Shingles and Crohn's

Well so much for my theory about having a heat rash in my last blog post. Over the weekend I got concerned about the red bumps on the left side of my stomach. I went ahead and decided to call my doctor on his cell phone on Sunday (photo above of what my stomach looked like). Honestly the shingles didn't hurt it just felt more like a bad sunburn (that looked like a wicked case of acne). My doctor brought in some nurses to quiz them on what I had (without them knowing). My doctor told me usually people in their 30's don't get shingles which is why I made for an interesting case study. I asked my doctor if he thought taking Humira could increase my chances of getting shingles. He said it was possible but didn't believe so single I had been on Humira for over 5 years and really haven't had any flare ups since I started Humira (which is true).

I guess the good part was no tests or x rays had to be performed since it was clear what I had. My doctor called in a prescription for Valtrex (3 pills a day for 7 days) to kill off the virus from shingles and then some Prednisone to calm down the inflammation. My appointment with the doctor was at 2:30 yesterday and the prescription was filled quickly so I was able to take one days worth of pills in a couple of hours.

Honestly, shingles through me for a loop. I have been a little stressed at work but never did I think I would actually get shingles. I always see commercials that target people in their 60's and 70's about the shingles shot but never did I think I would actually get it. Right now I have some minor pain but honestly I have been through so much with Crohn's I am pretty prepared for any pain. I am curious to see what progress I make with the medications I was prescribed and hopefully this is only a minor set back.

Red Bumps on Stomach and Feeling Tried

So typically I don't blog unless there is an underlying change in my Crohn's or unless I find an article that I really find interesting that is Crohn's related. Over the past few days I have noticed dark red bumps at my stomach. At first glance they look like acne in a way. The red bumps are right below my left breast and hurt a little bit if I touch it. There is also some on my back as well  At first I was freaking out a little bit when I saw this but did some research and it appears I might have a heat rash (which up until now I never heard of).

In other news recently I have felt tired. Last night I slept for a good 8 1/2 hours and still felt a little tired during the day. I do notice when I have vitamin D I feel better. Also work has been busier and I feel like I don't have as much energy as a I usually have. Tonight I plan to get at least 9 hours of sleep to be ready for the upcoming sleep. As I type this I am laying in bed watching the World Series. The best way I can describe it is some type of cement feeling in your stomach. The pain wasn't as bad today since I slept more. I remember during Thanksgiving I felt like I couldn't even get out of bed and had a similar feeling and slept a couple of hours and felt much better.

Hopefully the red rashes I have are not anything too serious. I plan to go to my regular doctor this week to check it out. Typically it takes time to make an appointment with my dermatologist (and even then I have to wait an hour). I am more concerned about my energy level and the pain. I don't have any loose bowels but how you feel is pretty important in terms of quality of life. Hopefully I will feel better within the next week or so.