Can barely sit....

[emily_in_nc]

Crankin, good luck with this -- it sounds horrible.

I don't know if it is anything like the saddle sores I get, but I have one particular place in the "t'aint" area on the left that has twice developed a saddle sore that eventually took me to the dermatologist's for a cortisone injection. But they come up more slowly, fill with blood over and over (yes, I confess to poking a sterilized needle in and squeezing them), and cause excruciating discomfort on the bike. The cortisone shot nips it immediately.

Yours sounds almost like a bacterial infection, a true boil. glad you're getting it checked out, and let us know the results.

[Crankin]

OK, so the doctor took one look at it and said, "It looks like a shingle." There are blisters on the thing. I was in a rush (they squeezed me in) and I did not have time to wait for him to consult with the dermatologist. He put me on the anti-viral drug and gave me a creme for the boil.
I had a very low grade fever (98.8, for me a fever) and my blood pressure was up. The shingles thing doesn't sound far fetched to me. I have had unexplained bouts of little teeny blisters erupting and unexplained itching for years, as well as a weird burning/tingling on my left side when I am sick. No one has ever been able to explain this, and i chalked it up to my never ending list of weird stuff, which has been tried to be explained away as fibromyalgia. So, if I have had this for years, it's too late for the anti-viral.
Meanwhile, the rest of my day went downhill. I had to get my prescription filled in Harvard Square, as Lesley has a new campus which is separate from where I usually go, and my class is over there. I walked right past the CVS and then when I found it, the computer was down. I ended up walking about 2 miles, and now i have a real blister on the bottom of my left foot. I did have a good meeting with my advisor, but I was late to my study group and my neuroscience class is just too intense. I did finally get the prescription, though.
OK, rant is over.

[OakLeaf]

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Hope today is better at least.

I was under the impression that antivirals will suppress any new recurrence, so in that sense it's not "too late" - but I don't really know too much about it. Shingles by definition is a recurrent manifestation of a latent chronic infection, right? Anyway, hope it all clears up ASAP.

[Biciclista]

oh geez no wonder it's so painful! sorry about your crummy day, get well soon.

[zoom-zoom]

Ugh, shingles...I had a bout of that on my belly maybe 3 years ago. Mine was VERY mild and caught early, so I got on anti-virals fast. My bumps never ruptured and I had no long-term, lingering pain.

Might you be a candidate for the vaccine? It's something I've wondered about for myself. Contrary to popular belief, one can develop shingles repeatedly. It sounds like you may be one of the chronic sufferers.

I think I was prone to shingles because I already have autoimmune issues (allergies, asthma, endometriosis) + the stress put on my body from running. Generally the vaccine is only given to older folks, but I wonder if exceptions would be made for younger, healthy people like us who have already shown a tendency to developing outbreaks.

[Crankin]

Ha, I am just below the age for giving the vaccine, but glad you think I am young.
I am pretty much like you, allergies, asthma (well under control, not an issue) and some subtle autoimmune things, mostly in my GI system. I have been getting these "flare ups" for almost 25 years. I remember the first one, when my younger son was 2, and coincidently, was at the same time I started teaching fitness classes. Hard exercise sets me off, but not always. I rested today, as much as I can at work, but no exercise. Funny, I ran, or ran-walked the past 2 days, because I couldn't sit on my bike saddle!
The bumps, except for this one, have been teeny teeny and never ruptured, either. But, I've had persistent burning and pain on my left side for years, mostly when I am getting better from an illness, cold, etc. I can feel the weakness on the bike, but I just deal with it.
Frankly, I am just glad I don't have MRSA. But, the bump is definitely not a boil, in terms of there's nothing there to drain. It's drying up today, can't feel it as badly. Now, I just have to fix the fricking blister on my left foot.

[Cataboo]

Crankin, I hope your bum gets better.

I took my 30 year old brother to the eye doctor a month or so ago, the doctor looked into his eyes and started talking about pupil atrophy consistent with a shingles outbreak and said she'd put him on anti-virals if it happened again.

Not that he or anyone had a clue that he'd had a shingles outbreak in his eye.