Persistent Fatigue and Shingles in Elderly: Seeking Medical Advice

Question
my mother had two out bursts of shingles in two months. since then she ended up in the hospital 3 times. tiredness and dehydration. has had blood work done a week ago and everything was okay. all she does is sleep. she gets up to eat meals and is exhausted. eating very little. blood pressure fine. pulse ox fine. i am stumped. please help. barb

Answer
Hi Barb and thanks for writing,

Most people are often surprised by how ill they feel with Shingles; it may seem out of proportion with the extent of the skin involved. There is a general feeling of debility and exhaustion, usually with aches and pains and occasionally a mild fever. Depression can be a common feature of Shingles, as with many other viruses. You may need weeks to recover.

I have had Shingles several times and know personally how debilitating it can be; the first time I was only 26 and ended up in hospital for three weeks (mind you that was mostly because the doctors misdiagnosed me as having a Staph infection and pumped millions of units of Penicillin into me).

I always suggest people go to a Health Food Store and get some Lysine; I took it daily for three months after my 6th outbreak and have never had another outbreak so essentially consider myself cured.

I hope this helps, all my best,

Margot