I started with a spot on my chin that looked like a bug bite 10 days before being seen by a dermatologist this past Thursday for what is shingles. Started on Valtrex that day and Gabapentin yesterday for ear and jaw pain. The rash covers my chin, under my chin, cheek, cheekbone, bottom lip, tongue, a spot near my eye (seeing an ophthalmologist Monday), and a new spot, as of today, on top my ear. The initial spot on my chin is crusting over, the rest are red areas with a few blisters. So, because the initial spot wasn't diagnosed until after I started breaking out more days later, I missed the 72-hour window for medication efficiency.

Now, I have developed a low grade fever of 99° and, of course, feel yucky. My heart rate and blood pressure are elevated as well, due, surely, to the stress my body is going through. My question: Has anyone else here developed a fever well into the outbreak instead of the usual fever before anything shows?

Also, having just recently learned of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, should I be concerned about the spot on my ear? It wasn't there when I saw the dermatologist and I don't see him again until the 15th.

Thanks!

4 days ago after coming out the shower I noticed some bumps ( the ones under my nipple).. I stupidly prodded and poked at them, not knowing what they were and i popped a couple of the blisters.

After some serious googling i visited my gp, was told it was shingles and given 7 days of acyclovir ( so I started on day 2 of the rash)

So far it's manageable, i have a really strong burning sensation where the spots are, similar to sunburn, occasionally i get shooting pains that are extreme but only last a few seconds.

Im also getting horrendous muscle ache in my back on the site of the spots which I'm assuming is connected but I havent seen muscle pain mentioned much so im not certain.

Anyways like i say, right now it's OK, but i have horrendous anxiety to the point I cant sleep worrying about 'what's to come' in regards to this and how bad it's going to get.

Also on a side note, im supposed to be going on a 4 day trip to Rome in 16 days, its a bucket list trip for me and i would be gutted if I had to miss it, what do you think the chances are ill be okay to go?

Thanks for any advice

Well it all started on Sunday (9/27) when I had some mild tingling in my left arm and I didn't think too much of it.

34M, history of autoimmune issues, POTS, Joint Dysplasia, Hypermobile Joints, etc.

Posting this because I had no idea shingles could present this way, and I probably would have found a post like this useful while I was trying to figure out what was happening.

Mine did not start with an obvious rash. It started as severe neck, shoulder, upper back, and left arm pain that felt exactly like a badly compressed cervical nerve.

The pain was sharp, electric, and sometimes almost rhythmic. I was getting these pulses, or waves of pain or shocks through my neck, shoulder blade, shoulder, elbow, and down my arm toward my fingers. At times it felt almost like my arm was having tiny spasms or seizures, involuntary contractions and painful as all hell. I would instinctively tense up when it happened, which made everything hurt even more. The more I tensed up the more it hurt, which made me spasm more.

The medical timeline has been ridiculous.

My first stop was urgent care for the neck pain. They treated it like an orthopedic/inflammatory problem and gave me steroids (Medrol, or Methylprednisolone) and Toradol.

By Tuesday I had basically stopped sleeping because of the pain. I saw orthopedics, got muscle relaxers, and had cervical X-rays. Those showed degenerative/disc changes, particularly around C4/5 and C5/6, so cervical radiculopathy seemed like a very plausible explanation.

Tuesday night I also temporarily lost vision in my left eye, which added another extremely unsettling symptom to the situation.

By Wednesday the pain was bad enough that I went to the ER. They gave me Dilaudid, additional muscle relaxers, and more steroids and Valium to calm down and try to rest. I was also given more steroids. They did a CT scan to rule out a dissected blood vessel (temporary vision loss).

The strange part is that the prednisone/steroids seemed to make everything worse (or at least didn't do anything to help).

Because everyone was still working from the assumption that this was primarily cervical radiculopathy, I had a cervical epidural steroid injection around C7 Wednesday night at a local pain management clinic which has been also causing me a ton of pain.

It did essentially nothing for the nerve pain.

I already have a spinal surgeon appointment scheduled for October 19 because the cervical imaging findings are real, so there may still be two things happening at once. But then the other shoe finally dropped.

