Clark: Unhappy Hour At Shingles Bar

Welcome to the Shingles Bar. Unhappy Hour is about to begin. Don’t go ordering any well drinks, though. All we serve here are things like famciclovir, Valtrex and other drugs used to fight this shape-shifting scourge of a virus that – without the vaccine – will afflict 1 out of every 3 people in their lifetime. On Sunday I wrote about my own recent shingles battle that, truth be told, is still kicking my ample behind. Tuesday night, for example. I woke up three times from these pain tsunamis that flowed through the nerves in my back, around to my chest, and back again. Mark Kammers knows. “The best way to explain the pain of shingles? Imagine your chest and back are on fire and your wife is trying to be helpful by putting it out with an ice pick.” True that. I’ve done more panting lately than a Lamaze class for asthmatics/ Doug Clark , SR. More here.

Question: Have you ever had shingles? Can you describe the experience?