Adults over age 60 who get the shot half as likely to develop painful condition
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comShingles vaccine sharply cuts rate, study finds
Seeded on Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:19 PM EST (msnbc.com)
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I wonder if you can get the shot and it will work if you have already had an out break of shingles or does it only work if you have never had shingles?
My doc says no, but the subject never came up until AFTER I SUFFERED through this horrible disease.
He should have encouraged the vaccination earlier, and I don't intend to let him forget that.
Do you suppose my insurance company had anything to do with that?????
Big Pharma should have a saying like APPLE does. Instead of "we have an App for that" it would be "we have a vac for that".
Stop the drug pushing insanity. Big pharma is NOT your friend.
Get informed, get healthy.
I could be wrong, but I thought this article suggested that it wasnt available yet - its in the testing stages. bicfj - im thinking your doctor couldnt help you anyway.
Im only 31 - and couldnt get this vaccine (based on this article saying it was for over 60) and got shingles this fall. It was horrific, and thankfully I saw a doctor before it got too bad, so that the medicine could kick in.
For the first week, it was painful - but tolerable. I would compare the pain level to migraines - annoying, and at times I couldnt do certain things because of how it felt, but overall, I could deal with it. Then, the day I saw the doctor, later that night, the pain went from awful to horrendous. I couldnt sit, stand, lay down, move, stay still...it was probably the worst pain ive ever experienced in my life.
I cried myself to sleep after downing 2 vicodin.
Thankfully after about 2-3 days of awful pain, the meds kicked in and all that im left with is scarring from the blisters.
I would not wish this on my worst enemies.
At my age, this isnt common - but I had recently had a tumor removed from my breast, and with breast cancer in my family, I was extremely stressed out waiting for the results...and that stress, coupled with my weakend immune system was the perfect combination for shingles.
My dermatologist is recommending vaccination after an outbreak, but wants a year to pass from outbreak.
Patrick-1112710...."Get informed, get healthy."
Unfortunately, I had chicken pox at a young age and have remained healthy. Last year, I was diagnosed with shingles, which was just about as bad as when I passed a kidney stone. It does not matter if you stay healthy....if you had chicken pox, your chances of getting shingles is elevated.
My doctor recommended that I get the Shingles shot, which has been on back order for months and am now on a waiting list.
Thanks Ido; saved me the trouble of telling the "get informed" crowd who think how "evil" vaccinations.
I had chicken pox ( no vaccine then) & got the shot as soon as it came out. Made hubby do so too. Of course, insurance didn't pay for it; they don't want to pay for ANYTHING they can get away with not paying for.
Suggestion for Patrick #1.22: Get "informed" on Polio BEFORE THE VACCINES WERE FOUND. It was the AIDS of the generations before the mid-1950's.
My Doctor recommended the shingles vaccine for me. The problem is that it is not available. Neither my doctor (a major multi practicioner office) nor local pharmacies have the vaccine in the Grand Rapids,MI. area..
I'd head up to Detroit if I were you. Shingles is extraordinarily painful. Unfortunately the article does not tell you if all those who had chicken pox will be suseptible to shingles as adults. Makes me worry about myself.
Yes, everyone who has had chicken pox is at risk to get shingles. They are not guaranteed to get shingles, but it is a risk factor. I definitely want to get the shingles vaccine, I had a horrible case of chicken pox. My parents counted 200 pox (those little bumps) on each shoulder. I still remember how maddening that was!
If you had Chicken Pox you don't need the vaccine. You have already been exposed to the antigens that are supposed to elicit the antibodies to protect you (although in the case of Herpes they don't really know if it works because the virus lives in the affected dermatome.
Dear AnOpinion, You are WRONG about if you've had chicken pox, you don't need the vaccine. BECAUSE you've had chicken pox, your chances of getting shingles increases. As a matter of fact, you MUST have had chicken pox to even get shingles as the virus lies dormant in the spinal ganglia waiting for an opportunity to rise up and bite you. I would advise anyone 60 or over to GET THE VACCINE and protect yourself as much as you can from this VERY PAINFUL affliction.
Try Keystone Pharmacy on Cascade Road. I got mine there last week. They bill your insurance for you.
My Doctor recommended the shingles vaccine for me. The problem is that it is not available. Neither my doctor (a major multi practicioner office) nor local pharmacies have the vaccine in the Grand Rapids,MI. area..