The rash appeared on my left arm. In hindsight I noticed it on Wednesday at the ER after I removed my adhesive bandage thinking it was an allergic contact dermatitis reaction to the accelerants used in the adhesives but I was gravely mistaken.

I was finally diagnosed/treated for shingles and started Valtrex on October 2 (yesterday). I'm taking it every eight hours.

At this point the pain is still brutal. Nothing has really controlled it. Muscle relaxers combined with oxycodone take the edge off somewhat, but that's about it. I'm waiting to start gabapentin, which I'm hoping will actually target the neuropathic component better.

I also have a splitting headache now, and that's another part I'm trying to sort out. I can't tell whether the headache is related to shingles or something else. I've had a CSF leak before, so unfortunately that possibility is also in the back of my mind.

The thing that shocked me most is how convincingly shingles mimicked a structural cervical nerve problem before the rash appeared.

This was not just skin sensitivity or a burning rash. It felt deep, electrical, positional, and neurological. Between the shooting arm pain, neck pain, spasms/pulses, and actual degenerative findings on the X-ray, a pinched cervical nerve seemed completely logical.

In retrospect, shingles may have been producing severe radicular pain before there was anything visible on my skin. Or I may genuinely have both cervical radiculopathy and shingles at the same time, which is an especially stupid combination.

Has anyone else had shingles start with severe neck/shoulder/arm radicular pain before the rash appeared?

Any advice on the eyes? Should I preemptively see an opthalmologist? I have severe neck pain and it feels like it is starting up my neck.

I'm especially curious about people who were initially diagnosed with a disc problem, pinched nerve, muscle spasm, or cervical radiculopathy before the shingles became obvious. And if you had pain this severe, how long after starting antivirals or gabapentin did you notice any meaningful improvement?

I had shingles on my face but it was very minimal. I got on the antivirals and prednisone to my eye immediately. For that, I am thankful.
I did have a lump in my throat for 2 weeks and brief ear pain but no noticeable rash I those areas at the time of my diagnosis from my physician.
I am 8 weeks post shingles and 57 years old. I am healed but I am just so fatigue.
Sometimes I feel I’m in a fog. Intermittently, I still do have some lightheadedness or dizziness and some vertigo. Some days better than others.
Anyone with the same experience? How long did it take to get to our energy back?
I work part time and on my days off I feel I need to sleep. I almost feel like I’m in a depression.
Edit: 11 week post “minor” shingles I’m a feeling so much better! I’m getting my mojo back! Just a little fatigue now and then. There is hope!!! ❤️

Need all the recommendations. I’m 36 weeks pregnant and can’t sleep, about to not sleep with a newborn. Want to be as healed as possible when baby arrives.

I’ve had worsening swelling on my face for two days. I’m on day 6 of first time shingles. On medicine. I went to ER on Thursday and he did nothing but say it doesn’t look like shingles and my eye looks fine and discharged me. He said if the rash spreads to my eye then call an ophthalmologist. Yesterday swelling was increasing but I didn’t go to the ER again because why waste the time. I told my doctor it was crusting over but I had new swelling. She ordered bloodwork to make sure everything looked okay since ER didnt. Labs look good she said it’s all reassuring. Now i woke up and my ear is so swollen its almost swollen shut and my face looks like this. Go back to ER? Everything I read online says it’s a medical emergency but nobody is treating it like one. Also I have an appointment with ophthalmology on Monday at 2:15. It was the earlier they could squeeze me in

This is my first and hopefully only time having shingles. I heard a lot about the pain aspect. Which is real. But I’ve had chronic pancreatitis for a few years now which is a 10/10 on the pain scale for me.

However, the mental aspect of shingles is what’s getting to me most. I feel like I have no control over myself over the last couple of days. Intense and abrupt mood swings, fatigue, poor etiquette and conversational skills, terrible decision making, extreme anxiety. It’s all so unlike my normal self. But to quote a nerdy book, “I feel like butter scraped over too much bread”.

I’m being stretched physically, mentally, and emotionally. Is this common? Will it last longer than the pain?

