My Mother had a vitrectomy then cataract surgery in her left eye. After the surgeries her left eye became very sensitive to light, she can't watch TV or turn on the light for more than 15 minutes and she has a lot a pain in her left eye almost everyday. two months ago she had a couple of rashes around her eye and then the rash increased. The doctors said that she has Herpes Zoster (Shingles) and she started to take "Valacyclovir" with pain relief for 2 weeks, the rash disappeared but it came up again later and now she has been on Valacyclovir again for 3 weeks but the rash still exist as well as the pain and the high sensitivity to light.
We are really worried and confused because all doctors said that the Zoster should have been gone by now and no one has an answer for what is causing the pain or the light sensitivity and how long she will keep suffering like this.
Is it shingles? and how long does it take to heal from it ? does she need to keep taking the Valacyclovir ?