Hello Potsie,
My husband had shingles several years ago now that left scars on his back. He said they were the most painful things he had ever experienced, bar none. He also did not remember having had the chicken pox as a child, but must have at some time...perhaps a very mild case...
Anyway, he did go to the Dr and it was essential that he received the treatment to help dry up the lesions.
One of the things they had him do was get the strongest pepper cream (capsasim (sp?)) that he could find and put on gloves to spread it on. Then he had to rub the cream directly over (and only over) the areas that were blistering. For some reason, the nerve endings were confused by the burn of the cream and it stopped the horrible burning of the nerve endings themselves. He said he could not have lived without the stuff. Neither he, nor I, use pepper creams on a general basis. I do use biofreeze, but it did not do anything for him with the shingles...only the pepper cream and the shots and meds they gave him at the Dr.
I agree it is VERY important to get in as quickly as possible...especially since today is Friday and it will be hard to get in before lunch (when most offices close on Friday). Perhaps an immediate care type of clinic will help.. they are actually WAY cheaper on my insurance than any Dr and hundreds cheaper than the ER for me.
Good luck!