posted 03-15-2003 01:12 AM            

I am miserable, I have even taken my test & records from my orth.spine doctor this week,so I can find another doctor to check to see if my orth.doc has missed something in my spine that could be causing this pain. This pain is also brought on by raising my arms or moving a certain way or leading forward, would shingles cause this type problem? Sometimes I don't have to do anything to get it started.

I do not have no blisters, although I've been told shingles can be internal, but my skin is also numb in the area that causes me to believe I have a pinch nerve in my spine causing this wrap around sensation.

Would anyone here have a clue as to what I have going on or a simular problem?

posted 03-15-2003 03:30 PM            

I'm so sorry to hear about your problem, and I personally sympathise. I suffer from similar symptoms but on my thigh. I was beginning to wonder if I had shingles too, but a neurologist I saw recently diagnosed it as "meralgia paresthetica" which is a compressed nerve leading down to the thigh from the lower lumbar that gets squished by ligaments and such in the groin area. Obviously this is not the case for you (different body parts) but I'm sharing this to show that when the nerves are involved it can be all kinds of things.

You might try checking Yahoo or MSN for shingles or nerve pain groups. I think this is the closest thing to a shingles board that Health Boards has, but unfortunately most people here are only familiar with genital herpes and cold sores.

I think ToughSpot's suggestion to see a neurologist is a good one. They're not invincible in terms of correct diagnoses but it still could help. I do know that shingles does not always have external symptoms (usually a rash) and the doc I saw insisted it almost always does, so you may or may not get one that understands that not everyone is a textbook case.

If you have that sensation in one area only like that, it certainly suggests some kind of problem with a nerve that serves that "dermatome" or skin area. I recently heard about a woman who gets this kind of pain around her ribcage and breast area and has been diagnosed with shingles, yet never gets visible symptoms.

Good luck! Let us know how you make out.

posted 03-26-2003 12:11 AM            

What I found was that you can also get Shingles on the inside of your body....in the inner organs and tissues. So it is entirely possible to have it and not see lesions. Get your blood tested. Hopefully its not what you have.

I also found that even though Valtrex and Famvir are equally good, the properties of Famvir are better because it tends to be the one to help protect against post herpetic neuralgia in the long run. This is what they are saying. PHN is lasting pain in the affected areas for years.

I wish you good luck and that it is less severe than shingles, whatever it is.