Thank you, All, for your sympathies. Fortunately, this is a self-limiting condition. Also, you are supposed to only get it once. I had skipped the vaccine when I was in the states because, at the time, I was fighting lymphoma.
I will follow your advice. What kills me is the clinic refused a drug which could have helped me and now it is too late to take it AND they told me to stop taking meds (OTC) which DO help.