my husband had shingles this past THANKSGIVING.he's had constant pain, since. he's had 3 rounds of valtrex and is presently on 2 pain killers& lyrica. his was of the face, rt side. he went to the dentist when it started, thought it was a toothache. the dentist pulled 2 teeth, it then got worse & he ended up in the ER.By Valentine's day it was concentrating in his eye.the white blistered up, pressurewas 3x's of other eye. he is having surgery on it in 2wks, to smooth it out,so it can lubricate more evenly. THEN he will have cataract surgery on it!Before he just had the starting of one & the shingles seems to advanced it(5 eye specialists!) THE SHINGLES VACCINE is believed to be 50% or less effective & very expensive! MOVING ON: I read an article, that said when the chicken pox vaccine, becaME MANATORY IN THE U.S. A FEW years ago, SHINGLES increased dramatically. The actually cost/deaths/hospitalizations far exceeded , those previously for chicken pox.Also children as young as 2were getting it!It went on to say JAPAN, who also offers the C.POX vaccine(voluntary)has seen little increase in shingles.Only 1 in 5 children have the vaccine, there.Seems being exposed to C.POX actually strenghtened the immune system against shingles! GOOD LUCK!!