In early May (2?,) 2021 I started to develop a bit of pain at my armpits. A couple of days later, a rash started to develop on my chest. At first, it just seemed to be a bit of a rash. But it was later determined to be Shingles. I went on medication for about 7 days taking valacylovir (otherwise known as Valtrex) to try to minimize the impact of the virus. But there was a lot going on while the shingles was affecting my body. I also ended up having the COVID-19 vaccine on May 12. At the same time shingles was affecting me, I also had a urinary tract infection which was treated with ciprofloxacin. I was having fever and chills. I was very tired, dizzy, nauseous, and having hallucinations with the illnesses and medications.
Weeks later, the shingles rash had cleared up, but there was pain along the nerve paths on my chest and back especially around my left nipple. From what I read, the pain can continue for 3 months or more.
Yesterday, I started to use a vibrating massager on my chest. It did not seem to do much. Then I tried the Dr. Ho's electrical stimulation along the nerve paths from my arm pit to the front of my chest. That actually seemed to help a bit and this morning, the pain was slightly less.
Today (2021/06/03) I went to see a TCM doctor to treat the pain. He was apparently an expert in treating shingles (located at 2368 E. 54th Avenue in Vancouver) but looked to be retired. He seemed very professional and knowledgeable. The doctor proceeded to check my pulse (both wrists) and my tongue. He then went to place thin strips of cotton balls on my back and chest which he then lit on fire on my skin with a butane torch lighter. I think it might be called cotton moxibustion. I was lying down for this process. This process was intended to extract the shingles virus that were still attacking my nerves. The burning process was very painful, but ended up numbing a bit of the pain. After the burning process, he proceeded to use acupuncture needles along my chest and back to extract more of the virus. The acupuncture was stinging, but not too painful - nowhere near as painful as the burning. The needles was on me for about 10 minutes and then removed. The doctor was nice but I had trouble understanding him as he only spoke Cantonese. He only charged me $70 for the treatment (usually $80, but he gave a $10 discount) and then prescribed some TCM that my mother-in-law picked up and prepared for me. It was very bad tasting but hopefully, it will help cure me. I will need to take it for 2 days. The TCM doctor said that for each year of my age, it would take that many equivalent days to be cured of shingles. So in my case, after the treatment, I would have to wait another 49 days to be cured. The doctor said that in the evening, I should take a shower and then use a hair dryer to warm up the nerves in my chest and back. As I write this, it is later in the evening and the pain is coming back but it is a bit more numb than previous days (i.e. slightly less painful). Hopefully, there will be some more improvements and less pain in coming days.
CC
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