My gran had bad shingles, she was mildly demented and would howl with pain. So when I developed it in my early 60s I was prepared for the worst. I was actually lucky in that it was never more than an extreme nuisance. But years later, I still have about 10% of that pain still going on. But if it has been worse, I could have had gran's "howling level" of pain! This is why I encourage everyone in their 70s to get vaccinated against shingles. If your GP doesn't offer it, you ask for it!!! Zostavax is free to everyone in their 70s and although not perfect it will reduce your risk of long term pain by about 80%! Safe even if you are not sure if you've had chickenpox. (Shingles is the name for a repeat appearance of your chickenpox virus which can be many years later.)
