How to Recognize You Have Shingles (Anecdotal)

For me, it started with a muscle strain, vertically along the middle of my spine. Like I'd pulled a muscle.

I'd been doing some odd things recently, like carrying heavy grocery bags over a foot bridge that was so narrow I had to carry one bag in front and one behind. So I didn't think much of it.

The ER doctor said the dormant chickenpox virus hangs out along the middle of your spine. Go figure.

I rolled out my back with rubber balls, kept doing my usual workout and it seemed to improve.

Sleeping Wednesday night, I started to have muscle pain. It felt like it had moved to the right. (The ER doc said Shingles migrates out along the nerves.) When I rolled over, it felt like my skin was tearing.

I assumed I'd gotten a scratch on my back somehow. When I looked at it as best I could on Thursday it was red in a couple places. I put some antibiotic on it which seemed to help and figured it would heal up in a couple days.

That was the first Shingles appearing.

Friday the redness on my back was larger and slightly raised. Redness and bumps also appeared on my chest. I thought this was a stronger atopic dermatitis reaction. It's a condition where rashes can randomly appear. I hadn't had one as pronounced, but again I didn't think it was related to the muscle pain which kept increasing.

I was psyched out because it was Friday and figured the doctor's office wouldn't be able to get me in and also I was still thinking I would start improving. Just that Wednesday, I'd gotten a notice from the local health system about new protocols to help prevent the uptick in Delta variant virus cases.

I really didn't want to go to the ER.

Saturday the pain and redness increased. Here my high tolerance for pain worked against me. I thought about going to the ER but things sort of conspired against that choice and I felt a bit better with a heating pad on my back.

At 6:30 pm, my mom asked to see my back. I said no since I already knew I was definitely having a much stronger skin reaction to something. She suggested it might be Shingles, and I immediately felt she was right. It had never crossed my mind (so I didn't like hearing she'd thought of it before but hadn't mentioned it because she thought I wouldn't listen).

I really didn't want to go the ER on a Saturday night though. My dad would have to drive and night driving isn't great for him and I knew it would really wear him out to be at the ER for 6 hours (and me too). My parents have been a couple times in recent years at night on off-days. It took forever.

Saturday night I had so much pain I don't feel like I slept at all. I'd been taking Advil this whole time for pain but it wasn't doing much.

Sunday morning, I waited for my Dad to get up and then asked him to take me to the ER. The pain was so high it changed my voice, made it higher and harder to talk.

I checked in and described my symptoms. It wasn't long before I was taken back to the triage nurse. I described my symptoms and lifted my shirt to show her my rash. She asked me to stand up because it looked like Shingles and that's contagious. They took my blood pressure which was super high because, guess what?, pain. My pulse oximeter rating was good though.

They whisked me off to a room since I couldn't be in the waiting room. Took 2 hours which is good compared to my past ER experiences. Still, it was a long painful 2 hours because the doctor came, said I had Shingles and that they'd get me 1st doses of an antiviral and a pain reliever but I didn't get those until right when they were ready to kick me out.

Anyway, the moral of the story is you want to start treatment for Shingles as early as possible. I didn't know how it presented. So this anecdote is how it started for me: Muscle strain first that migrated to the right and became painful. Some redness showed up on my back along with the first strong pain. So Thursday would have been the day to seek treatment.

If you are 50 or older, get the Shingles vaccine unless you have a medical reason not to!

Learn more here:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html

Shingles is no joke. Painful, grisly rash that blisters up. Trust me, you want to avoid this.

10 years ago on TTaT: 50% for "50 for 50"

Rainfall

Average total rainfall in July where I live: 5 inches.

July 2021 rainfall total: 17 inches.

Not quite 10 years ago on TTaT, but fitting: The Power of Water, part 1

Heavy Duty Dumpster Truck?

Turns out the official name for the heavy duty dumpster truck the construction crew started using last week to haul out rocks, boulders, & dirt is an articulated hauler. It's a beaut.

The articulated part is because the front can rotate independently from the back.

https://www.volvoce.com/united-states/en-us/products/articulated-haulers/a30g/

And yes, Volvo makes construction equipment. They also made the 2 large excavators they're using.

10 years ago on TTaT: As good as it gets!

