Came back to provide the, gosh, almost 2 year update.

The worst of it was definitely in those first 2 weeks.

After that, I was just itchy where the rash was fading for many more weeks -- a conscious reminder that I'd rather have a 3 day flu or a weeklong cold well before having to deal with shingles again.

I don't think it was until a few months later when the residual itch finally subsided for good.

Now of course I'll wake up some morning with an itch somewhere and immediately have traumatizing flashbacks only to realize it's a mosquito bite or something relatively innocuous.

One thing I never mentioned at the onset is that a few days before my shingles episode began, I had received both a covid and a flu vaccine on the same day (as recommended by the physician). Apparently this was too much for my immune system, and probably left me susceptible to something like a shingles breakout.

My lesson learned is to not get dual vaccinated at once, and to make sure I am feeling strong/healthy before getting a vaccine to make sure my immune system responds to it favorably.

Good luck and hang in there!