Shingles.........?

Has anyone had shingles, if so can you tell me how you felt, how long they lasted etc. I only ask because I have heard that they can be really nasty and remember my friends dad having them and it took him about a year to get over them. I had shingles when i was 8 months pregnant and only had the rash and the itching. I had a pretty bad pregnancy with sickness and feeling generally lousy, would this be why i seemed to get off lightly?

I had a horrible time with Shingles. I had it on the left side of my body, down two nerve lines. It started as white blisters, then turned to red blisters - and literally felt like I had a red hot iron on my skin for two weeks. I took strong codeine and anti-inflammatories that the GP gave me - but it was still really painful.

After 2 weeks, the blisters crusted (yuck!), and the pain stopped. I still have scars now (5 years later).

I was quite run down at the time (which is why I got it), and I felt unwell for about a month in total. It can make you feel quite low in terms of mood.

I don't think your pregnancy would have made much difference to how you suffered with it. My friend had it too, and he only had itching - no pain. I guess it's just luck of the draw. Some really unlucky people get the pain for a long time after the blisters have completely gone (called Post Herpetic Neuralgia) - the pain can last for years.

i do know you can get it really bad and its the only thing thats floored a man i know. i guess you get it in varying degrees so you were lucky with that.

I have had this twice in the past, but don't think they really lasted that long.

i had shingles as a boy about 11 years old they were on my right hip i know they are very painful and itchy i had to put cream on them AM not sure how long i had them but i wouldn't recommend to anybody

My mother had shingles of the face and was blinded in one eye because of it! She also suffered chronic pain in the face and head after.
The reason shingles are so excruciating is thaty they attack a nerve and travel along it. As with anything, different people respons differently--some get over it quite quickly, other have long term pain.