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my last week has been interesting. last thursday, i began the restoration project on my living room ceiling. in the demolition, i got old, soiled fiberglass insulation all over my arms and head. i also had a nail poke me in the head. nothing seemed to be life-threatening.
over the next couple of days, i began to develop a rash on my head. it got worse on saturday as i spent a lot of time in the sun…hatless. idiot.
my only relief was coming from rubbing aloe into my noggin every hour or so.
on sunday afternoon, i started to get nervous. the rash really started to hurt. and it was spreading. it got on to my eyelid. the pain and stinging was bad. really bad. i kept cleaning it and hoping it would get better. yeah, right.
on monday morning, i woke up with my eye shut. the right side of my head was bright red. but there was more. the right side of my face, where my ear and jaw connect was swollen…like i had the mumps. i couldn’t swallow. it felt like strep throat. the pain in my head was getting out of control. my jaw felt like i had been in a prize fight.
i was finally able to get a doctor’s appointment on tuesday. but not until i followed some rabbit trails on webMD. that website should be blown up. i had my own funeral planned by lunch on tuesday.
within ten seconds of seeing my head, my doctor had a diagnosis. shingles. what?
yup. shingles.
apparently, most people have a dormant chicken pox virus inside of us, left over from our youth…and doctors have no conclusive explanation why it suddenly activates. but it did in my head. (which is pretty unusual because it normally effects the side, back, arms or legs.)
officially, what i have is called herpes zoster. sweet. at least it’s not that kind of herpes. when i read the explanations of symptoms and potential side effects, it’s not pleasant. when the doctor said the pain in the rash is like little razor blades constantly cutting, well…let’s just say he knows what he’s talking about. and the head and ear aches are amazing.
i went to the eye doc today and so far, i don’t have any damage to my cornea. this is great news.
the infection meds i’m on are powerful. the pain meds knock me out. i look like a chipmunk on half my face. my eyelid may droop for a while. we’re hoping there’s not longer lasting nerve damage. sheesh.
the good news? if all goes well, it only takes about 2-3 weeks to get back to normal. and it’s not contagious unless we bump heads. in the meantime, life will go on.
at least i have a legit excuse for being loopy and not getting things done on time.
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