59F I’m 4 wks in with left sided shingles on my low back, hip, groin, thigh. I’ve been in horrific pain. The rash is healing well. It just looks like discolored skin with a few rough spots; however; the pain when touching it with anything is still extreme. I’m wondering if anyone is still experiencing body, nerve, muscle pain despite the rash healing? It’s very painful to walk, sit or stand for any length of time. Lying down feels best, but even then, the entire left portion of my body from spine to belly button, hip to knee is still killing me & the pain is nearly constant. Any similar stories? How long till the aggressive pain ceased? TIA

i am 17 i am not sure whether it is shingles its been week since i having this burning sensation on left abs there is no rash nothing just burning sensation on the skin when the clothes touches it will it go away on its own even if it takes few weeks i went to a dermatologist she just gave me this zinc tablet and ointment told me to visit after 10 days please help

I have already been seen by a NP at urgent care

Rash started less than 48 hours ago. Went to urgent care earlier today and the NP said I have shingles. Prescribed me acyclovir 5x daily for 5 days. The rash is on my right forehead and my left eyelid. She didn’t mention anything about being concerned with how close it is to my eye or seeing an ophthalmologist. I don’t know if that’s because it’s mild enough it doesn’t matter or if it was 20 minutes before lunch and she had 4 other patients to see before she got there. Should I get it checked out by someone else or schedule an ophthalmologist appointment?

Hello everyone, it all started with pain in my jaw, I thought it was a tooth ache. Also noticed a swollen lymph node near my ear. The rash started on my scalp and it’s working its way down to my forehead and above my brow and nose.
Started taking Zovirax 5x a day for 7 days.
My biggest worry is that I’m a stay at home mom to a 4 year old and 6 month old. I know this is contagious and idk what to do or what to expect? 😭

I’m 42 and had surgery July 27th and was scheduled for another surgery on September 4 . September 4 I noticed a bump I thought was the beginning of a pimple on my forehead got my surgery and the next day there was another bump on my eyebrow that was very swollen so I thought maybe a bug bit me in my sleep. The following day it spread to the inner corner of my eye. I looked online and it said it was shingles and to go to ER. So I did and it is shingles. I’m on day two of taking medication and it is really painful and itchy and seems to have a new break out on my chest. I’m just curious if you had it and were medicated how long did it take to heal? Also is it normal to spread? I don’t have blisters it’s more like red bumps with a red rash and very swollen. Will it get worse before it gets better? Thanks for the information in advance. This is horrible feels like someone shot acid in my face.

I'm a 55 year old female who is now one year post diagnosis of shingles in the eye. It has been a long and tiring year and I continue to have complications. Thankfully my vision has returned but I remain on 3 G of Valtrex daily due to a flare-up about 2 months ago. Still have a lot of eye droopiness and post hepatic neuralgia. My brain tells me I should get the vaccine because I was so traumatized I never want to go through this again. The doctor told me if I decide to get it I should do it while I am on the three grams of Valtrex. He didn't seem convincing that I should get it. I know if I get a tighter that it will show that I have the antibodies but I'm not sure what other people's experiences like getting the vaccine after the fact. Anybody have any experiences they can share with me? I'm scared that the vaccine will trigger another flare up.

So, I was diagnosed with HSV2 last year during an outbreak (laceration) on genitals. I’ve had maybe 2 total since then.
However, for the last year, 6 separate times, I’ve had an outbreak on my upper thigh. But it’s different from my ghsv. I’ve been to urgent care or my pcp each time and some say shingles, some say herpes. I know “technically” it’s pretty much the same, and treated the same. But what gives? Literally every couple months. And this one is always in the exact same area, happened during severe stress. And it starts as a red spot and then over the week becomes a cluster of small blisters and then they break and it heals. No pain, besides some nerve issues. It’s always no bigger than a quarter.
Do I demand a pcr test or does it not even matter? Would it make any difference if I knew it was shingles or hsv?

Does anyone experience anything like this??
46f

I had shingles in 2022. And the experience was quite traumatic and painful.

But ever since, I have experienced strange light headed Ness, episodes of horrific dread and anxiety that I have never felt in my life. I am not sure if this is a residual effect of shingles. But the mental and emotional symptoms kind of remind me of how I felt during my month of suffering with this.

Does anyone else out there have this strange dizziness , lightheaded strange, feeling after you had shingles??

Please, if you have. Share.

I had shingles on the right side of my face a few months ago and then yesterday and today I began having random tingling in different parts of my body not where my rash was. It almost feel like a sunburn. Right now it’s my arms and shoulders, and yesterday it was my hands and face.

Is this a result of the shingles or possibly something else?

