Last week, I went to the doctor’s office to check out a few bug bites on my left upper back and chest thst burned, ached, and led to muscle cramps. Two weeks ago I got red marks on those spots that I believed were from a nasty bug bite, like a spider bite or even worse, ticks. They looked like bites I’ve never had before and nothing like the bedbug bites I had when living in NYC. (there was an outbreak of it and people threw out mattresses on the street, which didn’t solve the problem. It only exacerbated it.)
But then the muscle pain and fatigue worsened as the week progressed. This led to frequent applying of muscle pain reliever patches and taking Tylenol to help sith pain relief.
I feared that this might be a tumor development in my breast and counted down the days to see the doctor, with the fastest appointment being one week away. The week was spent wondering what was going on with my body.
Before doing the breast examination I showed the doctor the bites to see if there was a special cream for them. Immediately, she said they showed similarities to the shingles’ skin blisters. I laughed! It didn’t even cross my mind. I had no idea they could’ve been shingles even though Chris has had shingles before. I thought it could’ve been ticks, so I was trying to pick off the scabs during the week. Oy!!!
I’m still taking antibiotics and some pain med and I should be finished with them this week. Stress is one heck of a health liability. Stress about my parent’s constant health issues and helping Elliot with his accelerated World History summer class must’ve wrecked my immune system. My body was protesting!
Thankfully, my shingles wasn’t as terrible as I had heard from other people’s experiences with it. I wasn’t bedridden for days or have a fever.
I’m just relieved it wasn’t anything more severe. Thankful and blessed. Looking forward to no muscle aches and pains soon.
17 responses to “Mistook bug bites for shingles”
Eeeks! I am so sorry. Hope you recover quickly.
Thank you, CIndy! I’m all better now and so thankful it’s behind me.
Oh that’s not good. But as you say with the amount of stress you have been under, it is not that surprising. Shingles linger on for a while… well after the blisters have healed. So that it slowly.
I was shocked to hear that it was shingles! I thought they were painful bug bites. I’m all better now and free from the blisters. Had to do laundry separately for a couple of weeks.
So glad it wasn’t worse than it was. Thankful for that.
Wow – I’ve never had shingles, but my neighbor/friend Marge had them on her scalp and face. I thought you could only get them at the waistline and trunk area, so that was news to me. She had some issues with her eyes afterward. I have had the Shingles two-part shot because I know just how painful they can be. I just looked and the shingles vaccine is recommended after age 50 – when you reach that age, you should definitely get it.
Getting shingles on the scalp and face is dangerous! If it’s close to the eyes, it can lead to blindness. Maybe that’s what caused her eye issues. Geesh. So may things that can go wrong.
I’ll be getting the vaccine when I can!
Yes, shingles on Marge’s scalp and face was not good. She developed retinal neuropathy from shingles and she could not see properly out of her one eye that was affected the rest of her life. She used to dye her hair light brown and the doctor told her that she couldn’t use any dye products on her scalp until the shingles blisters/scabs had healed. That took a long time as well. Yes get the vaccine and get the new/improved two-part vaccine which is better. I had an earlier shingles vaccine, but they improved on it, so I got that one.
I’m glad it wasn’t any worse for you. My mother had quite a severe case, although it eventually healed. Because of her experience, I got the vaccination years ago. At that time, only one shot was offered; today, it’s a two-shot series, and apparently it’s quite effective.
It’s great you got the vaccination early! Best to take preventative care. Chris got the shingles vaccine last year and he hasn’t had another outbreak, thankfully. I’m so glad it didnt get me bedridden and I was still going about my daily life albeit the muscle aches and pains.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear you are dealing with that! I’m glad it wasn’t anything more severe and I hope you’re back to 100% assp! 💕
Thank you! I’m back to being my healthy self now. I was thankful that it wasnt anything worse and the symptoms would subside with antibiotics.
🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
I’m glad you case turned out to be relatively mild. Several years ago, I, too, mistook shingles for bug bites.
It’s so easy to mistake the shingles for bug bites. So it wasnt just me! Thanks for the affirmation.
I’m so happy that that healt drama is behind me. Thankful!!
Hurray for saying goodbye to the shingles!!
So thankful that it was something manageable with antibiotics.
Thank you! The antibiotics did a number on my tummy too, but I can look back on this and be grateful that it wasn’t anything worse.