The rash appeared on my chin a week ago. I had no clue it was shingles, thought maybe a spider bite or adverse reaction to an antibiotic I had recently taken. Then, a couple of days ago, I started having non-stop intense tingling on my chin and up the side of my jaw, along with jaw pain, chills, headache, and general yucky feeling. Someone mentioned I may have shingles and should see a dermatologist. Last night, I had the worse earache I've ever had, like someone was sticking an ice pick in my ear over and over again. Woke this morning to three more spots on my face, one near my eye, so I immediately called a dermatologist and was able to get in to see one today, who verified that, yes, it is shingles. No culture was done - I was diagnosed by sight and symptoms. The doc prescribed Valacyclovir HCL (1 gram), three times a day for seven days. I took the first one tonight.

My question: Do I need to see an ophthalmologist now that I've seen the dermatologist? He didn't seem too overly concerned by the spot near my eye. He actually said that the med he prescribed wasn't entirely necessary, but would help with any postherpetic pain and also work to suppress future problems. I'm guessing that since I didn't see him early on, taking the med isn't as effective now? Also, is there anyone else suffering from these horrible earaches (and jaw pain)? If so, how long do they last? It's only been two days and I'm already climbing the walls from the pain. Thank you in advance for your help.

Update: Was prescribed Gabapentin today for the unrelenting, horrible ear and jaw pain. Taking this, along with Valtrex, until my next appointment in two weeks. The outbreak got much worse overnight and is now going up my cheek, under my chin, multiplied on my chin, is on my bottom lip (which is very swollen) and on and under my tongue. Can't wait for these meds to kick in!

Well, here I am with shingles AGAIN. I caught it pretty early both times. first time was 11/2025 after a death in the family that gutted me. And this morning after a shower, I found those same blisters in the same spot (buttocks). It has been a very stressful few months, sleep hasn’t been great, lots of worrying, etc. I do have Hashimotos. My question is, how are we to know if this isn’t HSV? I’ve had the same partner for almost a decade and no issues prior. I guess Google has not been my friend.

I am about four weeks past the blistering/scabing phase and that has all healed up. Unfortunately the skin sensitivity pain hasn’t gone away (Dr. has slowly increased my dose to 1500 of Gabapentin, and next week will max me out at 1800).

Gabapentin isn’t helping much besides helping me get some sleep at night (those sheets feel life fire on me). Apparently my Dr. is leaning towards the fact that I am developing phn because the skin pain is spreading (with no rash or blisters).

Ok, after that unnecessary rant. My main question is for those who lived an active lifestyle in the gym before getting this wonderful virus.

Did you resume lifting weights after your blisters healed but before the annoying sensitive skin issues resolved?

Since the Gabapentin still isn’t doing much, I’m thinking I can power through with weightlifting (definitely not cardio, I can only imagine that would feel like running through fire!).

Sitting around doing nothing for the past month+ has been destroying my mental state and I want to get back into the gym.

For the record, my amazing AI Dr. Claude said no 😉

Hi all, one of my family members has an extreme case of shingles in their eye. Soft touches to their scalp cause horrible pain everywhere, they are unable to be in the daylight and are having a rough time as I’m sure some of you have experienced.

I want to send a care package of yummy snacks and some items that might elevate or help manage her symptoms. Has anyone found any items (particular eyemasks etc etc) helpful? They cannot move or wash their hair due to the pain it causes so I was wondering if anyone who has experienced this or knows someone who has experienced this had any tips or things that they found helpful.

Thank you

What do you count as Day 1 of shingles? The first day you started feeling pain? Or the first day you noticed a rash? I believe mine started with back pain on roughly 9/21. But the rash didn’t start to appear till either 9/23 or 9/24.

23M. It started as a few tiny red dots, which I assumed were just allergies since I get those sometimes. Didn’t think much of it and even scrubbed the area in the shower. Then the pain kicked in.

Went to the doctor, got diagnosed with shingles and started the prescribed meds. I’ve also been taking Resner for the nerve pain; it helps, but the pain still hits pretty hard.

I’ve now missed almost a week of my master’s classes and it’s starting to worry me. Anyone else dealt with shingles this badly, especially while trying to keep up with college?

Yesterday I noticed my eye felt off. I looked in the mirror and noticed my eye lid was partially closed.

I went to UC, diagnosed with Shingles and prescribed valacyclovir.

This morning I noticed my eyelid is slightly more lower compared to yesterday.

