I'm a couple of weeks into a rather intense zoster outbreak centered
behind my ear but also spread across the back of my head and right
shoulder. I had a fairly intense prodrome for 5 days or so before the
eruption, and the eruption was described as "severe" by my very
experienced ID doc. I'm 42 yo male with no known immune problems, etc.
The lesions are healing well and tomorrow I finish a 10 day course of
Famvir so I'm praying that the pain will decrease and won't turn into
PHN despite the 2 out of 3 predictors for PHN I experienced (severe
prodrome and severe eruption......I win only on the age factor....).

Anyway, here is my question: Most of the prodrome felt as though I'd
pulled a tendon connecting to the base of my skull, but the night
before I woke up to the eruption, it's main feature was a stabbing pain
at a point right behind and below my ear - exactly the point where the
eruption is centered. This pain was pulsing rather than constant,
moderate to intense in severity, but always gave the sense that if it
kept up for longer than a fraction of a second per pulse it could turn
into "please kill me now" level of pain - that is, completely
overwhelming.

But what's interesting about this and has me posting is: I've
experienced this same pain in this same spot on and off for as long as
I can remember. It's always had the same characteristics as the final
part of the prodrome, and may occur on and off for a few days and then
not again for months. While always seeming to have to power to cause
the most intense pain, it never "stayed on" long enough to do so, and
after so many years I had figured it was something completely benign -
perhaps a muscle spasming and pinching a nerve (I get regular muscle
spasms in certain muscles.....no idea why....). But now that I've had
the zoster attack and recognize the prodrome, it has me wondering if
I've been experiencing this "pro-prodrome" for many years. I can't find
any information on this......does anyone know if such a syndrome is
recognized??

Thanks