When I had shingles, it started with a pain on my left side, going around under my left breast. The pain was a dull pain like a side ache. After a few days a rash started to come on my back side and under my left breast. It has been 5 months and I still have some discomfort under my left breast, like my skin is still numb. A very painful ordeal, hope I never get that again!!

I am a 53 year old woman, who had a mild case of the chicken pox as a child. Two years ago, I had my first shingles outbreak, on my face, near my eye. Two months later I had the same symptoms on the same eye. I was treated with antiviral drops and the pain was minimal. I have had shingles reoccurring every 3-4 months. Each time, I get a small cluster of raised bumps on the left side of my face with minimal pain. I have not had breakouts anyplace else on my body, however I have experienced tingling on my back and once on my thigh. Each time I treat the shingles with Valacyclovir and usually most symptoms are gone in 5-7 days. I strongly believe that stress is a big contributor to shingles.