I'm 82 also. I have severe itching & some pain around one eye, forehead & scalp. I take Gabapentin & use frozen gel compresses to sleep. I was hospitalized almost a week with shingles 13 years ago. One neurologist told me to not get the vaccine so I didn't. More recently several docs urged me to get the vaccine which I have done. My understanding is my post-herpetic neuralgia will never go away and it has not changed a bit in 13 years. I saw an anesthesiologist-pain specialist who after some testing prescribed a compound cream I use several times a day on my eyelid. It contains gabapentin & lidocaine plus several more drugs. It helps me get through the day without digging at my eye. There are also several rx pills that help with itching.