When I was cleaning houses, one of my clients was a doctor and her husband was a doctor as well. When I got a bout of shingles, I called her and said that, although I had never called off work before, I was going to have to this time because the shingles was so painful. She said "Take as much time as you need. A doctor associate had shingles and neuropathy afterwards and he couldn't stand the pain and killed himself". I said "Well, it isn't that bad. If I could stand childbirth, I can stand this even though it's a totally different kind of pain". She insisted that neuropathy is one of the worst. So if you can, keep trying meds until you find the one/s that work for you. As you said, I'd rather be in pain than be a zombie but we shouldn't have to choose. A friend of mine is on Lyrica and he says that all he thinks about is food. I just can't have that. I gain weight when someone standing next to me eats a radish so it's a battle for me now that I'm older. I don't need to add that to the mix.

Good luck and please let us know how you're doing.