It is not unusual for shingles to come blundering in when myeloma patients have a stem cell transplant. In fact, it would probably be easier to count the number of myeloma patients who have not had shingles than to count those who have. Shingles is a one-word description for "agonising shite". I've never had them but those who have been through it, tell me that the pain is something that they would not wish on even their worst enemy.
Denise is going through the shingles experience...again. The pain is debilitating and from what I can tell, barely bearable. At this point she is through the worst of the pain, thanks to Lyrica, some pretty heavy-duty dope. The lyrica side effects, which incidentally, we saw last night and this morning, remind me of some weirdness I experienced back in the early 70s.
D as expected, is on a downer. That said, she is sleeping easily today and her condition is improving slowly. I have seen enough of this bloody thing called shingles to never want to experience them first- hand.
