My wife and I both had the vaccine several years ago. It was two shots. I remember one of the shots was uneventful, the other shot was very painful, like they were injecting boiling water in me. The needle is much bigger than the one they use for a flu shot. My mom had a mild case of shingles a few years ago. It was somewhat painful, but not terrible. My ex-SIL got a case of the shingles a few years ago and it went into her eyes pretty bad. She was legally blind for about a year and still hasn't fully recovered.
I'd say it's best to get the vaccine.