Postherpetic Neuralgia :: Sweating And Upper Back Pain - Shingles?
May 8, 2016
My 88 year old mother who has dementia has developed odd sensations and pain in her upper back. She's had two bouts of extreme pain which moved around but were in a similar area of her back - lower ribs on left side. The pain lasted only for a day each time and each time I saw what looked like sweat pimples but they were on her upper chest at the front - ie a different place. Now she often feels cold and shivery (when in fact she is hot) and puts more layers on to the point where she starts sweating, feels pain in her upper back and gets very anxious when she gets it (most days in the afternoon/evening). She gets night sweats. Does this sound as if it could be left over from shingles?
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I had shingles in October 2013 followed by what was assumed to be postherpetic neuralgia. I have tried all the various medication prescribed but appear to be allergic or react to all of them and none take you pain away. I don't know what to do next, seem to go from pillar to post.
I had an xray done about a year ago as, (because I was involved in a car accident 3 months prior to the attack of shingles) it was thought the pain could be due to something else. It wasn't but the radiologist said that if I had a certain nerve 'snipped' in my back (left hand side) all should be well. Has anyone else heard of this. My doctor said they didn't have anything in writing from the radiologist to confirm this. I really feel as if nobody is much bothered about this sort of pain.
I do know for a fact that having nerve ends burnt off can stop pain. I had this done (privately when I was covered through work) in my neck which stopped the migraines I had suffered badly with for years. I no longer have private medical cover unfortunately.
I can can only sympathise with others who have suffered following shingles. The pain is HORRIFIC but the advice seems to be to take pill after pill and then If that doesn't dork have another ruddy pill.
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I have lost hearing in that ear and bad tinnitus and imbalance. what can I do
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Six weeks on after first ever attack of shingles at the age of 75, I am Completely physically, mentally and emotionally drained, despite plenty of sleep and rest. Appetite is fine. Still suffering some ache in head owing to an effect called Cradle Cap which I have been prescribed ointment.
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I am just recovering from shingles. I have never felt so ill in all my life or been so tired. I have been left with intermittent pain in my hairline where the blisters were and also in my eye. It seems to come on every afternoon and last all night. My eye waters and I have developed floaters and blurred vision. I have tried paracetamol which helps with the pain but not with the sensitivity to light and blurred vision.I go to bed with a cold damp flannel but it doesn't seem to help much, my scalp also itches unbearably.
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I've been suffering from PHN for about 2 and half years. The pain is mostly around my eye, temple and forehead, sometimes the top of my head. Lately I've been finding that I get very drowsy after an "attack" of pain. Does anyone else ever get that? I can't work out if it's an effect of the pain or a side-effect of the medication I'm on (which is a mix of Cymbalta and Pregabalin).
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My 91 year old father contracted Shingles in November 2014 and from being totally independent - living alone and driving a car he had to move into care as has suffered postherpetic neuralgia since. He has shooting pains going down the sciatic nerve in his right leg. It seems like he has been on every drug known to man and although some of his pain has been alleviated he still has excruciating episodes. His only means of relief is to stand so can spend hours sitting/standing/sitting/standing. He has, however, since the shingles suffered edema in his right leg also. Amazingly he still tries to maintain some independence and tries to walk, however, this is so difficult now that his leg is so heavy and swollen. I don't seem to be getting any answers as to why he has this Edema. He never had it before the shingles and although he had it mildly afterwards it is now extremely bad. I'm wondering whether it could be the medications that he's on and would be interested if anyone else as experienced this and what the cause was.
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From reading many other threads, it seems to me that one frustrating thing about this condition is that there's no one-size-fits-all description or solution. Is there anything outside of heavy prescriptions that soothes your pain, and are there any triggers that make it worse?
Here are things that usually provide some relief:
1.Epsom salts compresses - help calm down the skin sensations
2. Rose geranium oil - helps with the skin pain and stabbing, and the scent is calming to me
3. Heating pad - helps when the pain is deeper, or maybe it just relaxes my tense muscles
4. Ibuprofen - helps with the aches
5. Acetaminophen - I don't think this works as well as ibuprofen, but I haven't given up on it.
6. Sleeping. I usually wake up at a level 0 or 1, and it builds up as I go about my day.
7. Sitting quietly. No friction when I'm not moving.
8. Exercise. Maybe it's true what they say about endorphins.
9. Sometimes stretching or scratching provides relief.
Things that make it worse
1. Coffee
2. Lack of sleep
3. Possibly my hormone cycle; I'm not certain about this one
4. Sometimes, it's worse if I stretch, scratch, exercise, or sit still. Yup, these are also on my list of things that sometimes help. [eek]
5. Random triggers I may never be able to identify.
Do any of these things sound familiar to anyone else? Or is there a good possibility this isn't PHN but something else? Like, losing my mind?
