Shingle Bells

So, Tuesday my left breast was killing me - and the pain was radiating to my back. It was odd. And then a horrible rash broke out on my breast. I thought I'd wait a day or so in case it was just an allergic reaction to something (although I couldn't quite fathom what on earth my left breast had gotten into). When it persisted, it occurred to me that I could have shingles. My father had shingles when I was a teenager. It was an odd kind of pain - it didn't itch but felt like daggers in my chest and back. My back also spasmed and would jolt me out of bed. It felt viral, if that makes any sense, and not topical.

After consulting Doctor Google, I realized that if I indeed had shingles, it needed to be treated within 48 hours of the first outbreak. I began to panic. 48 hours from the outbreak was the night I was reading the information - at 11 PM. My post-op appointment was the next morning, and I thought maybe Doctor Superman could take a look at it.

Of course, Doctor Superman does not treat skin disorders and calmly told me he couldn't treat something that's not his area and didn't want to steer me in the wrong direction. Always the professional. He sent me upstairs for a consult with a dermatologist. Due to Doctor Superman's persistence, they agreed to see me today. Thank goodness - because I do have shingles and am now on the proper medication for it. Hopefully it should clear up in seven to 10 days. But I have to tell you, it hurts like a mother. When I asked the resident who was assisting the treating physician if I should tell people I work with to stay away from me if they haven't had chickenpox (shingles is the same virus as chickenpox and if an adult hasn't had chicken pox it's highly contagious - and worse for an adult to contract than a child - according to my mother) she looked at me like I'd lost my mind and told me that I shouldn't be at work, AT ALL. I was stunned. I'd already lost a WEEK of work due to the surgery. I have deadlines. I have discovery requests. I have a hearing approaching. I am essentially still working two jobs while they find a replacement for my old position (and P.S., shingles can be brought on by stress-interesting, no?). It's crazy. Anyway, the treating physician said that he would recommend missing Friday and Monday and to call if it looked like there was no improvement - it should cease being contagious at that point and I should feel better.

Anyway, back to the land of infertility: Doctor Superman said that everything looks good. The tubes are cleared and he removed the scar tissue from my uterus. And a polyp. He had me look at the incisions after he removed the bandages - I was astonished at how tiny they were. And because of there location, I'll likely barely notice them once they are completely healed. And yes, this is what everyone was telling me before the surgery.

So, at this point, he basically told me that we could go ahead on our own or go forward with the IUI. He said that because of my age, only 35 (I love this man), he feels comfortable in us going forward naturally. If no dice in the next couple of months, IUI. I told him I'd discuss with the husband. Also, he again reiterated that the moment I get a positive test I must contact him and he'll throw everything in his arsenal at me, including heparin. I'm so relieved - because otherwise, it's just doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting a different result. I' m a little disappointed, in a way, that he didn't want to march right into the IUI but it certainly makes things easier not doing one. We'll see.

And really, I'm normally a pretty healthy person. And not so whiny about pain. Normally. Really.