Shingles and Depression and desperate

[Guest guest]

HI

I have got shingles again for the third time. It is as usual on my

neck. It seems to exacerbate the pain and has sen tme into a deep

depression I cant seem to get out of.

Just before this my doctor changed my meds I take Aropax 1 a day and

I was on Nortryptiline 50 mgs. I have and continue to suffer sever

consitptaion after trying and taking everything. So he stopped that

to see if it helped. It did but I took me awhiel to figure out in

amongst teh shinlges that the nortryptiline that I use to decreas the

amount of pain meds I use helps also with depression so I started

takign them again, But I am still in a black hole and I just cant see

a way out anywhere, I am at work and I cant seem to solve anything

admittedly they are too harder problems for me each day. So Now I am

back takign the nortrypiline 50 mg a night and I have the

constipation back again. I also take ducolax and coxyl and senna. I

have tried everythin known to man for this , I also take microlax

eneemmas and have to regularly use 4 to work a night, thats if it

does, I get worried about this as I eneded up in hsopital last year

for 43 days for constipation and I dont want to go there agin they

gave me Pico prep and it sent my stomach an pancreas into spasm and I

ended up on pain pumps epidurals and feeding tubes. It was liek

living hell.

Has anone else got sverely depressed with shingles what have you tane

or what could I take I dont take now?????? I am just at my wits end

I feel liek wanting to sleep my life away and hide. I am so down and

I cant get up again and its so not liek me!!!!!

I just cant see a way out of this

What have others done to fix this ?

Thanks for listening

debs

[Guest guest]

Debs,

I am so sorry to hear about your shingles. I know that they can be very

painful. One person I knew had very successful relief with acupuncture.

Karyn , RN

Founder / Executive Director

http://www.pancassociation.org

Symposium August 28 & 29, 2003

[Guest guest]

> I have got shingles again for the third time. It is as usual on my

neck. It seems to exacerbate the pain and has sen tme into a

deep depression I cant seem to get out of. I have and continue

to suffer sever consitptaion after trying and taking everything.

But I am still in a black hole and I just cant see a way out

anywhere, I am at work and I cant seem to solve anything

I feel liek wanting to sleep my life away and hide. I am so down

and I cant get up again and its so not liek me!!!!!I just cant see a

way out of this. What have others done to fix this ?

debs

Dear Debs,

It has been soooo long since we've talked, I'd been wondering

about you. Why don't you write to me offline again and maybe I

can walk you through this? Shingles is not one of my afflictions,

thank heavens, but I understand the rash can be excruitiatingly

annoying and painful and my heart goes out to you. Yikes! I read

up on shingles and see that the depression is all part of the

ailment, so don't think you're crazy to be feeling that way. I wish I

could help.

I know that constipation thing gets you anxious too, after what

happened last year. Have you tried Miralax? You mentioned

something like it on the list of things you'd been taking, but I

wasn't sure if Microlax enemas was similar. The Miralax is a

tasteless powder that you mix into 8 ounces of juice or water or

tea, and it works very well for me. It's only available by

prescription. The narcotics affect me that way, too, and then I

learned at my colonoscopy that I've got a " long, redundent,

convaluted (s.p.)....ahhh, twisted colon " (whatever that means),

and this abnormalty seems to make progression of feces

material slow and difficult (sorry guys...sometimes there's no

delicate way to say this stuff..lol). So taking the Miralax every day

if I'm on narcotics really helps. I also make sure that I'm drinking

LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER. The water is necessary to add

moisture into the colon and helps keep everything flowing

smoothly....haha! I had tried the senna, stool softeners, fiber

supplements, and ducolax before, and NONE of those were

doing a bit of good. It was a blessing and a relief to finally start

taking the Miralax regularly and have it work every day. It took

about three days to work when I first started the product, but daily

use has made all the difference in the world! Okay, now the

commercial is over!

Anyhow, I'm sorry to hear that you're hurting again and the

depression is getting you down. See if you doctor can prescribe

the Miralax, and keep taking that medication that helps you with

the depression, or maybe he could suggest something else.

We all know how hard this can set you back. Get well, and keep

in touch, and remember to drink lots of water.

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

Regional Rep.

PAI, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and

should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.

[Guest guest]

Debs, there are many more antidepressants you could try...and I don't

think they have constipation as a side effect. If your constipation

is this severe you do not need to be on the nortriptyline...and don't

let them put you on Elavil as it is a sister drug called amitriptyline

....and you should shy away from the other drugs in that same class...

Elavil caused me to be unable to empty my bladder which is a serious

side effect so now I am not to take any of those drugs either.

There are so many newer and better drugs available...tell your doctor

you cannot deal with this constipation any longer...or have you not

told him/her just how bad it is?

Good luck...Jeannine

[Guest guest]

hi Jeannine

I have tried both nortyrptiline and elavil.

Yes I have told the doctor how sever the constipation is . I ended up

in hospital form taking pico prep to try an help an dit sent me into

spasm, pca feeding tube epidural etc and 43 days later . So i dont

want to go there again

I dont think that the docs knwo what its liek if they havent

experienced this. I mean I have tired everything and continue to.Its

just a constant battle

But I do know that if you leva it for a long time liek I did not

knowing the side affects it gets impacted and then you are in deep

trouble

thanks

debs

> Debs, there are many more antidepressants you could try...and I

don't

> think they have constipation as a side effect. If your

constipation

> is this severe you do not need to be on the nortriptyline...and

don't

> let them put you on Elavil as it is a sister drug called

amitriptyline

> ...and you should shy away from the other drugs in that same

class...

> Elavil caused me to be unable to empty my bladder which is a

serious

> side effect so now I am not to take any of those drugs either.

>

> There are so many newer and better drugs available...tell your

doctor

> you cannot deal with this constipation any longer...or have you not

> told him/her just how bad it is?

>

> Good luck...Jeannine