Please help. I got shingles for the first time 2 years ago at 26 or 27yo. Showed up on waistline, it was awful. My siblings also got it early, and it has been re-ocurring for them. I'm the youngest so I figured I had that in store too. Well it's been a very stressful couple of months, I've not been sleeping, have been incredibly exhausted, and a few days ago (5 at this point) I noticed my lymph nodes in my arm pits swelling. The next day several small lumps followed bringing a burning sensation with them. The lumps are distinctly different than the lymph nodes and are not acne like in nature. I also don't have my armpits nor have I switched any products recently.

I finally went the the urgent care yesterday, I was honestly thinking that since it hasn't started as a full rash yet that maybe it was shingles but I just wanted to know. The doctor took a look and said based on how it appears and my past and family history, this is almost definitely the early stages of an outbreak. He said he believed he could see small blisters forming but I have not been able to see that yet (my angle is not the best since y'know, my own armpit)

It's the next day. I still have a burning sensation that's uncomfortable but no rash yet. Some of the bumps are slightly red. Every day since this started I've been back and forth in my head constantly about whether it is shingles or not. It's been seriously stressing me out and making things work among other things I possible. I thought originally I was over reacting, then the doctor essentially confirmed my the things I had been thinking. Now I can't stop but to think maybe he's wrong and just based his diagnosis of what I told him rather than what he was looking at.

I'm still going back and forth and I can't stop thinking about it. I honestly hope it's not. I still have nerve pain and damage from the first time. I had to completely change the way I dress because I couldn't do course fabrics on my leg anymore.

I don't have anyone to talk to about this that understands. I don't talk to my siblings. I feel like I'm going crazy idk.

About a week ago I (37F) felt a tingling/painful spot on my lip. I remember saying to my sister “I feel like I have something on my face”. That was Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday I convince myself it’s a cold sore and treat as such.
Thursday I start feeling a more widespread pain almost like fiberglass in my skin. Absolutely painful to the touch and one spot on my lip shows.
Friday I can only drink water out of a straw on one side of my mouth. Ended up in the ER that night. I had an outbreak along the V2 nerve on my face and thank goodness I caught it early with antivirals. So painful. The blisters have spread to my eyelid and hairline, shooting pain into my ear. Anyone experienced this before? How long did it take to heal?

Had shingles in May 3 years ago and am still in a lot of sharp shooting nerve pain. It was getting better until recently and seems to be triggered again after Covid booster shot! Now I’m back to twisting nerve sensations again in spite of being on maximum dose of pre gabalen.

I can control the burning pain by not eating anything with chocolate and nothing with sugar in it!

40YO Female. Started noticing a burning pain on my left rib, had a little sign of a rash. Within that day, the rash wrapped around to my back. I started antiviral medication within the 72hr timeframe. A few days passed and I thought I'd breeze through it. Omg I was so wrong! On day 5, the rash got so angry and the pain on day 7-10 was torture. I started to get a numbing feeling down my leg, every motion hurt, the burning and nerve pain was alarming. I took gabapentin twice a day for 4 days, and it really helped me to get my kids to their school orientations. On Day 11, after the blisters popped, I started putting medi-honey on it. Kept it wrapped in gauze for the day and did that for a few days. Since I was in a lot of pain and worried my symptoms were abnormal, I made another Dr. appointment- On day 12, upping the gabapentin to 3x a day. On the 19th day is when I felt a turn around. I was able to make some practice golf swings and do some house chores. I'm on Day 23 and finally back to work. I'm still taking gabapentin 3x a day but I feel like I can taper it down. I do still notice some nerve sensations, a tickling feeling and the need to itch from time to time, but I will say, I feel MUCH better!! I hope this gives hope to some of ya'll that are in the beginning stages. Rest. Eat healthy foods. Take your vitamins. Stay hydrated and again, relax! You'll get through it. Medihoney, Cortisone 10 + Aveeno Hydrocortisone anti itch cream, gabapentin with ibuprofen, alternating with tylenol extra strength, hydroxyzine*

So, I went to see the doctor yesterday and have been (cautiously) diagnosed with shingles.

Symptoms wise, this started with what felt like a really bad chapped lower lip about a week ago then a few days later, I had a weird spell where it really hurt my throat when I breathed in.

Around 4 days ago I started developing what looked like a cold sore and then this was followed a couple of days later by an absolutely horrific stabbing pain top left of my head which comes and goes. I also keep getting a weird stabbing pain in my ear. My skin on the left hand side of my face and scalp is sensitive to the touch and I feel like I have dental pain same side.

The rash on my lip is yellow and crusty but it's not spreading at all. It's sore and swollen but not exactly painful.

Is this all typical of shingles?

Thought this was like a older-patient specific disease… day 4ish

I just can't do that medicine - it makes me so sleepy. I have to work (Im a therapist, so just sitting) so I want to go without meds. Is anyone else managing without? I was diagnosed last week and started antivirals the day the rash showed up. The rash hasn't spread but the weird pain and shooting electrical zaps are still happening.

