When I was 28 (43 years ago) I had Shingles. Back then, there were only two small areas & it was only 4-5 days of pain. Three weeks ago, it came back. It started with some itching on my back, then the usual sores & blisters around one side from my back to belly button. I found something that really worked for the pain - Rx strength Advil; I think it's generic "Ibuprofen." I had some leftover from dental extractions & surgery a few months ago. Rx strength is 600 or 800 milligrams. OTC is 200 milligrams. I only need to take one every 12-18 hours & I can wear clothes, exercise & sleep with very little pain. It makes it quite tolerable - barely a nuisance. Make sure your stomach has food in it, otherwise it will cause stomach pain (as I learned before reading the info on the bottle). The sores are crusty now, which is a good sign that it's healing & very little pain without medication.
That's why I had second thoughts about posting it, but I figured the info would help others with this common problem.
No. Besides not believing the Shingles vax prevents Shingles, I also got this info from the hospital when I was seen for an unrelated problem which turned out to be dehydration: "Shingles only happens in people who: Have had Chickenpox. Have been given a vaccine to prevent Chickenpox. Just my opinion, but I consider the Shingles vaccine to be in the same category as Covid & Flu vaccines. I haven't had them, either. And I know enough people who had serious Shingles attacks (far worse than mine) after getting a Shingles vaccine.
Well, Tony, there are those, young and old/older, that can survive not getting vaccines, but we have got the ones we need. For us, we don't take any chances at all.
Nothing at all like the Covid shot, but it has some similarities to the flu shot in that they are both virus-caused. Flu shots are created by guesswork in March as to what will happen the following autumn, so it is the only virus essentially created from scratch every year...and therefore not completely tested. I don't know anyone who developed shingles after the vax, but I have heard it does happen. The folks i know who were vaccinated against shingles never developed symptoms, but that doesn't mean the vaccine prevented it. It is possible they may never have developed shingles in any case. Shingrix is a killed vaccine and cannot cause shingles. The old vaccine--Zostavax--was a live vaccine and there could cause the disease in a mild form, but Zostavax is no longer given in the U.S.
I think Zostavax was recently discontinued. I'd bet that many of us here have had both vaccines. I have. I believe that Shingrix came out not long after I got the Zostavax. I know you can only get shingles if you've had chicken pox. It never occurred to me that the chicken pox vax might also put you at risk by giving you the virus.
I think Zostavax didn't cause many cases, but the fact that it could cause any was the reason it was discontinued. Same goes for the old Sabin polio vaccine. I think the Shingrix protects you from shingles regardless the cause though. I got both as well.
Actually, I never had Chicken Pox, so the only way I could have gotten Shingles is from the Chicken Pox vaccine - which I do remember getting before my mom took me to Europe with her.