Wherein I Contract an Ancient Disease

[Gaki]

So, Gaki, how are you feeling?

I promise I'm not dead. Almost exactly a month after I got the measles, I came down with a wicked cold and though that is mostly gone now, I have allergies. But I'm fine other than all that. I have a physical schedules for early June and I can talk to the doctor about the measles thing and see what's up with that jazz and let you all know.

[Shyla]

What a tough time.

[TheHats]

You might want to talk to your doc about getting all your boosters again. Measles has a nasty trick of undoing your body's immune record, including occasionally previous vaccinations.

(link)

[Pagan]

I went to the doctor and he seemed almost giddy when he said he's never, in his 41 years of practice, even overseas, seen an active case of: The Measles.

I thought you meant a really ancient disease like one we have a few cases of every year here...plague. Yes, I do mean Black Death. We've had 10 animal cases so far this year, but no human cases...yet.

I thought I was too young to get shingles,

There's not such thing. If you've had chicken pox, you have the potential to develop shingles at any time.

Then again, I don't recall me or my brother getting Viral Meningitis

My dad damn near died (as in they didn't know if he was going to live through the night after they finally diagnosed it) from bacterial meningitis when he was 53. Never did figure out how he got it, but it was guessed from a GI out at WSMR.

That is such BS - if you want the shingles shot, and are willing to pay for it, and there isn't anything else going on health-wise that advises against it, they should give it to you!

I'd love to get the vaccine, but I get the "you're too young" thing. Even when I had and active case shingles on my face a few years ago, I had people telling me I was too young to get shingles. OK...

That's also how I found out I can't take opioid derivatives or acyclovir. By the time I figured out the acyclovir was causing the problem, I had lost about 10 pounds and could have used an IV. That crap pretty much kept me from really eating or drinking for the better part of a week, I reacted to it so badly. Quit taking it, Excedrin pretty much took care of the pain, and I have a fairly high tolerance for pain anyway.

I do still have some postherpetic neuralgia in my face. Seems to be triggered by the barometer pressure changes. But I've got only one scar on my forehead that you can't really see unless I point it out.

I got a shingles rash about the same time so I'm sure that shot isn't necessary.

You can still develop shingles again at any time. It's not a get it and are immune after illness.

[morgana]

You can still develop shingles again at any time. It's not a get it and are immune after illness.

Amen. I average two outbreaks a year. For the last thirty years.