Age: 60.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: VARZOS
Symptoms: Herpes zoster oticus, Impaired driving ability, Inflammation, Mastication disorder, Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging
Clinical narrative: This is to report what has happened to me since receiving the Shingles vaccine. I know you have an online form, but I could not figure out some of the questions as I am not a medical professional, and I no longer remember the exact dates. But here goes. I turned 60 on Oct 14, 2008, and at my next routine checkup after that, in early April of 2009, I was given the vaccine. About six months later, in late October of 2009, I developed a right side earache. This has happened before, but this time routine OTC medicines did not work, I went to my doctor's office and was given a prescription for anti bacterial pills, and prescription ear drops. I was told then that if the earache didn't clear up within 4 or 5 days to come back as it might be viral in origin. During the evening of the 3rd day I began to have difficulty closing my right eye. The next morning I noticed I could not properly control chewing on the right side as well, and was having trouble balancing when standing or walking. I called by doctors office and was told to get to the emergency room. I did so, (a neighbor drove me) and was given the diagnosis of shingles in my right ear. Note that by the time I got there, I was experiencing room spinning vertigo. The ER administered an IV medication to stop that, plus prescriptions for Acyclovir to attack the virus, and Prednisone to reduce the inflammation. I was also given the diagnosis of RAMSAY-HUNT syndrome related to the loss of control of the eye and cheek muscles. I was told the effects of that are similar to something called Bells Palsy. I was told that the nerves for these two areas pass through the area around the inner ear and were also affected by the shingles. The next day, I saw my own doctor, and was immediately sent to two different ophthalmologists to make certain the shingles did not get into my eye. Fortunately it hadn't. The RAMSY-HUNT symptoms cleared up over about 5 to 6 weeks. But the balance issues continued. Then again during the week before Thanksgiving, another vertigo attack, again to the ER, this time with a CT scan. Another round of Prednisone. Back to near normal after a couple weeks, but again, the week before Christmas yet another vertigo attack, and back to the ER. Was admitted to the hospital for observation, and an MRI. Given long term but lower dose Prednisone. By this time I could not drive due to the balance issue. I was unable to drive for over 6 weeks. I was on Prednisone for over 4 1/2 months, ending around May 1, 2010, and gained 24 pounds. I am still fighting that, but have managed to lose 18 of them. I also went through physical therapy for the balance issue, and still do the exercises. At the beginning of the therapy, she would have me walk down a hallway, and on command, suddenly turn my head right or left. When doing that, my body would follow and I would walk right into the wall. At worst, I estimate I was down by about 35%, but with therapy I think I am down by about 10% or so. I have been told I will most likely always be this way, as my vestibular nerve has been permanently damaged. I can drive again, as the balance issue is greatly affected by my personal center of gravity, and it doesn't bother me when sitting down. But I now walk with a cane for safety, and can no longer trust myself on ladders. The balance issue is such that I could not pass the so called "walk heel to toe" field sobriety test given by the police without the cane. I also avoid making sudden turns when walking. I never drank much, but I have completely given up alcohol to avoid another vertigo attack. I might add that since I am retired and live alone, not being able to drive was a major hassle. An anecdotal sidebar: One day last July (of 2010) I happened to share a food court lunch table with a couple about my age. The lady was just getting out of a leg cast for an injury so we briefly discussed why I was using my cane. At one point she said, "Wow. That's interesting. I have a friend in (name of town I forget, but it's about 100 miles from here) who got the shingles vaccine and six months later he got shingles on his legs and ankles". Please note the similar six month interval between the time of receiving the vaccine and getting shingles. After hearing what this lady said, I looked briefly at Wikipedia.com and learned that the shingles vaccine is attenuated, not fully killed. Cause and effect? I don't know. I probably did have chicken pox as a child, but that would have been in the early 1950's, and I just don't remember. As both my parents have passed away, that information is lost. I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1966 and if the chicken pox vaccine was included in the enlistment physical I really don't know.