RA people/shingles vaccine? | Arthritis Information

Hi all, my husband came home with good news, there is a shingles vaccine! We are terrified that we will get shingles. Our GP wants us to take it. Has anyone had it, talked to their doctor about it? I know we are soooo volunerable to things and just wonder if we can take 'live vaccine'? Please let me know, as i want to take this if possible. SarahI know if you take Humira you cant go near a live vaccine.

Immuno compromised persons aren't supposed to take live vaccines. Check with your RD before you do it, even if you GP wants you to have it.

Phatz

My RD says the same as Phats "no live vaccines"

It is interesting, the very people who are prone to shingles(those who have
had chickenpox and are immunocompromised) cannot have this vaccine.
That is the pits. I would not take the live vaccine. I have had shingles. It
wasn't bad because I had a doctor who recognised it quickly and got me on
valtrex. They were gone within a few days.

My Mother had them recently as well and her doctor caught them early and it wasn't bad. Sadly that isn't always the case and they can be horrible for those that don't catch them early enough for the treatment to be efective.

Let us know if you follow up on this. It's something we're all interested in hearing about Hurts.

Well I had chicken pox twice when young and then had the shingles 2 times, one time was just a couple years ago. They say you cannot get it more than once but I do not believe that.

I get the flu vaccine and the pnemonia when when they say I can. My Rd and PCP said the same, no live vacines allowed.

jode

Jode, I have had them twice too. The second time I caught it as the redness
and unusual itch showed up and never got the blisters thankfully. Shingles
was one of the more unpleasant times in my life and I hope to never get
them again.

Ohhhhhhhh the shingles are horrible and so painful! I itched and had that deep severe pain and did not realize what it was till it was too late to get the meds for.When I finally went into the Dr. office with this horrid pain ( thought it was shingles) he said I would have to wait it out cause I did not get in to the Dr. office soon enough.

THey seem to drag on forever don't they??????????Probably one of the worst and most painful medical probs I have had..........if not it was a close second!

jode

Your doctor should have put you on the anti virals. It would not have hurt
and may have driven the virus back and helped. I know they want it started
within 48 hours but man, I would insist on treatment to try to avoid the
permanent nerve problems. You got me all excited there for a minute. I got the chickenpox when I was 32 years old. To say the least it was horrible...the older you are the worse the chickenpox are. Also, the older you are when you get it increases the changes of getting shingles...something I am not looking forward to...Hi, How can you tell you have 'shingles'? My friend had them and thought it was poison oak? Sha and I were walking in a park where there is poison oak, and like the next day she had this rash on her rib cage area....it was awful. (I thought i'd made her get poison oak! ) Poor thing she really suffered. SarahI had shingles about 8 years ago. The pain was awful. I couldn't stand to have anything touch my back at all.

SarahWhat most people present with is a very bad pain, deep, internal along with
a sensitivity to the skin in that area. This pain and sensitivity can go on for
several days before the actual eruption of the vesicles. The skin is very
itchy, but when you go to scratch the area, it burns terribly. If it is not
treated(and there are great treatments out there) it can be a long term
problem with nerve pains. We are all at increased risk of this with our RA so
it is something we all should be on the lookout for. I believe most adults
that get it are hospitalized because it can be so severe. Our nurses who are
pregnant, nursing, or immune compromised are not allowed to care for
people with shingles. My mom had shingles years ago before they had antivirals,or much help for them.They were on her head and down her face to her chin and left horrible scars. The Dr. gave her some kind of steroid cream and vitamin b12 shots, why that I don't know. i know that I saw my Mother suffer more with shingles then she ever did with heart disease and lung cancer. She stayed with me for 2 weeks and could barely get out of bed. It was a nightmare , Wonder why it is so bad for some and mediocre for others? I know I don't ever want to have them......Oh, the Dr. told her that even though shingles came from the chicken pox virus the pain was caused from infected nerve endings and being so close to her brain was all the more worse. Thats been about 25 yrs.ago and I'm sure lots has been learned about this condition since then, this was our experience with it....Genesis

Hi Sarah,

Advice I have been given when I started infliximab (remicade) - no live vaccines, don't stay in close contact with people who have had live vaccines for 5-7 days after they have had it, try to avoid people with chicken pox or shingles. Even if you've had chickenpox you could get it again as your drugs wipe out the resistance you've got, shingles is a risk too and is deeply unpleasant - I would talk to your Dr before you or any of your family contemplate any vaccinations.

Good luck!

Hi-I've had/have singles too. VERY painful. I get it repeatedly and have to take valtrex everyday. If my perscription runs out-watch out!! I think my sciatic nerve is permantently damaged. My internist said it's worse/makes things worse with comprimised immune systems...bummer. I guess (from what she says also) that it contributed (with eveything else) to my adrenal failure.

I agree that I've heard to stay away from live vaccines, but if anyone thinks they have shingles I recommend addressing
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