All clear

Today I went for my check-up and the doctor gave me the all-clear, so I can recommence my life.

I am feeling pretty well; the rash has all but disappeared, and I just have some residual neuralgia (nerve pain) in my upper right back. The doctor says that I can increase the dose of pregabalin from 75mg twice daily to 100mg twice daily, and it will probably control the neuralgia. Having read the Wikipedia article about pregabalin, I am keen to reduce and stop it as soon as possible, but the neuralgia may last for some weeks, so it will be a case of experimenting with the dosage. In the short term I will increase to 100 and see what effect it has. In addition to the pregabalin, I am on a course of high-dose oral antivirals (the drug is called valaciclovir) that will end on the 15th of July.

I have been feeling more tired than usual during this week, as a result of the viral infection. However this effect is diminishing as the antivirals do their work, and I feel stronger each day. Now that my immune system  has had a good look at VZV, I hope it will keep it under control for the foreseeable future!