Yep...not a fun experience. Mine was more from rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder too hard/much. Keep in mind, this virus is always present in your body (base of the spine, I believe), it just needs a way to get out.

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Dan
***********
póg mo thóin

Shingles is like adult chicken pox, right? if you had chicken pox as a kid, you probably won't catch shingles from the people in your office. if you didn't, look out.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I had it and know another on the forum who did as well. One way you can get it is when your immune system is weakened, overtraining can certainly contribute to that. It's essentially based in the nerves and it usually will eventually manifest itself in rash form. It is contagious when you have the rash, but you'd basically have to rub against it with your skin. I thought I had a pulled pectoral/back thing going for a few months before the rash came.

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____________________________________________________
"don't you know that slow is the new fast? :)" -Turtlegirl
"I'm not a Dr., I just played one with your mom...." Stallion1031

TC- I believe shingles is usually a reactivation of the virus among people who had chicken pox as children.

Jodi

oh, okay. I knew there was some connection...

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I think there is also a connection of shingles and stress.

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______________
"Slowbern has always made astute observations."-Casey 03/10/2009
2013-2014 Detroit Lions---13-3 until proved otherwise.

Yep, stress is what can bring it on. Chicken pox, shingles, genetial herpes and cold sores are all from the same virus. Taking an anitviral such as Valtrex or Famvir it the way to treat it, and an L-lysine supplement can help keep it at bay.

I got shingles in 2002, training for my first marathon...right about 4 weeks out from the race I decided to do a 10 hr adventure race...in hindsight-bad idea...I got shingles, but only after I thought I had something crazy tumor thing going on in my lower back...it's actually a form of herpes if I remember right...my wife was freaked out by that! It cleared up and I proceeded to go out too fast in my first marahton and crash with 8 miles to go...I blame it all on the SHINGLES!!!

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"Fortitudine vincimus"

Reply to: Two people in my office have been diagnosed with shingles. They say it's not contagious but doesn't that seem odd.
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Peter
Shinglesis and Chickenpox are caused by the vericella-zoster virus. Like Jodi posted Chickenpox is initial infection and Shingles is the reemergence of the virus years later. It can be transmitted to "susceptible" people until the blisters scab over.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

I had shingles when I was 22, it was pretty unpleasent. I got it right after backpacking in europe for 3 months which accounted for the lowered immune system and increased stress. The sores follow major (?) nerve paths along your body but mine were just over one particular vertebrae. It wasent really painful at all, just made me really tired and depressed. Well the depression was due to the shingles looking gross and me being a very vain person.

This old guy got in the pool today and had that all over his legs or something like that. I almost got out. ick!

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_________________________________
I'll be what I am
A solitary man

My husband had shingles when my daughter was just a few months old...fortunately, the risk is not in transmitting shingles, but in transmitting the chicken pox...so folks with shingles are only putting people at risk who have NOT had chicken pox AND you are way more likely to transmit chicken pox when you have the chicken pox, as opposed to when you have shingles.

Shingles can be very painful and can re-occur, as well. My husband was very, very lucky in the end to not have permanent damage, since his followed his optic nerve and some people end up with damage to their eyesite as a result.

The good news was that my daughter was young enough to still have my chicken pox immunity...it lasts for 6 months in babes.

NYSLIM--sounds like you work in a very stressful office and/or there are lots of folks with suppressed immune systems!

Reply to: My husband was very, very lucky in the end to not have permanent damage, since his followed his optic nerve and some people end up with damage to their eyesite as a result.
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Thats scary. My wifes twin brother went deaf in one ear from Chickenpox.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

QRgirl see Longboarder's answer. Chickenpox and shingles are caused by a herpes virus but it is Varicella. Genital herpes and cold sores are also caused by a herpes virus but it is the herpes simplex virus. All four can be treated with an antiviral. The same antivirals can also suppress recurrences of HSV. Please don't think that someone with CP can transmit genital herpes to someone, or viceversa.

P

You are correct...it is the chicken pox virus that goes dormant in the nerve ganglia next to your spine for years or decades....it gets reactivated and is EXTREMELY PAINFUL...It is NOT contagious!!!! I suppose stress could reactivate it but nothing you can do to prevent you from coming down with it in the future if you had chicken pox....

