Shingles - The painful ordeal

Just got diagnosed by the Dr that I am suffering from shingles. The photos are too gory and I will only post them up once I have recovered from this ordeal.

I am currently suffering from an outbreak of the shitty virus zoster which decided to grow some bobbas on my ribs.
Day 1 to 3

• I realised an itch under my bra line on the left of my ribs. Didn't think much about it. Just scratched it on and off. Thought I had a bed bug episode, even my husband thought so. Energy levels were weird, I was told that grumpy was my meal of the day.

Day 4

• The initial patch was getting redder now it was inflammed. Took a photo and whatsapp mom and she said I had shingles...Didn't think much.

Day 5

• Decided to go to the Pharmacy, and the pharmacist said yup its shingles and I should see a doctor but also told me to get some hydro-cortisone. After, I drove to the clinic and the doctor was happily poking my rash (no blisters yet) and confirmed it was shingles and prescribed me pain killers and cold sore cream. F*&K this time. Pain x 100

Day 6

• I could see some mini blisters coming out and some spread of small patches around the initial patch. This looks gross. Pain x 100, I want to use a cheese grater to grate it all out.

Day 7

• Feels like a 100 acupuncture needles are pricking me every few seconds. 
• Ticklish, pain, burning, festering, growing, drilling, itchy, hot, tight, sore and the list goes on.
• Inconvenienced by the fact that I can't slouch or sleep on the right side, bend over without letting it rub against. I have to sit up really straight or at a 45 degree position backwards.
• I feel disgusted looking at myself and its not helping that I keep taking photos to show my mom.
• I am in so much pain.

Day 8

• Popped one massive blister probably while in bed. Hurts like mother of all pain.
• The rest look really really intense red like its gonna pop anytime.
• The pain is more unbearable, had to pop 2 pain killers which ultimately knocked me out. 
• Found a Chinese Medical Centre while having dinner in Footscray and asked for some remedies, the owner of the shop gave me a concoction of 12 types of herbs and to eat it in powder form twice a day. He told me to boil honey suckle leaves and some roots to drink daily and to put the leftovers over my shingles.....and to stop applying whatever cream. (Apparently he to said ''those western pharmacy will ask you to apply deep heat sort of cream, it will make it worse''.)

Day 9 - I am writing a new post on this with gross photos....

Google being my best friend, meant that he remained my first point of research.

What I found out.

Internet facts:

1. Shingles usually affect elderly people more towards those >50. NO!!!! I am no where even near 35. I just found out a friend got it when he was 25 and on the face. Shingles knows no age.
2. Take anti-viral medications within 72 hours of onset of symptons. Why can't you give it to people who have not shown signs of little bubbles forming yet? When I went to the Dr it was only a slightly raised rash that was red and had not spread to other parts. But I was not given the meds. Dying here!!!
3. Take pain killers. I have been taking 6 tabs of panadeine/codeine in a day and I can still feel every burn/bite/pinch/drill/pain/itch/burrowing of the damn virus. All it did was make me sedate and not able to scratch.
4. Put some Eucalyptus / Tea tree oil to reduce itch/inflammation. The Eucalyptus oil did last for a good 1 hour and the tea tree oil lasted maybe 30 minutes and its back to pain/itch/burn bla bla bla.
5. Hydrocortisone. I bought Dermaid 1% no difference. Then I somehow stupidly bought Sigmacort which is also 1% no difference. The both looks the same, smells the same, texture is the same. Price is also almost the same. No diff. I used my brother's Efficort Lipocream and it does have a bit more of help in terms of lowering down the pin pains.
6. Aciclovir cream. This is some sort of cream for cold sores. Somehow I do not see how something for the cold sores on the face is gonna help the shits thats growing on my body in multiple folds. This is some anti-viral cream. I don't know what I am suppose to experience after applying it.
7. Mostly caused by stress and low immune system. For the past 3 over months I have not been working, I live in a non-polluted place, I practice good hygiene if not even more in the past few months due to minor minor OCD, I eat well, I hardly had fast food/take away. I had long sleeps and basically everything was just tops.
8. Only people who have caught chicken pox will get shingles. This is true. I even had the chicken pox jab prior to catching chicken pox and now this. Should I even go for shingles vaccination after this? 
9. Calamine lotion. Worked for 10 seconds and got more intense. I am guessing this is only good when the blisters have erupted like volcanoes spurting larva.

What my relatives say I should/shouldn't do based on the Chinese/neighbourhood/village way.

1. Do not eat chicken or eggs. I didn't really gave too much about that and guess what...for 3 days I tried to avoid and on the fourth I just had to eat that yukke ( Korean version of beef tartare) with raw egg. I only had a lil and when I got home, the surrounding skin around the blisters were all red and inflamed. Hurt like mad.
2. Chinese doctor. I apologise that I am about to call this guy mad, but he advised me to eat all the really toxic stuff like fried dried shrimps, prawn crackers, eat whatever actually and let the virus go full blown. He told me to even burn the tip of the needle and prick all the blisters and apply some sort of medication that my dad has DHL'ed to me. Hoh god! He must be insane.
3. Use toothpaste with mint. I have thought of using this but have not gone to the extent cause we use Sensodyne and I don't think its the one with mint.
4. Body is very heaty. This is one metaphor that no Western doctors can comprehend. What the hell is heaty. Well basically, when you have a lot of heat or I think dehydrated, have a temperature, feel hot inside, sore throat, eat alot of deep fried, fatty, spicy stuff. Anyway, when you are heaty, you get more shit. So I had watermelon, bananas, barley, fruit juices, vege soups, rice, easy to digest stuff like porridge. Hopefully to help ease the heat out. 
5. Don't stop the virus. I was advised not to use any medication or creams and just stick to pain killers. Dude, I am about to turn into a pain killer addict. I need more help.
6. If treated properly by the Chinese doctor, Shingles will not reoccur. In Chinese they call it ''growing snake'. The Chinese doctor will then use some sort of josstick/ fire on a stick to sort of smoke the snake out and kill it. They call it a snake cause it goes around . Whereas the Western medics say it does not go to the other side. Whatever. Plus the Western doctors never promised of nonoccurrence.

At this moment I would love any sort of remedy to reduce the pain. It's overwhelming.