Well, I thought I was out of the woods, I felt better and I thought I was getting my life back. I thought my body was done acting like an eighty year old. I was wrong again.
I went to see my primary care physician yesterday because I had a painful rash on my upper right arm and found out that I have shingles. Dr. Cox took one look at it and said "Oh! Oh. Ohhh."
Shingles is the chicken pox virus "waking up." It is common in immune suppressed people, but I thought mine was getting better. Apparently stress can trigger an outbreak. I am on Valtrex, also used to treat genital herpes, so it was fun handing that script over to the pharmacist. The rash will take about four weeks to go away and I could have nerve pain for a little while after or years to come. I guess we will wait and see.
My goddaughter's second birthday is today and while I was in the doctor's office I had a little meltdown, worrying that I would miss her party two years in a row. The doctor said it is only contagious if peolpe touch my rash, so I will be keeping my distance and covering the rash with a bandage! Dr. Cox said it was okay for me to go, so I am going to be there!