6 Pack

Thought I'd roll the dice and check for a 4th of July sale and saw my favorite underwear in a 6 pack with the color selection I like for a great price.

I checked the free shipping threshold price and started searching for the kind my Mom likes since I know she'd like some more too. Emailed her a link to check out and then went back to the sales page with the pack I want.

That's when I saw the only available size: 4.

Ah. Oh well.

16 years ago on TTaT: something I love

Utility Pole

Today the last line got removed and the power company removed 2 of the old utility poles. Doesn't take much to pull those suckers out. Just grab it with the robotic arm, wiggle it some, and then lift. Then 2 guys shoveled dirt into the hole.

I was shooting video and photographs of the process out of an upstairs window.

A 3rd man started walking across the yard towards the house and was looking right at me.

Oh god, why is he coming this way? I was still in my pajamas.

He yelled up, "Hello!"

"Hey," I yelled back.

"Did we do something wrong?"

"No!"

"Because we saw the camera..."

"It's just interesting," I yelled.

"Oh. Thank you," he yelled, not really understanding I don't think but reassured.

"Thank you," I yelled. Heat was pouring in from outside and the sun felt like it was just starting to burn the backs of my hands, so I closed the window and pulled the curtains shut.

I peeked out a few minutes later and they were driving away.

15 years ago on TTaT: #28, ahead of schedule

We Should All Be Millionaires

7. We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you're sick of financial advice that tells you to just stop drinking lattes (I don't drink coffee at all, yo), this book is for you. Rodgers encourages us all to expand to build wealth rather than to contract and scrimp forever.

She acknowledges systemic inequalities but also shows it's possible and vital to overcome them.

Learn more about Million Dollar Decisions, setting Boundaries, Pricing, and Systems.

If you provide any kind of service, I highly recommend this for strategies to quickly level up your income. If you sell products, there's still a lot of useful info, but the path to millionaire is less clear.

Everyone will benefit from reading up on valuing your time and setting boundaries. (E.g., your kids aren't entitled to your attention 24/7. Rodgers, mother of 4, shares a personal example of setting boundaries with her kids.)

13 years ago on TTaT: Just put your lips together and blow

Dismayed

Yesterday I went out for a walk and a lone power company guy was on the street. He was friendly and said hello so I asked him when the power lines were going to get strung on the temporary utility poles.

He said they'd be back today barring weather issues. Thunderstorms were forecast but completely missed us. We didn't even get any rain. The storms may well have hit elsewhere causing outages, but either way, the power company isn't here today.

He did say he knows they are holding up the road work so they're trying to get it done. They will likely be here on Saturday and Monday.

We're 2 months in and my sleep is wrecked, y'all. Insomnia plus loud early, often pre-7 AM work is a terrible combination.

The road crew guys were here to pick up their roller today, banging around early, and also made a gravel pathway to the container that is a TEMPORARY shed. What a fucking waste of time and contribution to noise I did not need. That took them an hour and a half to accomplish!

I heard that the neighbor across the street spoke with the head of the contractors working on the road and temp bridge. If it's who I think it is, this old guy just breezes in once or twice a week, looks around, takes a few photos and leaves. I never get the sense there is a foreman of any kind directing their work.

Anyway, apparently contractor boss thinks the project is going well and that they will be done in OCTOBER.

Mind you, they started this process a couple months early and the permissions from residents whose yards they have overtaken/destroyed parts of run out mid-September. So,  "going well"? Eff you, guy.

I've been watching them work and it's pretty clear there's no single person in charge or directing their efforts. There's a bunch of work they've repeated many times. Not a model of efficiency.

Now I know I don't have a background in construction work. But I did work in film for years doing physical labor, and in charge of crews, where urgency was prized. I prized efficiency because it made things faster and took less effort. Also days were 12 hours long minimum.

I'm just saying if they had a plan that wasn't seat-of-the-pants every day, they could get a lot more done in the 8 or less hours (including lunch) they are here.

I just want them to finish, sooner rather than 4 months later.

My ability to focus is shot from fatigue and noise 5 or 6 days a week which makes it very difficult to work from home.

As you may tell from this rant, I feel at my wit's end with months more to endure. sigh.

10 years ago on TTaT: Blood Rites