Hi there Lazydaisy - I too had shingles diagnosed last year, very painful. I went to the hospital here and the Spanish doctor took one look at me and announced I had Herpes! When she picked me up off the floor (!) I requested that we call it by the English equivalent of Shingles! We have to pay for our medicines here even though we have private medical insurance (too young at the moment to receive NHS in Spain) and they gave me prescription for 7 pills which cost 110 € (about 100 pounds). Took one a day for a week....marvallous! Also was gven an injection for the pain and painkillers and managed to be shingle free within a few weeks. Hope yours goes quickly too, I understand it is stress related but "chilling out" isn´t always an option is it!My 87 year old neighbour has her cousin staying with her for a while. The cousin has found out today that I have shingles, and has offered to do any shopping if I need her to.