Community Chat

[NanciJ]

My husband and I had our shingles shots this spring....after he came down with shingles.  He's 70 and I am 65.  We definitely regret that we had not had them previously.  He was really ill, and had shingles in his right eye, and in his head...which is one of the worst places that you can get them with nerve pain.  He only recently stopped the nerve pain meds, to treat the long lasting results of the shingles.  Our daughter in law's sister had shingles at 42....which is the youngest of anyone that I know personally.   

[CLHS68]

My doctor wanted me to get the shot but no one here will give it to you until you are on Medicare. Other insurance won't cover and they are expensive.

[Burnsite]

Hi, cherry, My insurance recommended it (and covered it fully) at 55 or 60, I think.

[quilter61]

I got the vaccine last summer.  My doctor recommeded it, I was 60.  I usually don't get vaccines, but have seen people suffer and did not want to go through the same thing.   My insurance covered the shot, in fact they reccomend it as a preventive.   Check with your insurance company, I think more are starting to cover this vaccine.   

My doctor's office did not carry it.   I had it done at a pharmacy.   I called my insurance company, because they would only pay for it at certain pharmacies.   I did end up with a rash at the injection site.   If that was an example of what shingles is like, glad I got the shot.

[panda1234]

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@NickNack1 wrote:

I saw something on WebMD the other day that said you should get one when you're 50.  I'll be 59 this month, and no one has ever mentioned that I should get one.  I thought I would ask my doctor about it at my next check up.  I remember when my grandmother had shingles.  It was just awful.

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Insurance will not pay unless you are 60 years old.

[gramygram]

I got shingles last October and now I have gotten the recurring nerve pain. I'm 51 and I did not know about a vaccine but I say if you can afford it and can get you should because I do not know wish this kind of pain on anyone. It's disabling. Cherry hope your husband does not have to through it again.

[LexPex]

My doctor says age 60 for anyone that has had chicken pox.  My DH and I both had a shot last year

[Tenners]

I had shingles earlier this year and they lasted for 4 months. I thought the pain would never go away. I did not get the shot. I don't know if that would have made a difference. My boss said his wife got the shot and immediately got shingles. My doctor wants me to get the shot but I'm going on vacation soon and don't want to chance it. He said I should get it after it goes away. I don't really feel comfortable getting it. I know I can get shingles again. I think I'll take my chances unrtil I get back from vacation. Come to think of it I have a lot planned between now and the end of the year. I have a lot of time to think about it.

[wonderfulworld]

I just had a conversation about this with the gal at the pharmacy. She said that the FDA is considering dropping the age for the vaccine to 30 from 60 (or 50 some say) because so many more younger people are getting shingles. The theory is that when chicken pox went around you got a 'bump' in your immune system when you were exposed to a kid who had it and that made you more resistent to Shingles.. Now no one gets chicken pox and that makes adults more susceptible to Shingles if they had chicken pox as a child.

I have no way of knowing if her info is correct, of course.

[JustJazzmom]

The chickenpox virus is a Herpes zoster virus and after you have it, it goes dormant in your body's nerve tissues and sits there for years. Many things can trigger shingles such as stress or your immune system is not as efficient as it was when you were younger and the virus reactivates itself when you are older.

People who have an active case of shingles should stay away from those who have not been vaccinated against chickenpox or had the disease because if that person comes in contact with your shingles (the blisters), that person can come down with chickenpox.