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Michael in Kansas
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit"
"Its not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up" Lombardi

Pedergraham is correct. If someone with shingles sheds the zoster virus onto a person who has never had chickenpox, nor the chicken pox vaccine, the second person could get chickenpox but will not get shingles. If someone with CP comes in contact with someone that person would not get shingles.....

Incidentally there is a newly developed vaccine for people over 60 with a history of chickenpox. It decreases their risk, in clinical trials, of getting shingles by 50%.

P

I got shingles three years ago (when I was 23) after increasing my training load too quickly. Did a cycling training camp near San Jose immediately after Christmas and was doing 5 - 7 hour rides, mostly in the rain and cold for about a week. My immune system couldn't handle it and I got shingles. It was mainly an itchy rash around my stomach and back, accompanied by some intense muscle pain and soreness. I didn't know what was going on and had to go into the doctor to find out what was up. I think it lasted for about 3 weeks. Not a pleasant experience.

I learned that shingles is caused by the same virus responsible for Chicken Pox. After you get Chicken Pox the virus goes dormant, usually residing in lymph nodes or something like that. If the virus causes an outbreak again, it reoccurs as shingles. This usually happens in older people when their immune systems are not as strong as they used to be. But as I found out, young people can get it too...usually when their immune systems take a hit from stress or too much training (as in my case).

--Marcus George
UCLA Triathlon
http://www.triathlon.ucla.edu
http://wcctc.pengra.com

Uhhh! NO!

Chicken Pox and Shingles are caused by varicella-zoster virus, which is a herpes virus, but different from the viri (viruses) that cause genital herpes and cold sores. Genital herpes is usually caused by Herpes Simplex virus II, but can be from HSV I. Cold sores and primary oral herpes (think canker sores all over your mouth with swollen gums) are usually caused bby HSV I, but may be caused by HSV II. (It all depends on where the mouths have been.)

Shingles IS a reactivation of the Chicken Pox virus (VZV) thought to be due to stress or waning immunity. There is now a vaccine against shingles, which basically reactivates the anitibody response the VZV.

All herpes viruses can be reactivated as happens with Mononucleosis--another herpes virus.

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_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I am reviving this thread as I now have shingles in my eye and on my head. We started treating it as seasonal allergies but it has been 12 days and the shingles are started to fully manifest. SUPER painful.

So there are some risk that come along with shingles:

• Increased stroke risk with shingles in the optical nerve (which I have)
• Vision loss (possibly permanent)
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Fatigue/weakness

These have impacted my training for Ironman Lake Placid a bit, but I have no decreased my workload. I am wondering what others have experienced when training and dealing with shingles. What types of workouts can you do that won't play into the dizziness and specifically stroke risk aspects of the illness. I specifically ask because this can last for 5 weeks or so and I cannot take that much time off.


Thanks.

I specifically ask because this can last for 5 weeks or so and I cannot take that much time off. //

The problem with your logic is that you will likely prolong the episode by training full on through it. You got it for a reason, compromised immune system, likely your training a big part of that. Then you say you have not adjusted that and want advice on how to train through it. What if I told you if you take a week completely off, you would be good to go the other 4 weeks? OR 2 off and then have 3 left?


All I can tell you is that you can take time off, maybe you will have a good race, maybe not. But this race is not the end for you, but a stroke might be, is it worth the risk? And for what exactly? You should always think what is best for my health first, and if it fits in with your racing schedule, fine. If not, punt and plan for the next one, there is always a next one...


And to everyone just eyeing this old zombie thread, there is a vaccine for shingles, and a brand new one that is much more effective than the old one. Something like on in 3 will get it in their life, so I would suggest the vaccine for everyone who might get this painful affliction.

Yep, I had a really light form after IMAZ last year. I've had it on my scalp..
started with swelling of the lymph nodes behind the ear and a few days later the lesions on my head. It took about a week for the worst symptoms to go away.. had headaches constantly and general feeling like shit. The lesions themselves were not too painful.
Took many weeks to get back to training and feeling normal.

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What's your CdA?

