Postherpetic neuralgia

I went back to the dermatologist last week and her diagnosis was confirmed. The first thing she said to me upon entering the consultation room was "have you got good news for me?" the answer was unfortunately, no. My skin was still really itchy and sore despite the steroids. This then confirmed her original thought, that I had nerve damage, due to the shingles. This is called Postherpetic Neuralgia.

We asked about the injection that she mentioned last time, but she said she'd had no luck getting hold of it as it is normally used as a last resort. Instead she gave me an extra dose of steroids and increased the amount of nerve pain killers that I was already taking. She also suggested a cream that I could use. She did warn me, that it may make my face feel like it was on fire. It did. The instructions were really strict on the cream, that you had to apply it really sparingly and make sure to wash your hands after application. That night I couldn't sleep as it felt like someone had set my face alight. I was sat on the floor in my bedroom with the electric fan blowing on my face and then a freezing cold flannel. I assume I eventually got to sleep and decided that I couldn't handle the cream and preferred the itching...

When I asked how long she expected the symptoms to last for, she said, because I'm young 3-6 months. That wasn't the answer I was expecting or wanted, but there's nothing I can do! I will therefore continue to scratch and hope for the best!