<p>My wife’s small clinic pays $250/dose for the shingles vaccine. Medicare reimburses about $150. Your best bet is Walgreens or Costco clinics if you are paying out of pocket.
Some insurances will cover at age 50, most not until age 60.</p>
<p>As others have stated shingles does not just affect older people, although older people can be more susceptible because of a weakened immune system. It is true that you must have had chicken pox in the past, but the majority of adults have had chicken pox even if they don’t remember having had it or have been assured that they didn’t. Some cases of chicken pox can be subclinical and in other cases there may have been only a few lesions that went unnoticed. (I can offer myself as example: when I was only a year old–in 1949-- my brothers both came down with chicken pox. My mother did her best to keep me away from them and I never had clinical evidence of the disease. However, a career as a pediatrician with many exposures to chicken pox, as well as antibody titers, has shown that I did in fact have the disease as a child).</p>
<p>Chicken pox is highly contagious. It is spread primarily by respiratory droplets but can also be contracted by contact with the lesions. Shingles is not contagious as shingles but contact with the lesions can spread the virus to someone without immunity, who will then contract chicken pox.</p>
<p>Varicella zoster, the chicken pox virus, is a herpes virus, and the lesions of shingles can be very painful and disfiguring. As with other types of herpes the virus never leaves the body but remains dormant in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord. If activated the virus replicates and follows the nerve to the area of skin associated with the nerve. Antiviral medicines do not kill the virus but inhibit its ability to replicate. Therefore they may lessen the total viral load and decrease symptoms and duration if the diagnosis can be made
early enough.</p>
<p>Chicken pox is not always a mild childhood illness. I have had patients admitted to the ICU with herpetic encephalitis and with serious, life-threatening secondary bacterial infections.
The potential for more serious illness is greater in adults. So whether you have a known history of chicken pox or not, I would urge you to get the shingles vaccine. I got it as soon as I turned 60.</p>
<p>Am surprised this is the first time someone has started a thread on CC about shingles, since we’re all kind of approaching that age where we need to make a decision about the vaccine.</p>
<p>Interestingly, about 4-5 years ago, I was at my dermatologist’s office for one of my semi-annual checkups (malignant melanoma runs in the family, so I get a full body scan every six months). As my doc was looking at me, I showed him an area on my top right thigh, that to me, looked like some tiny bites. I’d been working out in the yard a lot, and assumed they were spider bites or something. So I say to my doc, “Nice spider bites, huh? They even made a design on my leg (the ‘bites’ were in the shape of a backwards S)” He looks at it and says, “Those aren’t bites; you have shingles.” I was in shock; I’d heard so many horror stories about shingles; as I thought back, I had been achy and run down for a few days prior, but I’d just started working out with a personal trainer, and thought I’d overdone it. Thankfully that doctor’s appointment coincided with the break out, so I was able to get it correctly diagnosed. I figured a dermatologist is going to know the difference between bites and herpetic outbreaks. The whole area was about two square inches, but again, in the shape of a backwards S. </p>
<p>I did take a picture of it with my iPhone, in case anyone ever questioned whether or not I had shingles, because my case was so atypical. I felt very fortunate that I wasn’t much sicker.</p>
<p>Keep forgetting, but mean to ask my primary care doc if I should get the vaccine. I don’t know if having an outbreak puts you at increased risk for having another, more serious outbreak, or if it decreases your chance. I don’t think our insurance covers it before age 60, but if he recommends it, and insurance doesn’t cover it, I’d pay out of pocket if it will decrease my chances of getting it again. </p>
<p>Garland, hope you feel better quickly.</p>
<p>My DH had shingles this year (age 48) and it was just horrible. He did not have complications in the eye, ear, etc. but it was very painful. Hang in there and take your meds!</p>
<p>@cromette Oh, yes, I have been vaccinated! Chicken pox gets worse the older you get, correct?</p>
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<p>I’ve been told that it is better to get diagnosed and treated before rush develops. Unfortunately, mine started Friday night right before July 4th that fell on Monday. I did not have extreme pain, but kind of a low grade pain in my eye and head. I also wanted to sleep all the time. I tried to go to emergency room, but the wait was too long and I left. </p>
