Any advice for painful shingles in lip?

My son and my mother were given gabapentin, which targets the nerve pain. I understand that it takes some days to adjust to moderately high doses as it might slow your reactions and thinking. The dose son was given was high enough he couldn’t do his computer work, he lowered it himself and it was better.

Please be so very careful and don’t touch the affected area and then touch your eyes. My mom’s shingles moved to around one eye. She used a straw to drink and pretty much gave up food that she had to chew.

I had the Shingrex vaccine and thankfully no case of shingles as bad as that. But every time I have dental work done like a root canal or extraction I get shingles on the roof of my mouth. I am so sorry you are going through this

@gussie Are you sure you're dealing with Zoster and not Simplex? I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about shingles and Herpes (I have Herpes Simplex resident in my trigeminal nerve, so mine shows up exclusively in my nares when it's really gone off or mostly on my upper lips). I haven't heard of Zoster appearing on the roof of one's mouth, but I guess anything's possible.

@gloaming I may of misspoke. The pain and swelling is massively on right side of my life and inside cheek which is now spreading down my neck

I have painful shingles in right side lower lip and cheek. Starting to swell in throat area. (FYI: No problems breathing or swallowing)

This hurts so bad. I'm on Valtrex and antibiotics. At home, I'm doing good cool cloths, warm cloths, Celebrex and Tylenol. Dr also gave me pain meds, that making much different

Problems drinking and eating and talking because lip is so swollen.
Need advice!

@gloaming You could be right but I had my dentist and two oral surgeons say it was shingles.

I’m so sorry. Challenging location. I had shingles on my torso a dozen years ago. The intense pain lasted 2.5 weeks. I hope your case is shorter.

@gussie Thanks, I'll have to do some reading. I'm curious and enjoy learning stuff.

@tliehr That DOES sound much more like shingles. I have zip experience, and was thankfully warned by my dear old auntie at least a decade ago to get the shingles vax. She was in a bad way and severely afflicted. My wife and I both got the two injections about three months apart, and so far so good. But the one-sided affliction, the searing pain, and so much of it spread around, is not like Herpes Simples, the common cold sore.

@tliehr, I added your question to the Neuropathy as well as the Brain & Nervous System support groups.

I found this article about oral shingles.
- Shingles in Your Mouth: Signs, Causes, and Treatment Options https://www.healthline.com/health/shingles-in-mouth

It sounds like you are doing most of what the article suggests. You might also find tips in this related discussion (although not specific to shingles in the lip or cheek area).
- Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia: What helps with Pain? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/shingles-and-neuropathic-pain/

How long have you been dealing with this?