Know Their Stories | Stop Shingles

I NEVER IMAGINED THERE'S MORE TO SHINGLES THAN JUST RASHES AND PAIN.

It has been two and a half years and I still have this chronic nerve pain especially at night just before I go to bed, or early in the morning. More importantly, I was at a medical event recently, and I was taken aback to find out that shingles can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. I never imagined there’s more to shingles than just rashes and pain.

Mr. Lionel, 59 y.o.
Patient diagnosed with shingles

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All statements are based on patient's testimony

IT NEVER REALLY CROSSED MY MIND. I THOUGHT IT WOULD JUST PASS.

When my dad had shingles, I didn't think about it, I thought he would recover and be perfectly fine, not knowing the rash or the annoyance of the rash would linger on for a couple of weeks. Then I was even more surprised to hear that shingles could have potential side effects such as someone having a heart attack or suffering a stroke. I thought that it would just pass.

Claire & Christopher
Caregiver and patient diagnosed with shingles

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All statements are based on patient's testimony

BETWEEN THE TCM, SPECIALISTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, IT COST ME ABOUT $2,000 A MONTH IN TREATMENT.

Once the doctor declared me free from shingles, I really thought my ordeal was over. But sadly, the pain persisted, up to a stage which was so bad that my family had to call an ambulance to get me to hospital. The diagnosis was postherpetic neuralgia. My granddaughter also signed me up for a TCM acupuncture session in between my trips to see the neurologist. Between the TCM, specialists and everything else, it cost me about $2,000 a month in treatment. Due to budget constraints, I had no choice but to go back to government care, and I realised there’s no such thing as a magic cure.

Mr. Sulaiman
Re-telling of the shingles story of Mr. KT Ng, diagnosed at 83 y.o.

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SHE SAYS THAT THE SHINGLES IS STILL PAINFUL. EVEN NOW, 10 YEARS LATER.

My mom had it about 10 years ago. She was about 77 years old then and I was about 38. She described it as starting with a sudden sharp pain on her right side. Of course, we were worried about whether it could progress to any other complication, and what we could do to make her cope better. We went to the GP twice before we got the diagnosis of shingles, and a lot of GPs and specialists to manage the pain later on. We had to find out where they were based and make the appointments. I had to shift my schedule to fit the doctor's availability. It was really difficult. And, since then, till now she still has pain on that side that comes and goes. Even now, 10 years later.

Ms. Chia, 49 y.o.
Carer of a patient diagnosed with shingles

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