I know this discussion is old but I'm experiencing this through my 61 year old boy friend. He had shingles on the right side of his head and eye. It's been a month. After we went on vacation, leaving our business causing stress, he came down with tenderness on his head. It excelled to the blisters and so on. He went to a clinic and they told him it was shingles and there was nothing they could do. Most of the spots have healed but his eye is still bloodshot. He can't sleep and is exhausted. I see from the responses that so much medication was given and he was given none. He is just taking over-the-counter pain killers that don't help alot. This person who hasn't gotten sick for most of his life now doesn't want to wake up if he finally falls asleep. He is a golfer and every time he goes out in the sun, it reactivates the shingles. I'm not sure what issue to force. Do I push him back to the clinic that didn't do much (he's been twice) for medication or do I push him to our dermatologist and get a new opinion. Both of us were red heads and both of us have had skin cancer. Does anyone have any suggestions on which way to go?