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Having deal with PHN now for 7 years it still is important to me to share information with others that are afflicted by this terrible condition or with others that suffer from chronic pain. Important because it is reassuring is to hear how others are impacted and trying to cope in their lives. It is terrible to constantly have to turn down or cancel social engagements because you cannot bare the pain, are so distracted that you can't focus on a conversation or do an activity that you enjoyed before. You get tired of responding to people "how do you feel" "how is it going" and many times you don't look that bad. One doctor said PHN is like the pain of cancer but without the relief of death. Not looking for sympathy from others but it is tough on family and friends given they don't really understand. I tell people now best the pain of a stinging nettle and worst is like a bad burn/scalding and rubbing sandpaper on it. People also don't understand (as I dont as well) why it strikes when it does. Everyday for me - but usually later in day after I have had too much irritation from the clothes. I want to say thank you to a number of people on this site for giving me my sanity back.
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I am 29 and Female. I have been under a great deal of stress lately. I have been having some minor health problems that cause my mind to go to that dark place. I am having very irregular periods and GERD/Gallbladder issues. Also, I am planning a wedding and my mother was just diagnosed with Lung cancer about 2 weeks ago.
My upper back across the "meaty" part of my shoulders has been so tight and painful. If my fiance rubs them, he finds all kinds of trigger points that are so painful to the touch I can't breathe. In the middle of my upper back I feel a sharp pain sometimes. My neck muscles are tight as well as the tops of my arms down to my elbows. On occasion my fingers tingle.
As of the past 2 days I feel a pressure on my chest right below my collar bone. If I yawn I can feel my throat muscles get sore. The very top of my sternum is tender to the touch. It almost feels bruised.
I did a little bit of research and it seems that all of these problems are connected. The scalene muscle group can cause all of these problems. I am going to see a massage therapist on thursday. Hopefully I get some relief.
Another bit of info, I have a desk job. I am at a computer for 10 hours a day. I work 60 + hours a week. I had a chest CT scan with contrast in July and it came back clear. ( unrelated incident ) So I believe I can rule out anything major. The scan is only 3 months old.
My question is; has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do to ease your symptoms? I have tried muscle rub so far. Doesn't help much...I am going to ice the areas today and see if that helps.
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I have a pain in between my diaphragm which leads through to my upper back, I have had for approximately 3 months but getting worse, if I lie on my stomach it hurts in both front and back. I have read all sorts of things that it might be from hernia to liver/kidney problem and gallstones... I did have a small incident where I strained myself trying to hold a motorbike up from falling down and I guess I have had the problem from then on, if I stretch out sometimes I will hear a click which radiates from the front to the back, if I push in my diaphragm it hurts. I live in a third world country so and worried about going to doctor.
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For the last 6 months I've been having quite localized pains in the upper left abdomen just below the ribs, accompanied by nausea and sometimes back pain mainly at nights. I sometimes have wind, but hardly ever heartburn. Two doctors have thought it a gastric problem, but Zantac and Omeprazole don't seem to work. I wondered whether it could be my pancreas, as I've been on Epilim Chrono for 4 years, which can affect pancreas. I've come off this now and am still getting problems, and my amylase is normal, although my liver function tests are elevated. One doctor thought it may be kidney stones and sent me for an ultrasound, which was normal. I was told though that the ultrasound couldn't see the pancreas properly, nor the stomach & bowel linings. I had a stool test for H Pylori which was negative. Any ideas on what this could be, or further tests I could do?
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Can Cervical Spondylosis also cause pain in the Upper back
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I have been having some strange issues going on this past week.. My lower back so been hurting and when I go to stand up its almost like my lower back, butt, and upper legs are numb and won't support me. it causes pain when this happens and it's hard for me to straighten my body up. the longer I sit the worse the pain is when I stand. when I bend over my upper legs try to give out on me. this has never happened before and as I don't have insurance I'm hoping someone can give me some insight as to what this may be and what I should do
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I have shingles lately i have been sweating very bad then my nose start to bleed....
