Having had the pleasure of having it once already, in my 30s, it drives me nuts that I have to wait to vaccinate against it. Maybe the sickest I've ever been.
If it offers consolation, I share your story and just developed it a second time recently (about 7 years after the first, brought on by overtraining again).
Being familiar with the prodrome and early symptoms, I was able to get treatment way sooner than I did the first time. Between that and perhaps having a more primed immune system, this second encounter was far shorter and less intense.
Still not fun, and I'm hoping it'll earn me early access to the vaccine, but I'm more optimistic about it being muted if that doesn't happen and it comes back a third time.
This was definitely a huge factor for me. Since it was on the skin I waited for a dermatologist when I should have gone to any doctor immediately, I'm sure it would have been fairly clear since I eventually was able to suss out that it was shingles on my own before I got to the dermatologist.