This is spot on. I had shingles in grad school while playing a collegiate sport. Stress and immune system down. I took a full 2 weeks off with light activity and it got better. Your body needs rest

Children can get Shingles as well. I got them when I was 9 or 10...talk about annoying. Always after Chickenpox.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Wow - this is pretty scary. I have a had a really bad rash on my back for a couple weeks. Went to the doctor and she said it was not lyme disease or shingles. She told me it was contact dermatitis. Anyways she gave me a corticosteroid creme and it has been clearing up. No idea where this came from. Now I'm thinking it's my tri training. I've upped my weekly hours recently for an upcoming race. Thoughts?

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

You had a doctor evaluate you. You were treated for that condition, and it's improving. Why would you think it's something else despite that?

I was in a similar situation as you. About five years ago I got shingles on and around my left eyebrow. I was in the midst of training for an ironman but it was still three months off. They put me on the antiviral meds and I saw my ophthalmologist daily for a week or so and twice weekly for a while after that as he monitored it's effect on my optic nerve, etc. (Fortunately I had great insurance and doctors.)

At first I kept training without letup. The antivirals made me...volatile. It was a bit scary really. I stupidly did an olympic-distance race about two weeks after the outbreak and it went horribly with dizziness and low energy. So I backed way off of training for a month and then ramped back up again.

The best I can say about that Ironman was I finished. As any one will tell you, you've got to deal with the health first. A race isn't worth it.

Things worked out well pretty well for me. The skin around my eye is noticeably scarred and I have these prickly pains on occasion. The eye itself is persistently dry and often irritated but I lost no vision. So I view it as a win. Despite being too young my insurance agreed to let me get the vaccine so I'm hopeful I won't get them again.

Best of luck.

+1 to everything Monty says. I would not train through shingles.

I had it flare up last year right after an IM. While the condition itself was not acutely scary, I was much more concerned with long-term risks - neuralgia or the link to Guillain-Barre syndrome, in particular. I shut training down completely for 2 weeks. I saw my options as A. rest completely to recover quickly, B. partially rest and have it linger longer, or C. train through it and create a chronic condition.

Sorry, it's extremely frustrating. But the rest/de-stress could be positive too.

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http://www.extramilenutrition.com

She's not my regular doctor; possible missed diagnosis; no known cause that I know of; then I see this thread on slowtitch. Just makes me wonder a bit. I'll be keeping an eye on it, although it now seems to be in remission...

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

This thread reminded me that I have been considering the vaccine, but after reading some comments from people that have received the new two dose Shingrix vaccine I am not so sure. Although I hated having shingles a long time ago some of those comments about severe side effects seem worse.

Not so sure now.

Thanks for the comments everyone, specifically Monty.

I consulted with my doctor at Temple University and then three other ophthalmologists/doctors at Jefferson University. My PCP at Temple said taking a week off wouldn't hurt, the staff at Jefferson said I could keep training for Ironman without issue. Based on what my PCP and the folks on the forum have said. I am going to take it easy for about a week while I take this magical cocktail of stuff.

Prescription:

• Bacitracin-Polymyxin Eye Ointment - 3 times a day to decrease risk of infection
• Valacyclovir HCL 1 Gram Teblet - 1 tablet 3 times a day for antiviral purposes


• Side effects: Dizziness, may impair ability to ride that TT bike
• Methylprednisolone 4 MG Dosepack - 6 tablets a day, corticosteroids, glucocorticoids


• Side effects: Dizziness
• WADA: Banned substance
• Ondansetron HCL 4 MG Tablet - Take 1 a day and additional as needed to stop nausea


• Side effects: Dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, depression (blocks serotonin), may impair ability to ride that TT bike
• Migraine Relief Tablets - for the headaches
• Fluticasone prop 50 mcg spray - 2 puffs in nostrils each day to open up nasal passages and reduce swelling
• Gabapentin 300 mg capsule - Nerve pain blocker (this is super important as nerve pain is the main issue here)


• Side effects: Drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, depression

The common theme seems to be drowsiness, dizziness, and depression. So I am going to need to do all of my rides on the TT for a while.

The other noticeable thing is the WADA/USADA banned substance. Do I need to get a (TUE) Therapeutic Use Exemption for this?

