Shingles.........?

Has anyone had shingles, if so can you tell me how you felt, how long they lasted etc. I only ask because I have heard that they can be really nasty and remember my friends dad having them and it took him about a year to get over them. I had shingles when i was 8 months pregnant and only had the rash and the itching. I had a pretty bad pregnancy with sickness and feeling generally lousy, would this be why i seemed to get off lightly?