I got the vaccine 3 years ago. Everything has been fine and I am hoping for the best. I have heard the stories from friends and hope to avoid the experience.
I have had shingles and it is very painful But most insurance Co will not cover the Vacine until you are 60 years of age. That means I will have to wait 5 years before I can get it.
Well that's no good. How much does the vaccine cost out of pocket?
The article said $200 without insurance. Having had shingles, Id say thats a worthy investment if it prevents you from getting shingles.
From what I read, if you get shingles once - the odds of getting it again are slim. So, if you've had it already...I probably wouldnt waste my money on the vaccine.
Not so. I;ve had it three times in the last 20 years.
After seeing both my grandfather and my mother suffer from shingles, my husband and I both got the vaccine in 2009. We were on a waiting list for several months before it became available. I have heard from a friend that if you have had shingles that the vaccine will not help, but I haven't asked a doctor about that. My brother developed shingles after we had gotten our shots and it made me wonder if people are genetically predisposed to developing shingles (three generations in my family) or if it is simply the fact that all of us had chickenpox.
$200 a jab, and 71 vaccinations will prevent one case of shingles, on the average.
Doing the math, we can prevent one case of shingles for $14,200. And no one knows how often it should be repeated, because we don't know how long the vaccine is effective in a person (for half the patients, it is not effective at all - too bad there is no test to determine for whom it will work, and for whom it is a waste of money.)
They don't do studies on things like that. There's no money in it.
I had a friend who called me one day and said her doc had diagnosed shingles. I told her that shingles is, as I have seen it described, exquisitely painful. She said that hers didn't hurt, but rather itched a bit. I told her she needed to get some decent pain meds, but she insisted that she was fine.
Two days later she called and begged me to shoot her. Shingles is a horrible, horrible disease.
when I saw my doctor, my pain level was on the lower end - annoying but tolerable. She asked if I wanted pain meds and I said "no, I should be fine"
That night, HORRENDOUS pain. Thankfully, I still had vicodin from my surgery a few weeks prior. Couldnt have made it through without that. Pain is no joke, sometimes serious meds are needed!
I got it on my inner thigh, because I trusted a vaccine. I know how horrible it was; luckily I was a kid of twenty when I got it. NO MORE VACCINES!
I contacted my Medicare Part D carrier about a shingles vaccination and was told it has been on back order since September.
I paid $210.00 out of pocket last year at a Safeway pharmacy. I could not understand the lunacy of not protecting yourself if something is available. The cost to the Health care system of treating someone after the fact is just plain foolish. So many of my friends and relatives have suffered for months with this Virus. The shot should be made available to all Medicare reciprients.
The lunacy is the side affects. You don't always find out about those until later.
Everyone I know who has had shingles is in their 40's and 50's. It's a shame insurance would rather pay for the treatment instead of the prevention. We have got to change this attitude.
Same here.
I can already here the antivaxors(sic) coming up with conspiracy theories and made up side effects ....
Which theories and side affects are you referring to?
Had mine as soon as I turned 60 and glad I did. My PCP had to special order it for me but there was not much of a lag time getting it. My co-worker came down with it. She said if she had been aware of it, she would have gotten the shot rather than come down with the shingles. My manager actually had to stay home several days when he came down with it (in his 50's and a 24/7 kind of guy)!
Money well spent, in my opinion. Anyone that has had shingles and the post herpetic neuralgia associated with it would spend ten times the amount to be rid of the pain they suffer with long after the symptoms have resolved.
I have had shingles several times. The first occurred in my early twenties. Last year sister had a severe case and has been trying to recover ever since. She fired the nerves in her foot and as they contracted, they calcified. She now has hammer-toes. It's horrible if not caught in the early stages. I was lucky.
I got Shingles from the vaccine they gave me in my inner thigh, (the vesicles actually appeared there so I know the vaccine caused it). If you have had Shingles the vaccine is a waste of money. Once you have had shingles you will always have it in your nerve fibers. Keep up your strength, exercise and eat properly so you never give it a chance to come back. I will never take another vaccine!
AnOpinion,
I think ThereAllTheSame is talking about you...