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I am a 21 years old girl.I am having a pain in the left upper back, under the left armpit and in the left chest for the last two weeks since I did some heavy lifting during shifting.The pain can be felt when I am stretching. The pain doesn't go with painkillers. I did some searching on the Net and found out that back pain is a symptom of lung cancer. Is it possible? I haven't experienced weight loss,fatigue or hoarseness.
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i suffer with bouts of shingles about twice a year. i have the usual, sweating, tiredness, swollen calves, familiar burning in my left calf, and then the rash, which gets infected by the 3rd day then slowly goes down within a week. they dry off and leaves a permanent reminder.
I'v always gone to my gp who have looked at it in the stages when its infected and told yes it is shingles, and was also told that i can get it when my immune system is low or if i'm very stressed!
Going to my gp today, i saw a locum who looked at it and said that it were'nt shingles, as shingles does'nt come up on your leg and is localised to your midriff!! So i asked what it could be, and he said he did'nt know!
He gave me the usual anti viral cream but refused to give me the anti viral tablets i've had before, just incase it harmed me!!!
I do not fall in the catergory of over 60, i dont have hiv/aids, im being checked for diabeties, im not on any treatment for cancer or anything, im waiting to get my hypaparathyroid out, could this be causing my shingles? I just dont know.
How can so many doctors tell me its shingles and 1 locum tell me its not because its in the wrong place, i've looked up shingles and it states shingle can be anywhere on your body. So what do i do??
Has anyone else had the same or similar?
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I've had some blood work done because I was extremely tired and have been for the last couple of months, muscle pain (mostly upper back and neck), headaches, muscle weakness, being emotional (bursting into tears) mostly because extremely tired. digestive issues etc.
Results came back, only thing wrong is D3 level at 6 ng/ml (minimum should be 30). I was prescribed 25000 UI a week for three months. I also sent a mail with the results to my endocrinologist. She says she doesn't think my symptoms come from a vitamin D deficiency. Now I respect the woman a LOT. She has helped me in many ways in the past and she's been the only one to find what was wrong with me years back when I had severe health issues and every other doctor thought I was just "depressed".
I am though very surprised by her answer. I've read of a lot of people having very similar symptoms with vitamin D deficiency, and for most of them the symptoms just flew away when their vitamin D level went back up.
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After a short flight I started experiencing sharp pains in my right chest..... 5 days later was at outpatients where they tested for everything cardiac and pulmonary..... Was sent to family Dr who asked if I had a rash anywhere and my husband said yes as he noticed a red patch on My back while doing up my hospital gown. I had been a bit itchy in that spot... Anyhow I do not have any pain at rash site just the severe pain in my chest. Dr says the pain can present along any nerve.... Has anyone ever had shingles symptoms like this ?
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I am 26 almost 27
Overweight (working on it)
On anxiety med and blood pressure medication.
For 6-8 years I've had on and off chest pain, left arm pain, neck pain, upper back, even pain in both jaw sides.
I've seen 3 cardiologists in the last 4 years. Blood pressure is a little high and also cholesterol is a tad high (again working on it)
They all say my heart checks out (like 6 ekgs, treadmill stress test, ECHOs and all checks out clean) been about 2 years since last echo and almost 3 since that stress test.
I also have GERD. Take Prilosec.
The last 2-3 weeks tho... On and off I've been having left arm, left breast pain. Throbbing. Stabbing. Aching. On and off. My neck has been hurting on and off too. My upper back, same thing. My jaw both sides on and off.
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I have had an achy upper back pain for a few days now. I was attributing it to having slept funny, but now I am thinking it was a warning sign I missed. I woke up at 2am with horrible nausea and sharp pain in my upper left back. It comes in waves and was so severe it brought tears to my eyes. I have had kidney pain from infection in the past and while different I think this pain may be kidney related too. I am trying to find some way to get comfortable enough to sleep since it is the middle of the night and I don't want to wake two sleeping babies and drag them to the ER. I tried calling the nurse helpline provided by my insurance company, but he just told me to try a heating pad and some Tylenol.
I have a lot of prescription pain meds in my medicine cabinet because I have had 2 c sections and another surgery within the last couple years and I hate taking pain meds... I took an oxycodone. That along with a vibrating massage mat under my back seems to be helping with the pain for the moment, but the nausea is even worse now. Any suggestions for that? I just need to make it to morning so I can go to an urgent care clinic. There is no one to watch the babies right now and of course o would get sick on Sunday when my primary care doc is closed.
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