Shingles is a pain that defies description. I’ve experienced worse pain, but it is a pain within the nerves themselves. Nothing will stop the stabbing searing shards tearing apart your body where the outbreak(s) may be. Azithromycin and benadryl may help mitigate the length of the shingles attack.
All that being said, it is a self-limiting ailment and most people are over it in 10 days to three weeks. At least that is what I kept telling myself.
The second time I had shingles I was prescribed Valtrex and Gabapentin. The nerve pain vanished in less than 24 hour.