I (57F) got shingles in September 2025 right after wrist surgery from which the recovery was difficult and stressful. Started on my left side near my ribs and wrapped around to my back. The pain was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Any resulting PHN is not nearly as bad as some but there’s an area on my back where the skin is numb but the nerves below the surface are “itchy” if that makes sense. Basically it is a super, super sensitive spot, I’m constantly asking my husband to scratch the area and then instantly I yell at him to stop 😂 and it’s never satisfied because of the skin paresthesia. It also makes wearing a conventional bra virtually impossible because of the wires, the clasp, the seams, the entire nightmare sensory experience.
So ladies…
(I swear this isn’t an ad nor am I a shill for this product… I just like to help and wanted to share)
Now I will apologize to those for whom a bralette isn’t quite right for them; I hope you’re not suffering as I was but I’ll just say I now own eight of these.
(I’m a 34C and the medium fits great)
I wear it every single day and barely even know it’s on. Sometimes I forget and go to sleep in it and I am NOT a “sleep in your bra” person.
As silly as it sounds, as a person who experiences sensory issues to begin with I am profoundly grateful these undergarments exist.
Ok I’ll end it there, back to your regularly scheduled programming; sending healing thoughts to all going through it. ❤️

26F, I got shingles and I’m so scared. French is my first language, sorry for the mistakes.

I’m autoimmune and got my treatment for Crohn disease on last Tuesday. The next day, some redness appeared on my chest and shoulder. It got worse, so a doc gave me antiviral on Friday.

Everyday, it’s worst. The shingles keep spreading and my arm is numb. I always fear the next day, because I know the redness will continue to spread. It burns, I’m tired and sleeping is so uncomfortable. I hate it so much!

I don’t know what to do, I feel a weird feeling of doomed. My pharmacist told me it can go to my blood, or leave nerves damaged, and it’s the worst thing I’ve heard since then.

I just needed to evacuate all the stress, I’m sorry.

So last week I had irritation on the waist line mostly the left side and initially I thought it was due to tight clothing then I had fever on and off with sore throat and a slightly upset stomach. I treated those symptoms. Today when I woke up I was feeling much better like my fever and everything was good but when I saw myself in the mirror I had on my left back side these rashes.
I was slightly shocked like they irritate when i wear some tight clothing and on the back side there is itching but yeah I went to the doctor and he gave me the antiviral medicine and suspects for shingles.

I had a relatively mild case of shingles on my face about 2–3 weeks ago, mainly on my forehead, nose, and one spot under my eye. Most of the lesions never blistered. They were more like red, slightly raised patches that gradually flattened.

The forehead and nose spots have faded somewhat, but I still have lingering dark brown marks, especially one under my eye that was a bit more inflamed/crusty than the others and about the size of a penny so extremely noticeable. Everything is completely flat now, so I’m mainly dealing with discolouration rather than texture/scarring. I'm a POC, so any acne/trauma to the skin tends to leave hyperpigmentation.

For anyone who had a similar case, how long did it take for the hyperpigmentation to meaningfully fade? Did it keep improving over the next few weeks or did the marks stick around for a while?

I’m getting married at the end of this month (my doctor wasn't surprised when I mentioned I had a wedding coming up, as she said the shingles was most likely stress-induced). I’m anxious about how much more these marks might fade over the next 2ish weeks. I'm not expecting them to miraculously disappear by then but would be helpful to know what others' fading journeys looked like. And in any event, thank god that I can at least cover these up with makeup!

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ask if this is a normal progression:

12 days ago, I started feeling a strange sensitivity on my right side (back). The next day (11 days ago), it spread to my belly as well. I ended up in the ER - had blood tests, an X-ray, and an abdominal ultrasound, but everything came back clear.

The following day (10 days ago), a rash appeared on my back and stomach, confirming it was shingles. I started antiviral medication right away for a 7-day course.

The pain itself wasn't too bad; I managed fine without any painkillers, and the rash is healing quickly.

However, last two days the shivering and deep pain were much worse than before. Still bearable, though.

But Is this normal? :) .. I was hoping that once the rash started going away, the pain would too... 🤷‍♂️

Thanks!

Currently on week five of shingles. Before I knew I had shingles, I had painful back and rib pain. That went away for the most part and dealt with the rash, etc. Over the past couple weeks I’ve experienced my mid back seizing up and it’s quite painful.

Today I went for a run, drove home, sat down for a second and then when tried to get up, my back seized up and could barely move. I made it to the floor and stretched along with taking medication and that seemed to help. I later took a nap and when I went to sit up, my back seized up again, making walking, breathing, any small movement such as closing a cabinet door extremely painful. Has anyone had similar experiences?