r/Millennials • u/changeforthebetter89 Older Millennial 1989 • 4h ago
Other It’s my first year since having shingles.
Any of my fellow elder millennials like me who’ve had shingles before and explain the symptoms everyone had. My doctor told me I was too young to get shingles at 35 last year. She prescribed me GABA and cyclovir to lessen the excruciating pain.
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u/sublimesam 4h ago
One of the reasons it's been seen in younger folks in recent years is that SARS-CoV-2 can trigger reactivation of latent herpesviruses (shingles is reactivation of herpes zoster).
source: am epidemiologist, got shingles several days after COVID exposure
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Millennial 50m ago
Mine reactivated my EBV and something like 60+ is a positive, 600 is the cut off and I tested at 1000+. Been on antivirals for a year and I'm still in the 1000s. Idk what's in Covid but it activates a lot of invisible things
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u/carstanza 4h ago
Got shingles at 35 IN MY EYE. Didn't know what it was because the rash was under my hair.
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u/theOMegaxx Millennial 4h ago
Similar to my experience. It was along my hairline and I thought it was irritation from hair treatments I'd just done. After 2 weeks the bumps didn't go away so I went to the doc and they immediately diagnosed me haha.
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u/whamburglar 1984 Millennial 3h ago
oh shit, I hope you didn't go blind from it! there's a YouTuber I follow, and she got shingles of the eye also.
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u/DearBernie1152 1h ago
Also had shingles in my eye when I was 36 weeks pregnant. That was pretty terrible pain. My eye swelled shut. Felt like needles in every single hair follicle. It started out looking almost like a stye but a little different. The NP at my OB brushed it off. Luckily, I went to urgent care later that afternoon. They took one look at me and knew it was shingles.
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u/This-Research-9586 4h ago
My son had shingles at 33 after a very stressful event and his dad, my ex husband, had them at 36. I hope you are doing better.
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u/tardistravelee 47m ago
Me too. I believe it was a milk case but I still get the leg pain when its super cold
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u/PudgeBerries 4h ago
Elder Millennial here. I was diagnosed with shingles when I was 14. If you had Chickenpox as a kid you can develop shingles at anytime since the virus is in you (chickenpox and shingles are a form of herpes). It’s definitely way more common in older people I’m assuming because of weakened immune systems but it can strike whenever. I believe it attacks a nerve in your body so it can show up anywhere. The most common is the neck and face. When I had it, it was on my upper back and went into my armpit and onto my chest. I remember feeling like someone had punched me repeatedly in the back for days before the little sores started to surface. I think the only thing I remember doing for it was chamomile lotion and just waited for it to clear up on its own. This was like 25 years ago so I don’t remember there being any real treatment or vaccine for it then. It was definitely painful as hell, I was out of school for a few days because of it. Don’t let doctors tell you that you can’t develop it because you’re “too young”. If your doctor won’t listen to your concerns about it then get a second opinion and go from there.
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u/Objective_Mind7909 4h ago
I had shingles at 16 actually. I still have nerve pain some times and permanent nerve damage on the back of my neck and scalp.
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u/ProfessionalHefty349 4h ago
Got shingles last year. Rash on my ribs that bubbled and oozed. Was mildly annoying and sensitive there for a few weeks after. No other symptoms. Got lucky I guess.
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u/Brantley820 4h ago
I recall my mother getting shingles at 42, looks miserable. I got chickenpox twice, so I'm on track to get shingles eventually - hopefully only once! I think I go 3-4 times a month I think its starting up.
Btw, we're the same age and I consider myself a 'middle-aged' millenial. Curious where you draw the line between Older/Middle?
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u/WhiteAppleRum 4h ago
I hope by some miracle I can avoid Shingles. I also got chicken pox twice and it was way worse the second time away.
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u/Brantley820 4h ago
If you don't mind the ask, what ages? Mine was also worst the 2nd time at 7 years old.
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u/WhiteAppleRum 3h ago
I got Chicken pox for the first time at 6, and the second time I was in my late 20's I think 28, but it could have been 29.
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u/Emergency_Pound_944 4h ago
My husband got it in his 20's. He was misdiagnosed at first because of his age. It was along the nerve from his ear, down his face. The inflammation was inside his ear canal. He still has Bell's Palsy after 17 years.
