I have Myasthenia Gravis and am currently immunosuppressed related to treatment with Cellcept and prednisone. I had various areas of pain followed by mild lesions on the left side of my body over a 6 week period. After these strange outbreaks subsided, I had 4 days of severe pain in my right breast and lungs, with the pain being visceral and involving right anterior lungs. On day 4, the pain was at its worst and two distinct patches of zoster lesions following the nerve root along the axillary line around toward the mid back. I was diagnosed by a primary care doctor and started on Valtrex that day. I took 1 gram tid for a week. The lesions continued to spread for 2 more days after treatment started. I had flu-like symptoms for a total of 2 weeks. Now, going into week 4, I can tolerate wearing a bra for part of the day, but have pain, itching and burning every day, although far less severe. What an unpleasant period. I'm sorry I did not take the vaccination!

I was in my 40s. I had no health insurance and it came on so fast, I was not sure what to do. I had a local doctor, an elderly gentleman, look at me. I had Shingles. He offered to prescribe for me to alleviate some of the awful pain. I ended up wearing very loose clothing. It took weeks. It was awful, but I got through it. I would say it is equivalent to having someone stick a hot iron on your skin. My whole left side was hit from above the breast area to my waist.

I had severe pain on right side near breast area. I was treated as if it were muscle spasms. The pain became so bad that I asked to see doctor and he thought it was a pulled muscle. Two days later, I returned to doctor with pain so bad I could not lay on the exam table and was having difficulty walking. Finally, after two weeks and an MRI, mammogram, and x-rays, he decided I might have shingles on inside of my body. I'm on pain medications. I am 68. Is the worst pain I have ever had.

I had a very deep stabbing pain in the lower left side of my body, (backside) above the waist. I thought it was from playing too much golf. After a week of constant pain that lasted for about eight hours, I saw my doctor. She listened to my verbal descriptions of my symptoms then asked me to lift my shirt and she inspected my back. She immediately said I had shingles. I asked her how she could make that quick assumption. She said for me to look at the lower left side of my back (which is hard to do without a mirror). She then pointed out some red blisters which I had not seen before. She prescribed Acyclovir which I took for seven days. It had No effect on my pain. She had warned me that the virus may have been active for at least three days before I took the meds and that it may be too late to be effective. After about four weeks the pain subsided, the sores really never got out of hand and I am pain and spot free now.

I experienced pain around and in my left eye that I thought was inflamed tear glands. One week later, it didn't get any better, so went to the doctor and was diagnosed with shingles, not noticing that the red rash was beginning to erupt. The pain spread to my scalp and cheek.

My symptoms started with unrelenting, excruciating pain in my back, which I thought was muscle spasms. I visited the doctor and he gave me muscle relaxers and a shot. One week later, I had to go to the emergency room with again with severe pain. There they found the rash, and diagnosed shingles.

I am 22 years old and about a month ago was diagnosed with shingles. That was the most unbearable pain ever. I had to take medicine for about three weeks. When I first noticed it, I thought it was just a normal back itch. As the days went by, the itching got worse and it started to really burn. Big blisters were only on the left side of my back. I waited until the fifth day of my symptoms to seek medical help. By that time, the whole left side of my body was in massive pain. The doctor looked at my back and asked if there was any itching, burning, or pain. The doctor told me that he was confused on I could have shingles because I'm so young. He also asked a series of questions, one being if I was under a lot of emotional stress. That day I learned that anyone who has ever had the chicken pox can get it also. I did not know at the time that stress could trigger the virus.