Shingles is a nightmare. A handful of folks in my family have had it and it was like torture. Two of them were elderly & believe the pain contributed to their deaths - not because shingles itself actually kills anyone, but because they were just in so much pain & so miserable they didn't want to live anymore.
@Impious_Jade I second getting the vaccine, especially since I think starting in 2023, it will be free. Also you never know what reaction you’ll get to the vaccine. I pretty much had no symptoms, but YMMV. I remember my mother telling me once that a friend of hers had shingles, and she was in so much pain that she couldn’t even wear clothes.
@softwaremerc Yeah a great aunt got shingles & was suicidal from the pain. It's no joke.
@Impious_Jade That sounds so awful.
@Impious_Jade Absolutely right. I got it this year and tho it is a pain, it's far better than getting shingles itself.
@Impious_Jade It's damned awful - I got it when I was 69 and made damn sure I got the shots afterwards - never want to go through that again. Have some lasting nerve damage from it
So go ahead & get the vaccine. Get it. It's a few days of grumpiness & discomfort compared to getting shingles & having weeks or months of your nerves being on fire 24/7.