@eirrol, I am stage 4 CKD now but about 3 years ago was in Stage 3 and stable until I got shingles. Shortly after the shingles my kidney function dropped to Stage 5 and I went on dialysis for a few months. Slowly some of my kidney function came back but even today I still have a burning itch along the nerve track where the shingles were the worst. It's actually getting slightly better over time but when the burning, stinging, throbbing itch was at it's worst I couldn't sit still sometimes or sleep much . I did get some relief from topical lidocaine patches and cortisone cream. I was told that destroying the affected nerve root(s) might help but the docs here didn't want to do that and offered gabapentin instead which I had taken before for diabetic neuropathy and did not help. I sure can relate to your post-herpetic problems and hope they resolve over time. Let us know if you discover any solutions.