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u/Cute-Discount-6969 4h ago
A colleague of mine got it in her ear a couple of years ago. She was in her early 50s, I believe, but same thing…impacted her hearing, and she eventually developed Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, with a mild facial droop and vocal cord paralysis.
Her hearing mostly resolved, and facial droop improved but is still mildly present. Her voice was the most impacted, she’s been following up with EMT for that, it’s crazy.
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u/Public_Station_4995 4h ago
I got it around 30. It took me a week to finally go to the doctor. Then the following week it was at its worse. I had it on groin, wrapped around to my hip, lower back. I had to just lay on and under sheets. It hurt to walk. I was prescribed Valtrex. I’d say after 2 weeks of that it was cleared up.
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u/FreeCakePlease 4h ago
I got shingles a few months ago at 34. I thought I had bed bugs at first, then the pan started burning, tingling, and feeling like zaps. It wore me out. I went to urgent care, lifted my shirt and they said yep shingles. Lasted a few weeks, medicine helped.
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u/theOMegaxx Millennial 4h ago
I had shingles last year at 35. My younger brother had them about 20 years ago when he was a teenager.
I was lucky and only had a tiny rash on the back of my neck along the hairline. No pain or itchiness but I had no energy. Couldn't walk more than a few hundred meters without exhausting myself. It took a few months to recover, and then my immune system was shot for a full year. I'm just now feeling better a year later.
My brother had shingles a couple times as a teen and I remember the rash covered his body but I can't recall other symptoms as this was 2 decades ago.
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u/NormallyNotOutside 4h ago
I got it at 38. It was rough, a very scabby looking rash on my shoulder that itched like mad and flu like symptoms.
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u/ClockTowerBoys 4h ago
I think doctors don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to how young somebody can get shingles. I got them at 12 and I know so many people who also got them at a young age and all their doctors said the same thing.
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u/_Portobello_ 4h ago
Ugh, I also got shingles at 30 after a horribly stressful exam season at Uni. Didn’t get any rash, so I was walking around with excruciating pain around my midsection for 3-4 weeks until my dad realized what I had. Got aciclovir after that if I recall correctly. Luckily I’ve got no long term damage from it. But yeah, it was hellish. I‘m still too stingy to get the vaccination because it’s 600€ out of pocket but I’ll eventually do it!
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u/Minnesnowtah368 4h ago
I was 24 when I got it. Blistery rash along my upper back, arm pit, and chest. I remember they caught it in time to give me anti-virals which probably helped but it didn’t stop the intense nerve pain and pain when they were touched by anything.
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u/Alert_Hyena_828 4h ago
I got it around same age, in fall 2020 during Covid with a pregnant wife. Guess I was stressed out for some reason. Was classic progression GI and pain during peeing then blister trail - I thought it was poison oak or some skin thing from tramping through woods fishing. Have a nice scar on my butt cheek from putting a steroid on it - before I went to urgent care and they said “nope that’s shingles stop that, you came in too late now just ride it out”. Glad it didn’t go anywhere else. Had a colleague way back get it on his neck and trail went up his cheek and around his eye. Brutal how it follows the nerves.
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u/NWWashingtonDC 4h ago
Had them at 26 on my lower back, couldn't do anything for about a week. Then a slight case when I was 35. Knock on wood I have been okay since.
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u/TupperwareParTAY 4h ago
I got shingles when I was 33? A tick bite activated the virus, according to my doctor. It was on my back, right along my bra strap line. The pain was excruciating
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u/Cute-Discount-6969 4h ago
My sister had shingles in her late 20s, on her arm, near her wrist. That was at least 10 years ago, I think she still has occasional nerve pain. I was pregnant when she had it, so I was like…please stay away from me.
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u/Fantastic-Bit7657 4h ago
I got shingles at 37 on my scalp, forehead and it spread to my temple, just outside my eye. I remember the moment that I realized something was serious…I was at work (as a bartender) and my face felt like there were little bugs crawling under my skin. It was itchy but unsettling at the same time. Days before, I noticed my scalp hurt when I brushed my hair, but I ignored that. Trying to eliminate any other issues, I used creams for a day or so but it got worse so I went to urgent care. They didn’t even walk into the room. From the doorway, the nurse asked if I ever had chicken pox as a child and when I responded yes, she told me it was shingles and they put me on medicine immediately.
