A setback

I've always ignorantly thought that shingles or herpes zoster or kayap was in some way related to personal hygiene.  i mistakenly assumed that kayap & kurap came from the same family. that if you're not careful especially when you're stuck in a tropical climate with high humidity like ours, almost perfect conditions for the breeding of fungus & the like, you might just be unlucky enough to get such a thing.

Well, goes to show just how much i know about stuff like that lol.

Imagine my surprise when i was told its actually a manifestation of repressed chicken pox virus rearing its ugly head after staying dormant in your body for years.  and that the triggers include, hitting your 50s or getting overly stressed or having a compromised immune system or worse still, having all three.

I was putting all blame on my premenopausal state... the fatigue, the listlessness, the aches & pain, the temperature fluctuations, the restlessness.  then came the sores, the itch, the blistering pain and back to itch again.  a trip to the doc confirmed that i had shingles.

Shingles/ herpes zoster/ Kayap - more info HERE

Slideshow of images HERE

Surprisingly i was on mc for more than 2 weeks. i never realised that it was a serious thing and that i would be feeling like shit for all that time.  its an extremely irritable & painful condition to be in and most of the time you just want to stay cocoon in your room with the aircond at full blast and with the barest minimum of clothing possible.

It doesnt help that we're going thru some kind of heatwave right now, and the afternoons are crazy hot and the evenings like warrm pudding.

But what irks me most is drowning in this sea of fatigue & lethargic listlessness.  and any attempts at running, cycling, or swimming leaves me tired beyond belief.  and yes, i'm starting to feel 'old'.

I know i'll bounce back, i'll make sure i do... but this time, its going to take longer than usual.