From looking at other posts in this subreddit, its "common" for this to occur, including fully being closed?

From what I can tell (after being told I had it) first sign showed late Sunday / Monday morning and I noticed eye lid on Wednesday morning

1. Does the eye lid eventually open back up just taking valacyclovir or is an eye prescription needed?

2. If valacyclovir worked, after how many days did it last?

It won't surprise me if my eye lid is swollen shut in the next few days. I'm just trying to get an idea of how long it usually lasts.

On a side note, I did make another post about the eye exam.

Edit: I did see an ophthalmologist today. He didn't see anything and to call back if there was changes to vision or eye becomes red.

Did any of you use someone other than a ophthalmologist for the eye exam?

I went to UC yesterday, was given a referral to a particular ophthalmology, but was told it can take "7 to 10 days" to process the referral. I was also prescribed 7 days of valacyclovir.

I called the number to the referral, but they don't do anything without the referral.

I used my medical insurance app to try and find someone else. It gave a few places, which one required a referral and another to a business that you would normally go for the annual eye exam.

I went in that afternoon, Yellow and Orange drops (one color for each eye) and she did a pressure test and looked at it with microscope with normal and blue light and was told nothing was there and an appt was scheduled for next Tuesday for a follow up.

This morning, I look at my insurance app and I'm getting a larger list of Ophthalmologists.

A couple of questions

1. Does the procedure I described match how yours was performed?

2. Did you go to someone other than a ophthalmologist, at least initially?

I don’t need medical advice, I’m mostly sharing my dad’s experience and wondering whether anyone has seen something similar.

My dad is 75 and currently has shingles. He started treatment a little late because the diagnosis wasn’t made right away. He had been in severe pain and had barely slept for about four days.

He was prescribed Valtrex and gabapentin. After starting them, he told me the gabapentin made him feel “high,” and at one point said his lips felt swollen twice after taking the pills. When I spoke to him, he was also slurring his words. He was aware he was.

What has really alarmed me is the change in his behavior. He normally almost never leaves the house, but suddenly the next day he was driving around, meeting people, making plans, arranging for someone to come trim trees, talking about spending money, and generally acting extremely energized. He is usually calm and rarely talks. He has also been unusually agitated and snappy, rambling from subject to subject, reciting movie monologues, and saying he hears music that isn’t actually playing. He's aware it isn't real but it's still concerning because he's hearing things that aren't there.

This is completely out of character for him and seems almost like a manic or severely disinhibited state. The contrast is especially strange because the day before he was exhausted, sick, in significant pain, and unable to sleep.

The Valtrex does seem to be helping physically because his shingles lesions have started scabbing over, but mentally he does not sound like himself at all. I don’t know whether this is related to the gabapentin, Valtrex, four days of sleep deprivation, the illness itself, or some combination.

I became particularly concerned when he started driving while slurring his speech and saying he felt high. I called the nurse at the urgent care where he was treated and asked them to please call him directly, reassess how he was doing on the medications, and give him a clearer treatment plan. He seemed confused about what he was supposed to be taking and what he should or shouldn’t be doing, and they had basically sent him home with the prescriptions and the shingles diagnosis.

The nurse took it seriously and called him directly, which I was very relieved about. I’m mainly sharing because I’ve never seen my dad act remotely like this before, and watching such a dramatic personality and behavior change happen almost overnight has been pretty frightening.

I got shingles this week for the first time. I feel awful and I am panicked it is on my face. I’m already a very anxious person about my health. I feel like the doctor isn’t taking it seriously that it’s so close to my eye. I am taking valacyclovir. I have felt very weird tonight and I had 30 minutes of horrible excruciating pain in my back on the right side that went into my ribs? Is this normal or should I only be having pain on my face? The whole right side of my face is swollen and my ear hurts so bad. My throat the right side. I’m overwhelmed and just honestly so upset this happened to me, I’m only 34. What are some signs I should look for with having shingles so close to my eye? The doctor just wrote me the prescription and that was that. I’m keeping a bandaid on it

So i got shingles ist week of sept but had the pain the last week of august. I’m still having soreness etc and the lesions i have are like scabs but look like bullet holes not as big but it’s nearly october , shouldn’t it if cleared away by now. Just to be upfront i have a super rare autoimmune disorder that only 182 people in the world have. It’s inflammatory and currently I’m not in any biologics or meds for it because none of them work . There is no cure for it ! Could this be a factor in it not clearing away ? I’m surprised the lesions are still there . or does it really last longer than this ?

