Hello everyone, I'm new here. About 3-4 months ago I came down with Shingles. I went to my Doctor but unfortunately he said we didn't catch it soon enough, which brings me to my current situation.... After the rash subsided I entered into a Hell I could never have imagined called, "Post Herpetic Neuralgia". The pain is excruciating!

In the beginning it started traveling down to my right leg(same side rash appeared on back) and now eventually spread into both legs and sometimes my elbows too. I've tried every med out there (Lamictal, Neurontin, Cymbalta, etc...) I have recently had Novacain injections in my back. Still no change. Even had Acupincture. All of this time I have been on pain meds. I don't like having to take them, but without them it's too painful to even get out of bed. They make my life semi-manageable. Here's the weirdest thing.... I'm only 29 years old and up until now I've had pretty stellar health! However I do get really bad panic attacks which I believe may have sparked this.

Are there any ways of speeding this thing up? It's already claimed 4 months of my life and it's getting very hard to deal with. For a time I tried B12 injections but unfortunately got no results. Anyone here been through this ordeal? How did you cope with it? How long did it last? I'd really appreciate any input from people who have been there.