On Sunday, I started developing the pain. It was enough to cause me discomfort at the dining table during lunch. And when I went for family dinner, it continued to get worse.
On Monday night the pain got even worse. It started from the back. And then it came to the front. So, I texted my daughter and said something must be wrong, I might be having a heart attack. I'm feeling this pain, this excruciating pain. It is like somebody turning a screw. I went to the hospital and after two rounds of blood tests, I was told my heart was fine but they couldn’t conclude what was causing the pain. So I was sent home on painkillers and told to rest.
Later I felt something on my back and looked in the mirror. Blisters were appearing. So, I called my doctor friend in the middle of the night, and she told me to come see her in the morning. I went to the clinic the next day and was diagnosed with shingles. She gave me a course of five days of antivirals, which I need to take every five hours, and pain killers.
“14 WEEKS ON, I STILL FEEL THE EFFECTS.”
The pain started off with a three and then it moved on to a five on the pain scale. At its peak, it moved to about an eight or nine. The shots of pain would come every couple of minutes. And then I would just pray that it goes off quickly. I would say it is like somebody turning a screw. It was really painful.
I would say that with the painkillers, it got a lot better over time, but 14 weeks on, I still feel its effects. I would strongly advise those who are in my age group to read up more on shingles and how you can prevent it from happening to you. Do something about it before it's too late.
