I’ve been missing in action for 4 1/2 months and I apologize. As many of you know, I had Shingles (Herpes Zoster virus) in February. But unlike most people, when the Shingles were gone, things did NOT return to normal. I was afflicted with the dreaded Postherpetic Neuralgia.

“Postherpetic neuralgia is a debilitating complication of Herpes Zoster…It is not uncommon for the pain of PHN to interfere with sleep and recreational activities and to be associated with clinical depression.”

This has been a very difficult time for me. I have had a lot of medical issues in the past year but I always knew they would resolve. The problem with this one is the chronic pain and the fact that there’s no real effective treatment nor can anyone say how long it will last – “it lasts six months to years” is what I’ve been told. If I knew it was going to be six months, I could make it through better. Thinking this might go on for years is a devastating thought. I’ve had multiple treatments and the only one that seems to be helping is Gabapentin and I’m having to take very high doses (with attendant side effects) to even begin to help.

People don’t understand the degree of pain. There’s no blood pouring out or broken bones and they just don’t know why I haven’t gotten over it. That’s very hard to accept. That people think I’m a wimp. Maybe I am but…..

So, my days have consisted of simply getting up, going to work, trying to make it through work and coming home and crashing. I have not posted here because I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything other than trying to mitigate the pain. I also feel that I should be able to conquer this since I believe so strongly in the power of the  mind. I know my body and my emotions are trying to tell me something. I just have not been able to figure out what that is. And I do not want to be a hypocrite and post here until I can better practice what I preach.

I have started a blog called Living With PostHerpetic Neuralgia which is where I am chronicling this journey. I am trying not to make it whiny.

I will attempt to post here again and get back into some form of routine again.

Thanks for being patient.

Terrie