I received a vaccine and within one week developed a very bad case of shingles, having never suffered before. A coincidence? Maybe. I can testify that shingles is extremely painful. If the vaccines works for over 90% of the at risk population, its a good thing. For the small minority like myself who may contract it, oh well, that's life.
How small is the minority who may contract it without the vaccine?
Does anyone know......if you've already had shingles outbreaks, does the vaccine do any good?
Like chickenpox or any other virus, once you've had it, you should not contact it again, but better check with your doctor to be sure.
My wife had shingles at about 53 and after she saw me suffer, she got the vaccine. She said why not, I sure don't want to take a chance on having them again. Our insurance paid for it. BTW, she had been trying to get me to have the vaccine for months, but there was none available.
Get vaccinated if you are 60 or older! Shingles is the single worst and most painful malady I ever had in my whole life.
Ever had diverticulitis?
Cost of the vaccination is now about $40.
I requested the shingles vaccine from my Dr. in Florida and he said it wasn't necessary....I'm over 60...and was too expensive, and Medicare didn't pay for it.
To make a long story short, I contracted Shingles this past summer in NC. It was very painful and required that I take an anti viral medication to shorten the duration and prevent ongoing problems after the disease had cleared. The cost of that was more than the cost of the shot, and of course, Medicare paid. Go figure!
If you're over 60 insist on the vaccine and gladly pay the cost. You won't be sorry...as Sherzie said...it's a painful disease...feels like you're being stung by bees over and over and it never lets up.
I have had shingles off and on for years. I got the vaccine about 3 years ago which cost me over $200.00 out of my pocket along with having insurance. I have had 2-3 outbreaks since the injection along with several twinges of them wanting to outbtreak but never did fully. I highly recommend the injection at any cost, because it certainly does help, although it may not stop them entirely from erupting.
Do not trust Shingles Vaccine!
I received a Shingles vaccine in 1964 for a misdiagnosed case of Herpes Zoster; it turned out I didn't have it. I underwent 5 painful injections in the inner thighs of both legs for five days. Nothing happened; but five years later when my immune system was down from school exams and working round the clock, I got Herpes Zoster... right on my left inner thigh! It was the most painful experience of my life. The vaccine they gave me was supposed to be "dead", but it wasn't. They don't know what a dead virus is! Forget about vaccines, keep your immune system strong and work out... that's the way to good health.
there was no shingles vaccine in 1964. the present vacination is a one time, painless shot. i got mine at a drug store when i presented a presciption from my doctor
There was a vaccine in 1964 and it was supposed to be dead, but as I found out it wasn't
I agree with your comment on a strong immune system, but I think they're right, the vaccine they are discussing here came out recently. Are you talking about something else?
AnOpinion, Whatever vaccine you received was NOT the shingles vaccine, as it wasn't available until 2006.
I currently (4 months) have shingles, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm wait to take the shot and will be paying $200.00 for it. However for me a small cost if never get it again....
Once you have Shingles it remains in the nerve track for the rest of your life. The only way to prevent a recurrence is to keep your immune system strong, exercise, and eat right.
I had shingles when I was 13 years old for some weird reason. It wasn't the most painful thing in the world...but I haven't had it since (I'm 26 now) and I don't do anything special to prevent it. Just be healthy in general.
I had shingles in 2002 and was very sick for a long time. I got relapses often,especially when under stress. I got the vaccination oct.2009 and have been incident free since...a winner to me! I did not see in the article whether it was suppossed to help those who had already had shingles.
Shingles is related to Chicken Pox; if you had chicken pox you are probably already immunized against Shingles (at least that's what they think); or you may even be more prone to shingles; nobody knows for sure! Keep up your immune system by eating right and exercise. Don't over do it, when you do too much you give the virus a chance to invade your body's defenses. I know this because I had Shingles in 1964 and have never had a recurrence. Keeping fit is the ticket!
That's what we were told when I was a kid. If you didn't get chicken pox, it was a bad thing because "when" you got shingles as an adult, it was awful. A strong immune system is important whether you take vaccines or not. Read up on vitamin D.
Talk about misinformation. Check your facts people.
If you are eligable...JUST GET THE SHOT!!! before you go crazy with the pain
I'm over 60 and I got mine! My PCP special ordered it and had it in no time. I have seen my mother suffer with shingles several times over the years. If you can get it I would encourage you to do it.