@ruthec
Hi, I had a very bad case of Shingles at the end of April 2024. It settled into the areas where I had had previous surgery: right middle back, right side under arm and under right breast to middle of stomach. I now have PHN. I take Gabapentin 300mg 3x day lidocaine patches as needed. Sometimes a Tramadol. I find exercise and yoga to be my best friends. I get a massage quite often. At first I couldn’t let anything or anyone touch me, but it’s tolerable now. I am going to try physical therapy soon. You might ask your doctor to switch to Lyrica it sometimes works better than gabapentin. Weather affects mine.
I’m 73 years old in good health. I try to keep optimistic, but it is a really tough sometimes. I know what you are going through. I just keep on walking, exercising and yoga these things keep my sprits up.