General RFK Jr. says agency will reveal causes of autism in September

[Eric]

Had my neurologist appointment today. He told me, essentially, “hey, dummy. you already had shingles. I don’t care what your doctor said, you shouldn’t have gotten shingrix, and you should wait 10 years before you get another round of it.”

So I won’t get my 2nd shot!

Wow good to know. I also got it a while back.

 

[Citysnaps]

Had my neurologist appointment today. He told me, essentially, “hey, dummy. you already had shingles. I don’t care what your doctor said, you shouldn’t have gotten shingrix, and you should wait 10 years before you get another round of it.”

So I won’t get my 2nd shot!

Because you had immunity to shingles (from having had it) and therefore not needing shingrix?

 

[Cmaier]

Because you had immunity to shingles (from having had it) and therefore not needing shingrix?

yep. So my neurologist and my GP disagree. My wife had shingles 3 times in a 5 year period, so when my GP told me to wait 6 months and start the shots, I figured I should (plus I don’t generally put my inferior knowledge above trained medical advice). When doctors disagree, I guess we pick whichever advice makes us happier.

 

[Alli]

We got flu jabs today and have appointments for COVID jabs next week.Yes. Even in Alabama.

 

[cbum]

Because you had immunity to shingles (from having had it) and therefore not needing shingrix?

Shingles is a bit of a special case.
As you probably know, it is due to the reactivation of long dormant chickenpox virus "sleeping" in a bunch of spinal cord neurons (hence the rash pattern often fitting a dermatome (=skin area served by a nerve).
So by definition, you have already been exposed to, and have immunity to, the culprit.
What happens in Shingles is that at some point in later life (or when seriously immunosuppressed), the immunity falls below a threshold, and the virus reactivates. That usually gives you renewed immunity for a variable period, which may be the rest of your life - or not, depending on your immune system.

The point of Shingrix is to boost that immunity without paying the price of a Shingles episode.

Now, you usually do not want to give a vaccine soon after a manifest infection, for Shingles/Chickepox or anything else like Covid etc, because the existing immunity dampens the immunization, so you recommend waiting for a period of time, usually until the humoral (=antibody) immunity wanes, ~ 3-6 months.

Those considerations need adjustment in special circumstances, such as evidence or suspicion of weakened immunity, such as disease, chemotherapy, recurrent bouts of the infection (!) etc, where it may be preferable to vaccinate anyway.

 

[Herdfan]

What happens in Shingles is that at some point in later life (or when seriously immunosuppressed), the immunity falls below a threshold, and the virus reactivates.

What causes it to manifest as Shingles vs just another bout of Chickenpox?

 

[Roller]

What causes it to manifest as Shingles vs just another bout of Chickenpox?

As @cbum noted, it's because the virus lies dormant in nerve cells (specifically dorsal root ganglia just outside the spinal cord and cranial nerves) until it reactivates, which is why the affected areas(s) follow the zones the affected nerve(s) supply. This is different that what happens with chickenpox, where involvement is generalized. So they're like two different diseases with the same organism as the cause.

As far as vaccination after a bout of shingles is concerned, as @cbum also said, it is recommended. The recurrence rate of shingles can be as high as almost 10%, though it varies with the person's immune status (it's higher in immune-compromised individuals and women). As always, though, there may be circumstances that warrant departing from guidance in selected people.

 

[Katbel]

yep. So my neurologist and my GP disagree. My wife had shingles 3 times in a 5 year period, so when my GP told me to wait 6 months and start the shots, I figured I should (plus I don’t generally put my inferior knowledge above trained medical advice). When doctors disagree, I guess we pick whichever advice makes us happier.

I had it 3 times as well and the 2nd and 3rd very close too.
After few months I had Zostavax I got the last one, misdiagnosed too, and because of the late diagnosis I got some neuropathy and so much pain compared to the others !
This is why I didn't wait a bit to do Shingrix, both doses . Knocking wood since 2020 I've been ok.
Being a man (50% chances less) and having had 1 dose over two you should be covered ..
I'm not a doctor and the decision is all yours.
Wishing you the best!

 

[Herdfan]

As far as vaccination after a bout of shingles is concerned, as @cbum also said, it is recommended. The recurrence rate of shingles can be as high as almost 10%, though it varies with the person's immune status (it's higher in immune-compromised individuals and women). As always, though, there may be circumstances that warrant departing from guidance in selected people.

Thanks.

Is there any correlation between how bad you had Chicken Pox and how bad you get Shingles? I remember being so bummed as a kid because Chickenpox usually meant 2 weeks off school, but my infection was so mild I only missed 3 days.

And I am old enough to remember when one kid got it, they would throw a party and get all the kids together so everyone would get it at the same time and have it over with.

 

[cbum]

correlation between how bad you had Chicken Pox and how bad you get Shingles?

Not that I am aware of, but you could assume that if the reason you have a extreme case of CP is in fact a (permanent) immune deficiency, you would be a set up for recurrent shingles.

 

[Roller]

Not that I am aware of, but you could assume that if the reason you have a extreme case of CP is in fact a (permanent) immune deficiency, you would be a set up for recurrent shingles.

You keep beating me to the punch, LOL. I think establishing a correlation would be difficult given that many years often pass between chickenpox and shingles, and it would rely on the adult's imperfect recollection of their childhood experience.

 

[Katbel]

Not that I am aware of, but you could assume that if the reason you have a extreme case of CP is in fact a (permanent) immune deficiency, you would be a set up for recurrent shingles.

Interesting! Of course it’s not easy to remember after many years, but if I’m not wrong, my siblings (boy and girl) had it worse than me and fun fact they never had shingles. How I remember? Well, I was allowed to go play in the garden while they were still in bed. But of course this is anecdotal .

 

[Cmaier]

You keep beating me to the punch, LOL. I think establishing a correlation would be difficult given that many years often pass between chickenpox and shingles, and it would rely on the adult's imperfect recollection of their childhood experience.

I never even had CP that I was aware of, yet I got shingles. Closest I came was rubella as a kid - I’ve still got the old medical records. My kid was vaccinated against CP and never had it, but my wife had shingles several times since we’ve been married, and my only guess is that during one of her shingles outbreaks I caught the virus. I suppose it’s also possible that at some point in my long life I had a case of CP that was so mild that i never noticed any symptoms.

 

[cbum]

I had a case of CP that was so mild that i never noticed any symptoms.

Very common.
Also, remember, if you had been infected by your wife's shingles, you would have developed CP, not shingles... and perhaps you did, without noticing, setting you up for shingles later.

 

[cbum]

my siblings (boy and girl) had it worse than me and fun fact they never had shingles.

Well, one way to look at that is that in fact, the stronger the CP infection, the better the long term protection against Shingles (assuming your immune system is ok) ...