I m a 60 yr old female who was diagnosed with the Shingles this past may. I also suffer from AS, since I was a teen. I m wondering if there is another disease or illness this could be because the 1st time it was my upper right arm felt like a stink and an itch, I slapped it thinking mosquito or spider, but my hand was soaking wet and it had been a big blister, about the size of a silver dollar, the skin came off when I slapped it and it looked like someone who has a bad sunburn after the blister bursts and it s pink and painful. Took me 3 months of antiviral treatments to get well. Then the same exact thing occurred on my right shoulder blade area, big in size..an itch, a slap, skin and clear fluid again. I was out of town and decided that I would let my body try to fight it since I had been on antiviral for so long. It slowly got better, the pain was not as bad as the first attack, but it was still a pain that would make me scream if anyone or anything touched the area ....the last of it dried up and healed about a week ago. This morning I woke up and found a new blister. This time it is about the size of a pencil, and it is on the back of my right leg, just above the knee. I need a 2nd opinion because my AS has destroyed my immune system trying to attack my spine as a foreign body.