--but this sounds suspicously like a bad attack of shingles followed by post-herpetic neuralgia . . .

Admittedly, most doctors don't look for this in young people--they associate with immune-compromised older adults--but anyone who has had chicken pox at some point in their lives can get it, as the herpes zoster (varicella) virus gets immortalized in the nerves, particularly the dorsal root ganglia, and can "reactivate" or break out under conditionos of stress or other infection:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nother/infect.htm#hz

You really need a much more thorough work-up and investigation with a doctor who's willing to dig a little deeper, and do much more testing.