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| Watch for the number! A new system made it a crazy morning :) |
Well, all in all, the "off the meds" interlude was quite brief. After one week without the antacid, I was awake once more in the middle of the night fighting to keep my food down. Then Saturday, a week's worth of discomfort in my lower back and groin morphed into shingles. Yikes! There's no mistaking shingles! Who knows if the back pain and the virus are linked but 23 days without Acyclovir was enough of a window to allow the zoster virus to re-emerge into a bloom of blister stripes. We knew I was somewhat vulnerable since my childhood bout of chicken pox had blossomed as shingles when I was 25. Somehow my previous thyroid issues had also signaled an alarm. But 23 days was indeed quick; I was scheduled to get the shingles vaccine this week ... too late :) Very very uncomfortable. Happily, UCSF had a Saturday morning clinic where I rushed for a consult and a scrip for heavy doses of Acyclovir. I am on a week's course of antivirals, going back to the hospital for intermittent blood draws to check for adverse liver interactions. Today's blood draw signaled elevated liver enzyme levels that are above normal but still within my historical levels. So all looks good. As for the shingles? Ouch!
