
It all started two weeks ago Saturday. I had a small bump by my left eye which was a bit sore. I first noticed it in the theater while watching "The Crazies". I checked it out when I got home but didn't think much of it. It got a bit worse on Sunday and on Monday morning I went to the doctor to get it looked at, thinking it might be some sort of stye or something. The PA looked at it for about 3 seconds and said it was "an infection" and gave me some antibiotic drops and told me to come back if it got worse. By Wednesday my eye was nearly swollen shut and had some nasty pus coming out of it, not to mention I had a headache that felt like somebody was driving a 20 penny nail through my skull with a ball peen hammer. The PA looked at it again and referred me to an eye doctor. The eye doc poked and prodded for about 5 mins and then said it was still "an infection" and gave me an oral anti-biotic commonly used for sinus infections. Again I was told to come back if it got worse. On Thursday it was worse. Not only was my eye nearly glued shut with the nasty pus when I woke up, the headache was even worse, the whole left side of my head was swollen and the vision in my left eye was hazy like looking through fog. So I went back to the eye doctor. He did some tests and decided that the pressure in my left eye was 44 when normal was 15-21. He gave me a bunch of glaucoma drops which brought the pressure down and said that the "angle ducts" in that eye, which allow fluid to drain from the cornea were almost shut and a eye surgeon would have to zap them with a laser to open them up and allow the fluid to drain properly. I go to the specialist that afternoon and after nearly a 90 minute wait in their shabby waiting room got in to see the doctor. The specialist looked at it for about two seconds and pronounced that I had shingles. Or as he said it, “herpes”, which gave me some pause. He explained that shingles is related to the herpes virus and chicken pox. I had always thought that shingles was something that old people got and certainly didn’t expect it at the relatively spry young age of 43. Apparently, if you have had the chicken pox, the virus lies dormant and can return as shingles at some inopportune time, frequently following a time of stress. As I just got back from a month in Haiti and the Dominican Republic providing security for convoy operations I guess I was a prime candidate. The doc prescribed three different types of drops and another type of anti-biotic which I have to follow for two weeks. The medicines have cleared up virtually all the symptoms but a side-effect of one of the drops, Atropine 1%, is a dilated pupil with accompanying blurred vision and light sensitivity. As I am a Federal LEO this means I cannot drive my government vehicle or carry a firearm so I have been on sick leave for a week with a week left in the cycle. Not a bad deal since it is March Madness and I have been able to catch most of the tournament, but it still sucks to be sitting home with blurry vision. At least I didn't have to get zapped in the eye with a laser (again...., I had Lasik in 2003).
If you have not had shingles, I gotta say it is not something to look forward to. While the last week and a half has been a drag I suppose I am fortunate that I got this out of the way while I am still young. Though this will give me one less thing to talk about when I am old and sitting around the Hardee’s drinking AARP subsidized coffee with all the other retirees.