Shingles & R.A.
I came down with the Shingles this past weekend and I have RA also. I had the shingles shot a year and a half ago. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I was going today for the shots in the knees and my Dr. told me if he gave me the two cortisone shots it can make the shingles go crazy and if you have R.A.just wanted to past this along. I am lucky so far there is not much pain just some discomfort. Hope it stays this way. Wish I could go to bed and wake up went it is gone.
Judy
Oh rats Judy. So sorry you got shingles. I haven't heard of the cortisone issue but it makes sense because it reduces the immune system and would make it harder to fight off the shingles virus. For RA patients taking biological medicines, it's generally recommended to not take vaccines containing a live virus and that includes shingles. I've wondered about how many millions of autoimmune patients on biological medicines will get shingles down the road.
Hang in there and I hope that it doesn't last long. Is your doctor giving you a nerve blocking med like Gabapentin? I've heard that it is used to help alleviate the pain from shingles.
I too had shingles on my neck. I have had it twice, thank God the second time wasn't bad. Take care of your self. Becky Cummings
(Becky), one bout of shingles is bad enough! I am sorry you had to deal with it twice! I hope you never experience another shingle episode.
Best, Erin, Team Member.
