a case of the itchies...

the past 48 hours have been pretty miserable for me. monday morning i woke up to all-over itchiness. by lunchtime, i had a red patch on my elbow and my hip. i instantly thought it was poison ivy (even though i've never had it before). i continued itching while texting my mother-in-law about what to do for poison ivy. i knew i couldn't take benadryl since it would risk messing with my milk supply.


by 5 that afternoon, i knew it wasn't poison ivy, but, instead, i was having an allergic reaction to something as the rash was spreading fast. i couldn't for the life of me think of anything new or different that i had been exposed to. when i talked to my mom, she mentioned my meds for the mastitis. duh. my antibiotic. 


as soon as lane got home from work, i headed back to urgent care. i could tell it was now rapidly spreading and was much more red/inflammed. after waiting a couple of hours, i finally saw the doctor. upon obsevation, he said it was for sure a drug reaction. duh, again. when he was asked what antibiotic i was on, i told him doxycycline. he said, "do you mean dicloxacillin?" (which is what i've been treated with before) i said that i didn't know and handed him the bottle (i was proud of the fact that i thought to bring it). sure enough, it was doxycycline. not only the wrong antibiotic for what i had, but a dangerous class d drug for pregnant and nursing moms. great. 


the new doctor did nothing to hide the fact that i should not have been given that. obviously, it was a mistake. on saturday, the doctor even came back into the room to ask if i was currently nursing and how old knox was while writing the script. the new doctor wasn't worried about knox and the med so much since i just had 5 doses. other professionals have also said the same thing and calmed my fears. 


i left urgent care with a new antibiotic and the warning that it will make me feel fluish and mess with my GI system. i turned down a benadryl shot since he agreed it would decrease my supply. by the time i got home, i was so miserable. lane said i looked like a burn victim. my whole torso and back were essentially one huge welt. my face had them. my eyelids began swelling and i couldn't stick my fingers in my ears. finally, the itching eased enough that i was able to fall asleep. 


tuesday morning, they were still visible, but not inflammed. i still was itching, but was able to somewhat function. that afternoon, it started flaring up again. by dinnertime, i called lane to go to the pharmacy and tell the pharmacist the story and buy whatever they said i could have! she didn't think 1 or 2 benadryls would hurt so i took 1/2 of one to help take the edge off. that got me the boys bedtime when i was finally able to take an oatmeal bath. i then slathered hydrocortisone cream on. it helped a lot. at bedtime, i took the other half of the benadryl and slept all night. 


today, they're still there, but besides an itch here and there, this is the best they've felt. i'm praying they don't flare up again. my skin looks awful though. i look contagious even though i know i'm not! i have pictures, but i'll spare you the grotesque images :)i was reading info on the internet this morning. it says hives can last for weeks. great. i'm trying not to worry about them because that also doesn't help it says. i'm just irritated that a careless mistake brought all this on in the first place. and now i'll prob get sick from the augmentin. i had it last summer and it made me feel awful.


please say a prayer for itching relief, will you? and besides the colloidal oatmeal baths and hydrocortisone cream, are there any other remedies that you know of that will be fine to use along with breastfeeding?