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[monita]

I'm almost finished with the dissertation - I can see the light at the end of this long, long tunnel.  I half believe that it might kill me first.  I've battled migraines for years, and now.... shingles.  Yes.  Stress-induced, completely bizzaro-illness for a young person, icky, disgusting, painful shingles.

What horrible nasties have y'all's dissertations invoked?  It's kind of a weird pick-me-up to know that anyone who responds to this thread obviously lived through theirs. :-)

[msmicrobe]

MrMicrobe had all sorts of GI problems which resulted in a colonoscopy at a rather tender age. He survived. You will, too.

I ended up back on SSRIs in grad school. I am now on them long term, taking "breaks" when I can and knowing full well I'll be back on them a year or so after the "break" starts. It helps counteract the dosage creep issues as I build tolerance.

I hope you have gone to the doctor for the shingles outbreak. There are medications that can help with it.

It may also help to know that I have found real life to be much better to deal with than the artificial hoops of academia. That isn't to say I've had it easy. Far from it. But in terms of coping with stress, I deal better with real stresses of job loss and severe illness in loved ones FAR better than I dealt with exams and defenses. I've talked to others who have noticed the same pattern in their own lives. So maybe the "worst" is almost behind you in terms of life events that you find especially stressful in an unhealthy way. Or maybe a terminal degree (like the PhDs hubby and I have) somehow create a magic shield around your soul and you are immune to lesser stresses. I'd like to think the Post hole Digger is good for something!

Hang in there.

[mended_drum]

I think my friends would have preferred I had shingles.  Instead, I had Be-A-Raging-b*tch-itis.  But it might have been the combination of the diss and the job search.

On the upside, once you're finished, it's very much like a fever breaking.  If you've ever actually had a fever get high enough to suddenly "break,"...well, it's a stunning feeling. 

[scampster]

I got shingles too! So did another dissertating friend!

Huh, someone should do a study on the prevalence of shingles amongst dissertators - normally young-ish people who wouldn't get shingles under normal circumstances.

I only found out I had shingles when I went to the doctor to get some seasickness medicine for a cruise. I decided to offhandedly mention that I had this itchy spot on my back for a while and he looked at it and matter of factly told me I had shingles.

Like lizzy, I wasn't noticeaby stressed, but I apparently must have been.

I started to get a recurrence over the summer (while still trying to finish), but I recognized the itchy spots and got meds right away and that took care of it.

I

[msparticularity]

I had my first really full-blown exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis; my joints swelled quite visibly, and I experienced all the pain and exhaustion that go along with that.

Probably I would have had shingles, too, except that I had already had those, and, thankfully, it is relatively unusual to get a full-on case again (although the spot along my ribs did get more painful again also).

I did survive, though. :)

[southerntransplant]

Back then (not so much anymore) my eczema really flared up when stressed. There's a patch on my ankle that gets affected, and it was a miserable mess while writing the dissertation (in between applications of anti-itch medication).

[colette_capricious]

I think my friends would have preferred I had shingles.  Instead, I had Be-A-Raging-b*tch-itis.  But it might have been the combination of the diss and the job search.

On the upside, once you're finished, it's very much like a fever breaking.  If you've ever actually had a fever get high enough to suddenly "break,"...well, it's a stunning feeling. 

I think this is infectious. I suffer greatly from it. I'm actually sending the kids home for the last three months so I can be a hermit/b*tch and not have them suffer for it.  *I* don't even like me when I'm like that.

I also get backaches and headaches. I hold all my stress in my back and neck muscles. It isn't fun but it beat shingles and wine is a good muscle relaxant.  I was on line last night looking for some good bed pillows and a much better chair.

[monita]

It's not just me, then. :-)  I agree that someone should totally study shingles in dissertators, Scamster.  Is that a conflict of interest if you write your dissertation on dissertators with shingles and then get shingles?

I did get some meds so it shouldn't slow me down too much.  I'm trying to avoid the Be-A-Raging-B*itch-Itis that is also going around, but I'm not sure how successful I'll be at that one.  Only a few months to go....