I had right mid-back pain, front rlq pain, and skin in those areas sensitive to touch. Diagnosed with shingles. No rash for 3 days, still pain. Do you thing diagnosis is correct? Taking Famciclovir, nothing for pain. Should I take Acetiminphen or Ibuprofen for the pain and discomfort? Which would help better
Hello, shingles can be very irritating to the patient. Having only pain and sensitivity to the skin are the usual first symptoms. The rash may appear even after more than 3 days. So the answer is that your symptoms can be shingles, but nobody could tell any diagnosis for sure without even examining a patient. You have to know that shingles require prior exposure to varicella zoster virus. This condition may recur from time to time. I suggest acetaminophen to my patients as a first measure against pain because it's easier to use and has less side effects (if not abused) than ibuprofen or similar Chat Doctor.  Ibuprofen will prove to be a much more effective analgesic particularly if you take it along with acetaminophen. If your pain is severe enough then stronger analgesics should be used (opioids). I hope that's not your case! Good luck!