Shingles has changed over the years. In my first 15 years in general practice I saw one or two cases a year. Usually old people. Three or four years ago I start seeing about a case a month and my practice is smaller than it was in the first 15 years. I once saw saw two cases in one day about a year ago.

My theory is that about 20 years ago we started immunizing kids for chickenpox. As a result we are now at a point where there is very little wild chickenpox circulating in the community. When there was adults used to get exposed to it every once in a while and likely got a bit of an immune boost which helped keep the chickenpox virus which is latent in the dorsal root ganglia of your spine at bay.

The other thing is there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to who gets shingles these days. Young, old, stressed, unstressed, intact immune systems, depressed immune systems doesn't seem to matter. Local opthalmologist tells me the same thing. He sees all the cases of shingles that affect the eye.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

No, contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction to something. Did you change soaps recently or may some new clothes. I once got a bad full body reaction after staying in motel. I’m guessing it was something on the sheets.

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Let food be thy medicine...

My thoughts/observations about shingles, which I have had every few years :(

• I had the vaccine and it's working, thank goodness
• Others got viruses, I got shingles instead!
• I am due .. but got viruses this year just like everyone else.
• The anti-viral drug for shingles will halt propagation - have to take it early.
• Seems to want to attack traumatized areas - for me it was mid back, left back/leg, left shoulder, jaw/face (after dentist)
• Pain is through the roof. I could do mild movement with the shoulder attack. The rest I was grounded for two weeks. I had to have really strong painkillers just to move the one time, OMG.
• The attacks are burning and electrical - because it transports & multiplies on the nerve tissues.
• Sleeping is tough too.
• I had semi-permanent nerve damage in my arm and in my left leg. The arm has come back - took 2 years.
• The leg has not come back. I am still working on getting a fully functional left leg due to the one nerve channel that was absolutely roasted.
• Imo genetics will predispose people to shingles.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

Where are you reading about the adverse side effects of Shingrex? I'm planning on it, my GP recommends, but it's rarely available - so I have not had the opportunity. Might change my mind if the 'cure' is as bad as the disease!

It was this web page and the feedback comments at the bottom. https://thevaccinereaction.org/...as-serious-problems/
Also here and comments of experiences at the bottom. https://www.ageofautism.com/...ng-transparency.html

Just to be clear I am just being cautious and have not decided against it. I may still do it later. With the comments about joint and muscular pain well after the shots is a bit unsettling for people like us that can't afford to risk long term joint pains or other side effects. I have enough aches training at this age as it is. There was another aspect to this to consider. I have seen on several pages stating a shortage of the two dose vaccine. A person may be able to get the first shot and find it difficult to get the second shot. I am not sure what happens (less effective or non-effective?) if you are not able to get the second shot because it is not available.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Those are propaganda pages. Talk to an actual medical professional and/or find unbiased sites.

Yeah thanks, but I don't trust all physicians or pharmaceutical companies, but I am not banking everything on the propaganda sites either. I also read warning statements from the CDC on Shingrix. He asked me where I read the things so I posted. I cannot say it the feedback section is from legitimate people, but I am not discounting it either.

Regardless of the original information source, I appreciate that you posted the info. Thanks!

I didn't say a word about pharma companies or trusting all physicians. Use whatever informations source you'd like, but the linked sites are far more harmful than helpful. Science doesn't start with an agenda (which those sites do) and work backwards to justify their beliefs.

The CDC is a much more helpful site.

I get it though. There is almost too much information out there and too many special interest groups that benefit from misinformation. Hard to decide what's best for ourselves in that environment unless we have specific training/education in that area.

Just my .02, but I got shingles while going through a divorce and running too hard on a treadmill. The combination of life stress, periodic alcohol consumption during periods of high stress, and training hard 3 times a week while running left me with a nasty shingles rash on half my body. The doctor recommended that I DO AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE to allow my immune system to recover. So, as much as I hate to say you should back off, you probably should back off. Again, I know how frustrating this is because I've been there, although I wasn't training for an Ironman at the time. I wish you the best and speedy recovery.

"Contact Dermatitis" is a term doctors use when they see a rash and haven't the foggiest clue what caused it. It really could be anything, so they throw out the common treatments like cortisone and hope that fixes it.