[Magdalen] shingles update and tentative alleluia

[Jay Weigel]

I saw my doctor yesterday finally and we had a chat about my post-herpetic
neuralgia. I had just had three miserable nights in a row of pretty much
being unable to sleep because of unbearable itching, followed by days of
headache, itching, irritability, and depression. She prescribed me
gabapentin and some pain medication, with some parameters that were fairly
fluid. She knows my background, knows I've done my research, and trusts me
not to abuse my meds. I had other business to do in town, so I didn't take
anything until I got home and had supper. I slept for the first time in
days, getting up once to use the bathroom, and finally woke up up around 10
this morning. Did my usual body check that I do every morning and realized
I wasn't itching to death and said right out loud, "It's a freaking
miracle!" I did take a gabapentin this morning and realized after a few
hours that I might not want to make a habit of that as I was experiencing a
rather odd side effect--my feet did not appear to be connected to the rest
of me. Oh, they worked, and I could feel them, but somehow they weren't
quite connected. It's rather difficult to explain. So there may need to be
some adjustments. Still, I'm not itching as badly, so there's hope! And I
will get my shingles vaccine when I have my next office visit in October.