told by the pharmacist at Walgreens that I needed a prescription for the vaccine as I am not quite 60. Guess I will talk to the doctor during my next physical. DH had shingles in his 20’s and his brother got them in his 40’s in his eyes! That was horrible.</p>
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<p>Ah. This brings up bad memories. DD#3 had shingles when she was 3. Of course, due to Murphy’s Law, it presented on the Friday night of Labor Day weekend, so off to ER we went. Until then, I had no idea that children could contract shingles. Apparently, the juvenile version is not as painful as the adult. DD#3 did not really seem to be in any distress. However, I was… Unfortunately, this occurred in the heat of a custody battle with XW. Since it occurred during my custody time, XW was convinced that it was all my fault.</p>
<p>H had them last year at 50. They were not painful so much as itchy and annoying, but they were in his EAR and impacted his hearing for awhile. HE also had them on that side of his face and neck. The meds worked quickly though, thank goodness. Garland, I hope you feel better soon.</p>
<p>I had shingles in my 30s. Not painful, but a bit itchy.</p>
<p>Since shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus that causes chicken pox, someone not immune to chicken pox may get chicken pox from a shingles sore.</p>
<p>I got the vaccine last year but my H hasn’t yet (we are 62) – this will inspire me to nag him to get it soon. Mine was fully covered by insurance.</p>
<p>Hoping you are feeling much better before school starts up, garland.</p>
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<p>Yes, my H and I both had the shot a few years ago. Shingles can be very debilitating and the older you are, the worse that can be. Neither of us had any side effects from the vaccine, other than a bit of itching at the injection site for a day or two.</p>
<p>Hope you’re feeling better soon, garland.</p>
<p>I got the shot as soon as I turned 60. In fact, I made a special appointment just to get the shot.</p>
<p>There is also a shot against pneumonia that my doc wants to give me the minute I turn 65.</p>
<p>I haven’t had the vaccine but will try to get it once this is done–I’m not 60 yet so hopefully it’s covered.</p>
<p>They gave me Tylenol with codeine but I think i’m better off with just the Tylenol; the codeine doesn’t seem to make a difference and the amount of T in it was less than I could take myself.</p>
<p>The pain was really bad for the first couple days (I’d say an 8 on a 10 scale, and I have a very high tolerance); it’s not so bad now. Itching is annoying but it’s not nearly as bad as a case of poison ivy I had several years ago–now, that was torture!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the sympathy!</p>
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<p>Got that one, too. Why does your doc want you to wait until you’re 65?</p>
<p>So sorry Garland. I just got my shingles vaccine in June.
A friend thought she had shingles but it turned out to be poison ivy. Is that possible for you?</p>
<p>No. This started with very, very severe pain for a couple days before the rash showed up. It follows a classic shingles pattern–a band from my chest around my side to mid-back. And it’s not nearly as itchy as PI (thankfully!).</p>
<p>I am very allergic to poison ivy and had thought I had poison ivy before I ended up with the shingles around my eyes. Before the year was out, maybe 6 months, I had a reoccurrence. My insurance would not cover the vaccine because I was too “young”. My physician only charged me her cost. I paid $135.
I ended up with scars on my forehead and one eyebrow from the initial attack. Well worth forking over the vaccine cost for the weeks of pains of this disease.
I would seriously recommend garland getting the vaccine.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a case of undiagnosed shingles (not as virulent or classic in its presentation) develop into encephalitis which was life threatening. The medical professionals were clueless and it took a relative with nursing training to diagnose shingles as the root cause.</p>
<p>I would recommend the vaccine to anyone eligible. It is apparently not perfect, but I think any protection against what I saw, and what others describe as tortuously painful, is worthwhile.</p>
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<p>Nope, here is the CDC link, it is recommended for 60 and over. </p>
<p>[Vaccines:</a> VPD-VAC/Shingles/main page](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/]Vaccines:”>http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/) </p>
<p>Which my insurance company uses as an excuse to not cover it until that age. Even though the same website says it occurs most commonly in people 50 and over. I would have it in a heartbeat if it were covered (the reason I know it is not is because I called right after I turned 50 to ask about it).</p>
<p>I’ll have to look into whether mine does under 60, but if it doesn’t, I think I’ll pay anyway; I don’t want to do this again!</p>
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Definitely, not just for old people. My sister had it when she was 7 or 8! I still have yet to have the chicken pox so I’m safe. ;)</p>
<p>Niquii - have you been vaccinated for chicken pox? I sure hope so! That can be a terrible thing, especially if you get it when you’re older.</p>
<p>ugh. both my parents had shingles. Dad in mid-late 50s, mom around 80. (she’s now 85 and looks 70ish). </p>
<p>I think my dad had a more debilitating case, as he was in bed for over a week and the rash has horrible. I didn’t see my mom when she had it, but she didn’t sounds too bad.</p>
<p>Doctor offered it to me at last physical, but I turned it down and now wish I took it, as I had great insurance with my former job that covered all co-pays, etc. Current insurance through husband is standard stuff w big deductible and co-pays.</p>
<p>My husband got shingles when he was 41, the same week he was looking for work (after being laid off) and our 9-week-old son was hospitalized with RSV. DH couldn’t come to the hospital, because a patient could have gotten chicken pox from him. It was a miserable week.</p>
<p>My mother had shingles in her 80’s. I had not heard about the vaccine, but I will look into getting it, and the one for pneumonia.</p>