Age: 50.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: VARZOS, VARZOS
Symptoms: Drug eruption, Dry skin, Eye pain, Facial pain, Herpes zoster
Clinical narrative: This spontaneous report was received from 50 year old female patient with no pertinent medical history and allergy to amoxicillin, AUGMENTIN concerning herself. On 15-AUG-2012, the patient was vaccinated with ZOSTAVAX, lot reported as: 0422AC; Exp. date 27-MAR-2013 or 2018, (dose not reported0 subcutaneous. Past drug therapy included DIPHTHERIA TOXOID (+) PERTUSSIS ACELLULAR VACCINE (UNSPECIFIED) (+) TE. The patient reported that two days after receiving the vaccine the patient began to have pain in her face, right side, lips to nose to cheek and into eye and forehead. It became progressively worse each day. After two weeks of pain she went to see her doctor. He thought it was a minor reaction to the shot and put her on a 6 day course of prednisone (manufacturer unknown). The patient continued to grow worse. In mid-September the physician sent her for a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed nothing wrong, such as a brain tumor, MS, etc. He suggested that the patient see a neurologist, which she did. He diagnosed Transgeminal Neuralgia. She was quite sure the vaccine caused it, but no doctor would come out and say so. He put her on TEGRETOL, which she could not tolerate, it made her sick. He then switched her to oxcarbazepine, which helped a great deal, but as the dosage built up in her system she developed an allergy to it, and was covered in itchy blister like eruptions which would not go away. She had to see an allergist, who said it was from dry skin-right. The patient then saw a dermatologist who said it resembled a shingles rash, but not 100%. The dermatologist put her on a megadose of prednisone (manufacturer unknown) for 3 weeks and the patient said could not take any other medications, not even for her transgeminal neuralgia, so needless to say she was in tremendous pain. Dermatologist said she was trying to "re-set" the patient's immune system, since "something" had thrown it completely out of whack. The patient asked if the vaccine could have done it. Dermatologist was pretty evasive about it, but did not rule it out. Unfortunately, as soon as the patient finished the prednisone (manufacturer unknown) she broke out in the same rash all over again. Dermatologist had the patient on a two week course of prednisone (manufacturer unknown), trying to quiet this down, but as the patient wrote this she had only two more days of prednisone (manufacturer unknown) left to take at the time of the report, and she was already itching and the skin was starting to peel on her hands and feet, as it did before. Biopsy of the rash and related tests were performed (results not provided). No one seems to know quite what to do with the patient. The patient did not know what her next steps would be, and it was quite frightening to think that she may never know. Living with the pain of transgeminal Neuralgia every day was a nightmare, and it was a nightmare the patient blamed on the MERCK product. This is one of several reports received from the same source (MARRS#1303USA002276). Additional information has been requested.