<p>By the time July 5th came (and I was able to schedule my appointment), I developed a rush and was in a lot of pain and also did not want to do anything but sleep. Even with treatment it got worse, before it got better. I definitely was not on-line during that time. I was just lying in bed with my eyes closed.</p>
<p>I also developed complications with my eye, but it was caught early, so no long time consequences.</p>
<p>Nowadays, anytime I get a low grade headache, I freak out and think it’s shingles.</p>
<p>^^^^^without the telltale rash, it’s pretty difficult to diagnose during the prodromal stage. Three days prior to my rash showing up, I had agonizing pain which Made me worry I was having a case of acute pancreatitis or pancreatic or liver cancer. It felt like organ pain rather than skin pain. I was actually quite relieved when the rash appeared and the light bulb went on in my nurse brain.</p>
<p>Shingles can be really bad news. My doctor told me to respect the fact that I was fighting a virus and urged me to get plenty of rest and take medicine for pain and anti viral effect.</p>
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<p>I thought I had brain tumor. I was VERY relieved that it was just shingles, when I was diagnosed.</p>
<p>^Omigod! I spent last weekend googling all kinds of cancer (esp. pancreatic), because it had that deep, scary feeling. And the pain was truly debilitating.</p>
<p>I too was sort of glad when the rash showed up Monday morning and I knew what it was; i’d been scaring myself to bits (H is a former doc, and kept trying to get me to dial back the worry, but I think he was also getting a little concerned.)</p>
<p>So sorry you are dealing with this…my daughter had it when she was in the 7th grade and my mother suffered thru Herpes Zoster when she was 70. It is brutal</p>
<p>I saw a news story on this - the reason of the age limits, first 60 and now 50 - is because the manufacturers weren’t keeping up with demand and there was a concern there would not be enough vaccine for the elderly who are most at risk. I’ve had several friends get this in their 30’s and 40’s. I paid for my vaccine - about $300 - I decided I would rather pay than risk a severe case (which again, my friends had) … </p>
<p>If you are over 50 - get the vaccine! Insurance will cover. If you are younger than 50 - you have to decide if you want to pay for it.</p>
<p>We have an older relative just diagnosed today with shingles. Unfortunately, the rash has been around a few days. The doctor said it could be 6 weeks recovery time… yikes. I’ve googled some helpful websites, but I thought I’d also check for Cafe advice. </p>
<p>A good friend’s mother is going through shingles at the moment. She absolutely refused to take her doctor’s, and daughter’s, advice to get the vaccine, saying that she had never known anyone to have shingles and so she likely would never get it. She’s been in tremendous pain and her family is worried that she may not survive this, which seems to be exacerbating her other health issues.</p>
<p>Get the vaccine, people!</p>
<p>I will just re-iterate that it’s a powerful virus. Your relative needs to get plenty of rest, take all prescribed antiviral medication, try to eat a nutritious diet, get plenty of fluids, etc., the same as with any other systemic virus. If they can tolerate pain medicine (anti-inflammatories, prescription meds, tylenol or whatever has been recommended), I’d encourage them to take it as this condition can cause anything from mild to moderate to excruciating pain. There is no shame in taking any measures possible to decrease discomfort.</p>
<p>Here’s hoping your relative recovers fully.</p>
<p>Can you get shingles twice? I had a bad pain on my arm several hears ago, more of a burning. I had trouble dressing because anything on my arm was painful. I didn’t go to a doctor because I never found the time. I assume now that it was shingles. </p>
<p>I ask of you can get it twice because my husband just got the vaccination. He’s 62, but the insurance company said they don’t cover it at all, so we had to pay $250 out of pocket. I don’t want to spend that kind of money for something that won’t happen. </p>
<p>Yes, hayden, you can.</p>
<p>I’ll reiterate that based on what I saw with a close relative’s experience, $250 is a small price to pay.</p>
<p>^^ what dadx said.<br>
Our insurance won’t cover under 60…but saw agony my Dad went thru…Got mine at Costco (rx from my doctor) …$187. </p>
<p>Definitely recommend the innoculation. </p>
<p>My brother-in-law had it settle in his eyes the day before a trip to Hawaii. He spent several weeks in a dark room. He is fine now but it was very scary at the time.</p>