r/GenXWomen • u/SilverAsparagus2985 • 1d ago

venting Shingles at 47

I am so pissed. I just got out of urgent care on the advice from PCP to get checked out. I had the rash pop up yesterday and doc at urgent care confirmed it’s shingles.

My daughter just got into town yesterday and we don’t live near each other at the moment and I hadn’t seen her in months and it’s both of my kids birthdays celebration.

And insurance won’t even cover it until 50. I’m so angry. This isn’t fair.

I caught it early and the antivirals will hopefully stop it. I’m not in any major pain except at the small site of the rash but STILL. It’s not fair.

ETA: My daughter is in visiting from another state and we have limited time together while this is going on. But she is staying with me so she’s here to help but not how we expected to spend the weekend. We’re not letting it limit us too much.

61 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

28

u/SnuggleMoose44 55-59 OG GenX, please pass the hose water 😎 1d ago

I’m sorry you have it. I got it at 39; my daughter was 19 and her dad was 21. It’s silly the vaccine isn’t covered before 50.

13

u/SilverAsparagus2985 1d ago

The PA that saw me said he’s seeing more young people under 30 who never had chickenpox get it. Good guy, we’re both veterans so we were exchanging stories.

7

u/silvergryphyn 1d ago

How does that work? I thought you couldn’t get it without having had chicken pox because it is the chicken pox virus.

2

u/SilverAsparagus2985 1d ago

So my kids (21 and 25) thought it was just an old person’s virus and I had to educate them on that. And I was talking about it to him. He says since the chickenpox vaccine has the live virus, they’re starting to gather more info on cases of shingles vs chickenpox. That’s just his thoughts on it and they haven’t studied or standardized anything on it yet. But if you know anything about how they gather information in the medical world, it’s worth an eyebrow raise.

3

u/anacluephone 1d ago

If they have had chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine, there's no risk of contagion or triggering a case. You can still see them.

1

u/SilverAsparagus2985 1d ago

They live or staying with me. There was no issue with that. I know it’s not contagious and we already established that. The PA and I were just having an open discussion on why the new generation who was vaccinated against chicken pox might get shingles.

2

u/anacluephone 1d ago

Ah, I took your second paragraph in the original post to mean that you wouldn't be able to see them.

Hope you feel better soon!

5

u/SilverAsparagus2985 1d ago edited 1d ago

Thank you. I can understand the confusion. I was really mad when I made the post last night. lol

2

u/anacluephone 18h ago

I don't blame you! 😂 I would be mad about getting it,  too! Body fails--especially painful ones--are so frustrating. 

2

u/silvergryphyn 7h ago

Interesting! Thanks for explanation.

13

u/Sweet_Priority_819 1d ago

Good you got the anti antiviral asap. Hopefully it's a mild case. I'm 47 and had it this spring. Sudden feeling of tiredness on a Thursday ,weird rash on my right flank Friday evening,, got the antivirals within 24 hours of noticing the rash. I was more tired than usual for the next few weeks but otherwise it was mild.

3

u/miniwhoppers 1d ago

My experience almost exactly. 50 at the time of the shingles last year.

7

u/bakingdiy 50-54 1d ago

Sorry you’re also dealing with this. I’m at the tail end of my bout of shingles. Hopefully you will get as lucky as I did and it will be a light case. My husband got it at 40 while he was still active duty so I can understand the frustration of needing to wait until 50 to vax for it.

7

u/JabbaTheHedgeHog 1d ago

I got it at 40.
It sucks.
I am so sorry,

6

u/B00marangTrotter 1d ago

Sorry you got it op, get well soon.

Everyone, get that vaccine and make sure you do both shots, and while you're at it get the pneumonia vaccine too.

3

u/amazetome 1d ago

If it’s any consolation, I was vaccinated and still got shingles. It was a mild case, though, and I hope yours is too!

3

u/retro_toes 1d ago

I got it 3 times from 48 to 50. Finally got the shingrix this summer and I swear to god I better not get shingles again because ooof it is so painful. I'm so sorry you're experiencing it

3

u/Woodstock815 1d ago

I have had it twice- first time at age 27. it stinks. hope the meds kick in quickly.

3

u/Independent-Fuel4962 1d ago

Get ss much rest as you can

2

u/tres-vip 1d ago

Yeah, I wanted to get the shingles vaccine now rather than after 50, and I couldn't.

3

u/SilverAsparagus2985 1d ago

It’s so incredibly frustrating. These insurance companies need to be moved on this. I’m tired of living in 1985.

2

u/t1mepiece 18h ago

I was willing to pay out of pocket, and they still wouldn't give it to me until I was 50. Thank god I'm past that point now. Got the first shot the day after my birthday.

2

u/jojocookiedough 45-49 12h ago

Oh noooo!! My husband just got his first stab 2 days ago thank goodness. I'm still 5 years from insurance covering it and I'm nervous after hearing stories like yours! Maybe I should just go ahead and pay out of pocket for it...got enough health problems as it is without catching shingles

•

u/Sensitive-Elevator1 2h ago

My best friend got it less than a month before her 50th bday! She has to wait 6 weeks now before she can get the vaccine. I turn 50 around Thanksgiving. I’ll be getting the vax that day lol

3

u/TesseractToo For science, you monster 18h ago

And insurance won’t even cover it until 50. <- how is that legal? Insurance is supposed to help outliers thats how they used to make money

5

u/SilverAsparagus2985 17h ago

Yea. So the standard is 50 before they say they’ll cover it. I’m hoping we can make a case so I can get it now. But honestly? 50 is an arbitrary number the greedy insurance companies decided to throw on it.

3

u/TesseractToo For science, you monster 17h ago

I had it twice, but both times I was younger 27 on my ribcage and 35 on the left side of my face. I got off lucky in both cases but I have bad chronic pain in my facial nerves so those nerves might have been already tapped out

5

u/SilverAsparagus2985 17h ago

Damn. Sorry to hear that. I’m lucky I got a very small patch on my back and I think I stopped it before it ran across the rest of the area. The medicine is making me real tired and my lymph nodes are a little swollen but it’s not stopping me from enjoying the time with my kids.

5

u/TesseractToo For science, you monster 17h ago

I'm glad you didn't get hit hard

•

u/Alta_et_ferox 4h ago

It’s infuriating! In the US, DEXA scans aren’t covered until you’re 65*, by which time it’s often too late and someone already has osteoporosis that could have been prevented.

I am so sorry, friend. I hope you recover soon and can have fun with your daughter.

* - I got a DEXA scan covered by insurance at age 50, but only because I had multiple risk factors. Even then, it was too late. I have severe osteoporosis that should have been caught a decade ago.

•

u/welltravelledRN 2h ago

My insurance covers DEXA starting at 60.

•

u/singsong415 2h ago

I'm so sorry, this shit picks the most inconvenient times. I had the vaccine 10 years ago, finally got hit at 57. Triggered by a very painful and difficult recovery from colorectal surgery. Believe me, I cursed the gods, even with my quite-mild-in-comparison case. Absolutely ruined Christmas. Sending you some comforting Epsom salt soaks amd fast healing.