Originally Posted by
ColonelJLloyd
I had shingles this past May at age 39. Apparently it can arise from stress or physical exertion. Certainly I was stressed at that time and I had done a couple metric centuries in the days preceding the flare up. It felt like someone had hit me in the ribs/back with a bat. I was pretty ignorant of shingles and began to worry that maybe there was a problem with a kidney or I had fallen or walked into a wall at speed and not remembered it (not a pleasant thought). It took my doc just a few minutes to diagnose the shingles during a telehealth appointment and the antiviral drugs worked pretty quickly in my case. After reading more about it and talking with others I feel really fortunate my case wasn't longer lasting or more intense and was on my back/side and not my scalp/face.
Anyhow, my doc told me to get the shingles vaccine after about six months though she said it pretty casually and did not mention it at a general appointment I had last month. After my case I talked to several friends a good bit older than me who said they've tried to get the vaccine on several occasions and the pharmacy never has it. I'm trying to keep my stress in check.
You have checked with your insurance provider and they confirmed they don't cover the vaccine? It's my understanding that having shingles changes the recommendations for the vaccine so I would be interested to know if your doctor, knowing your history, has told you you're too young or otherwise not a candidate.