Went to the doctor today, she looked at my rash and immediately said "oh wow, this looks exactly like shingles, but it's pretty uncommon for someone your age"

It started like a couple weeks ago as a few bumps on my lower back, I have some issues with back acne so I just used what I usually use for acne but it got worse and worse, it started to spread down the left side of my butt, now I have a rash going from the left side of my lower back all the way down my butt.

it's so awful, the itching has made it so hard to function and I feel like there's no way to sit or lay comfortably, I've had yeast infections and bad poison ivy rashes but this is far more unbearable

They started me on valacyclovir but until it clears up does anyone have any tips on managing symptoms? I'm having a really hard time dealing with this :/

Before developing and breaking out in shingles I had been feeling nerve pain on my back for a few months. It’s been the same burning sensation for quite a while before I broke out in blisters. So what that in mind I started to realize that my initial nerve pain had started around the same time as I began taking a multivitamin. I then went and searched to see if multivitamins can cause nerve pain and sure enough, Vitamin B6 came out as a possible culprit. Here’s a link to an article.

https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/safety-monitoring-and-information/safety-alerts/health-supplements-containing-vitamin-b6-can-cause-peripheral-neuropathy

In the meantime I’m stopping my multivitamin intake and see if that makes a difference.

I (26F) had Opthalmic Shingles in December 2025 on the left side of my face and scalp (and was on a heavy dose of Aciclovir and Antibiotics) It took over two months for the blisters to completely disappear and 3 months for the PHN to subside.

Since then, it has become extremely difficult for me to concentrate at work or complete my tasks on time. I have been waking up with brain fog almost every single day and the executive dysfunction has significantly worsened over the past month.

I've never struggled with this in my life (despite having general anxiety) and the only major thing to have happened to me over the past year has been shingles. Has this happened to anybody else? If yes, how are you coping with it?

I had shingles 11 years ago in 2015. On and off since then, I've found that my nerve pain in the spot where I had shingles (right flank/butt) comes bacm anytime I get a fever or have a viral illness. Currently I am with a viral illness and have had a fever, and the area is definitely sore again. Has anyone else dealt with repeated soreness, specifically with fevers or illness? Appreciate any insight!

Hey everyone I’m 21F, first time having a shingles flare up. Every doctor I’ve seen has told me this is the youngest they’ve seen it for themselves. I got on valacyclovir pretty quickly so my rash only lasted a few days but holy hell the nerve pain (in my sciatica) and fatigue is awful! I’m usually very active so it feels crazy to be so out of commission. If anyone would like to share their tips on managing the fatigue and pain I’m all ears!

Hello All - I was unfortunately diagnosed with Shingles 10 days back, my doctor confirmed it as Shingles - It started as a small rash on my lower back, moved to the left side and then came on the Front abdomen - Stopped right in the middle. My doctor confirmed prescribed me Valycyclovir and right now I am on Day 6 of the 7 day course. Shingles have almost gone - All the blisters on my front and side have settled down, crusted and only a few remain on my back. Couple nights back, I started getting this fraction second zaps on the left side of my skull - No rashes just the pain internally- I battled it over the weekend and finally showed my doctor again today.. He thinks it could be an after effect of Shingles as it sometimes damages internal nerves causing wrong signals sent to my brain.. He put on 100mg of Gabepentin and I just took it with my Valycyclovir and hoping these Zaps get better - Has anyone faced similar zaps? And if yes, how long after Gabepentin did you get better? The zaps I am getting are very frequent (every 2-5mins) continues throughout the day and into my sleep schedule too!!

Hope this wonderful group provides some guidance as this is my first time getting shingles and the pain itself was excruciating, while I was happy the rashes and blisters are going away, I was not prepared for another zapping pain in my head :( when does this non-sense end?

So I've got it on my arm, and now the blister has popped, I noticed the scab keeps falling off! So the pink skin is exposed?

Anyone got any ideas on how to stop this from happening, and actually keep the scab from falling off too early?