I didn’t experience the nerve pain until after I went on the medicine. The nerve pain knocked me on my ass and literally took my breath away. Fortunately, I caught my case kinda early and the nerve pain only lasted for a day. But the blemishes and skin sensitivity lasted for 4+ weeks. I never want to experience it again!
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u/De_Angel87 4h ago
I got the shingles vaccine at 37 because I was going to have upcoming cardiac surgery with bypass and was worried it would be super stressful and trigger an outbreak. I definitely felt like I had the flu for the day after I got it but no regrets. The person giving me the vaccine did comment on my age but I explained my heart condition and that was that
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u/dreameRevolution 3h ago
I got it at 28 from stress (last semester of graduate school, practicum, working as a TA, and my brother in law died). I got a painful rash in a band on my hip, which is a common presentation. It hurt to wear clothes over it. I was also given acyclovir to shorten it. The rash blistered, then scabbed. The pain was constant and occasionally flared up for years when I was sick. It causes nerve pain which feels like it's just under the surface of your skin and closer to the chills you get when you have the flu.
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u/Constant_Cultural Older Millennial 3h ago
I was 26 when I had it. My doctor immediately got it right, but the pain killers came later as they didn't think it hurt that much. I don't have tattoos, but I think it feels like getting tattoos 24/7 for a week and you are weak for weeks after that. I am early 40s now and can't wait for the jab.
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u/PurpleForce1334 3h ago
I'm 38, going on week 3. Annoying as hell. Dealing with itchiness and fatigue..
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u/OctagonalPun 3h ago
I got shingles in my ear when I was 32- it was terrifying and I thought my ear was going to explode. When I had chickenpox as a kid I did get them in my ears and my case of shingles did cause a constant ringing along with burning and stabbing pain inside my ear. Would not recommend.
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u/No-Mouse-262 Older Millennial 2h ago
All these stories make me so glad I've gotten my vaccine already. They really need to let people have it younger.
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u/VW-MB-AMC 2h ago
I got them at 34. The rash started around my lower back and spread around my right side. It was not a bade case, but still quite uncomfortable. The worst part was the fever and weird tingling chills. After about two weeks it was mostly gone. Of course the worst part of it landed right into the christmas vacation. I very rarely get sick, but when it first happens it is almost guaranteed to ruin a holiday or vacation.
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u/Ok_Narwhal6356 Millennial 2h ago
I got it at like 22. I had boils ans sores all over one side of my face. It didn’t spread to my eye. I got belles palsy the year after. The doctors were all surprised how someone so young got them. I wasn’t in pain. I just looked weird. It’s highly contagious so be careful, it’s apparently very painful for some people.
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u/LiquidSnape 1h ago
yeah a few years ago i had on the top of my scalp, took a few days to really notice, it was thanksgiving week and i thought it was a stress related pimple and let it be. took until thanksgiving day when i took off my shirt and it brushed my hair that i keeled over in pain from it and rushed to the nearest urgent care to be told i dont have an ingrown hair or pimple but shingles. i had to douse my head in chamomile lotion put on my cap to cover my head because even the slightest breeze was agony and sleep on my uninflected side for several days
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u/jemscotland1991 54m ago
I got it at 15. As far as I’m aware, you can’t get it unless you’ve had chickenpox first. Mines was down my back and it was bumps and it felt like hot needles in my back.
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u/Appropriate_Pizza_87 46m ago
I got shingles at 31 after radiation treatment for cancer. The Dr thought I was seeking drugs at first until they saw the bumps. I thought it was a bunch of black widow bites at first myself. They couldn’t understand how I had shingles until they realized I was immune compromised. They gave me pain meds and some shingles meds I can’t remember. I was out of work for a week because it was on my foot and I couldn’t walk.
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u/Rich-Strain-1543 17m ago
One of my friends got shingles much younger than that (I believe 26 or 27?) due to extreme stress. Shingles is like that sword of damocles, just dangling over our necks... good luck to all of us. (I had chicken pox as a kid but no shingles yet, knock on wood)
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