GET THE SHINGLES VACCINE!!!!
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I want to know what problems this could lead to - please ask your onc about this. Because this bout with shingles is worse than anything I have gone through in my 60 years on earth. I have never been in such pain. Well, I take that back - I had a pancreatitis attack eight years ago which lasted twelve hours and it was horrid. I was out of town with my husband at a resort - no car - and I just had to remain in agony until it finally abated. But this is going on for ten days now. I am taking Percoset two to three times a day. The doctor said I could take it every four hours, but I am taking it only when I absolutely cannot stand the pain any longer, because I have to function a certain number of hours a day - with grandchildren out of school for the summer. I know some will have a mild case of shingles and will not experience this level of pain, but the potential for long-standing, postherpetic pain sydrome has a percentage of something like 20%. That is too high a risk for me. I could kick myself for dinking around about getting the vaccine. My husband's golf buddy has had postherpetic pain for two years now. He is in constant pain and just has to live with it - taking as few meds as possible.
That said, I can certainly appreciate not getting the vaccine if you fit into that criteria of contraindications for same.
Deborah
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From bc.org's founder, Marisa Weiss,MD, extracted from her book, "Living Beyond Breast Cancer"....
Shingles
Shingles is the reactivation of the herpes zoster virus (the same virus that causes chicken pox... and it is not uncommon in women with breast cancer.".....
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From the "Treatment and Side Effects" section of breastcancer.org....
Shingles
"People with all types of cancer have a higher-than-average risk of developing a viral infection called shingles, which causes a painful blistering rash. Usually it breaks out on the chest and back, although it can affect any part of the body. Shingles results from the reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox (the varicella zoster virus). Once you've had chicken pox, the virus can lie dormant for many years in the nerve tissue near the brain and spinal cord. Cancer and its treatments often stress the body and weaken the immune system, which can lead to shingles."
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/pain/causes/treatment.jsp
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It appears that getting the shingles vaccine is easier said than done.
There's a backlog from the producer. I just got off the phone with my PCP's office.
I had to confirm with my MO that it's OK for me to get itt since it's a love vaccine.
My immune system's back so that's OK. The procedure is rather convoluted from there.
They'll send my insurance information to Merck to make sure it's covered and then I'll be on a waiting list for when the office get's their shipment in -- probably October -- assuming that they get enough from the producer.
According to the PCP's office the pharmacies in the area are also out of the zoster vaccine.
Here's more info on the shortage:
http://www.ashp.org/DrugShortages/Current/bulletin.aspx?id=422
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YES!!!!!!
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