Chicken Pox…….Herpes…….Shingles

Around the end of October, everything seemed fine; it wasn’t. I started experiencing pain in a weird spot, sort of in my right hip right under the waistline for about five to six inches up and down to three to four inches horizontally. I was sure it was cancer. I couldn’t figure out what kind of cancer it could be. I didn’t think there were any vital organs there, and I don’t think vital organs hurt anyway. It didn’t seem like it was in my bones, but it was quite painful. I was not about to tell anyone about the pain because it was too scary, and I didn’t want to admit to anyone that I was having a problem. I took a lot of Tylenol and slept fitfully through each night trying to position a heating pad to help with the discomfort. I knew I was going to see Dr. Manno for a routine visit on November 7th, and all I could think about was making it through to that day and then talking to him about the pain. Somehow I got through the week. I had heard someone mention Shingles earlier and wondered if that could be what was wrong with me. I looked it up online, and I looked it up in a medical book that I have. Everything pretty much said that I needed to have an ugly rash to be suffering from the pain of Shingles. I mentioned it at school and got the same reaction…you need a rash to have Shingles. So, I kept quiet, continued the Tylenol and the heating pad and waited to see Dr. Manno. Early in the week of the 7th, the pain started to move toward my right stomach area, and I began to develop a slight rash. My skin hurt. Seriously, I just wanted to hold the fabric of my clothing away from the skin of my stomach that felt like it was on fire. On the 5th I was scheduled for a routine Herceptin treatment late in the day. I went to the Cancer Institute. Believe it or not, I still wasn’t going to say anything. Someone took me in and got me settled with blood pressure, which was high, and other preliminaries. They sat me in Mona’s section. Angie checked on me, but she was due to leave. When she asked me how things were, I said, “Fine.” As she turned to walk away and leave for the day, she asked, “Any pain?” I responded, “No.” Mona was very busy, being the nurse who was staying late for the day and having all the late patients in her section. I thought I would like to talk to her about what was bothering me, but the other patients and their escorts are literally only feet away. It’s hard to discuss personal issues/pain when you know others can hear you. Anyway, Mona got my port ready to go and then came back to administer the drug. I said, “Mona, something’s bothering me I better tell you about.” She listened and said let’s step into the private room so you can show me. When I showed her, she agreed it was Shingles and said she’d be right back. She came back with a PA-Physician’s Assistant who had a prescription with her. She also looked at the area and confirmed that I had Shingles. She gave me the prescription for Valtrex and left. Mona said that she had talked to Dr. Manno, and he said I should forgo the Herceptin treatment for that day. If I wouldn’t have been placed in Mona’s section for the day or if she wasn’t the late nurse that day, I’m not sure I would have said anything to anyone else. I was going to see the doctor in two days anyway; probably everything would have been fine. I thanked Mona for taking care of me, but she said all she did was confirm the diagnosis I had already made. So, it turns out that if you’ve had Chicken Pox, you’re over 50, your immune system has been compromised, and you have any stress in your life (nothing like that in my work situation…), you’re probably a prime candidate for Shingles. Actually, I think I got off easy with the Shingles because I’ve heard stories about the difficulties others have had with that disease. When I saw Dr. Manno on the 7th, he came in laughing, “Herpes, huh? Ha, ha, ha.” I said that it wasn’t all that funny and that when I got my prescription (which is basically for Herpes because Chicken Pox/Shingles is a Herpes virus), I went through the drive-through and said, “Just throw it out here; I have SHINGLES!” By the end of the visit, we established that I would have one more Herceptin treatment and be done. I asked about the port removal. Right away, Dr. Manno asked, “Oh, do you want to have it removed?” I replied that actually I didn’t, but I wanted to hear what he had to say about it. He said people go either way with it; and if I kept it, I would just have to go to the Institute once a month to have it flushed. I told him that it was my birthday that day and that last year I celebrated my birthday with my last Chemo treatment. He wished me a Happy Birthday and said I could celebrate this one by knowing I had only one Herceptin treatment left. That evening, celebrating at my birthday dinner with only my children, except for Teresa, when I repeated my Shingles story, two of them said, “Oh yeah, Valtrex, got any on you?” I’ll leave the two to your imagination. All in all, I had a good visit with the doctor, and I felt that I really did get off easy with the Shingles, that is, until my Thanksgiving week experiences…