Medication Meltdown

I recently learned that I am allergic to quite a few things. I also learned that my Mom can run to the kitchen and back with a trash bag in 3.5 seconds so that I don't vomit on the living room floor...

This week has been... eventful. Let's start from the beginning: In a pre-op fog, I forgot to tell the surgical team that I am allergic to betadine ( a skin antiseptic used prior to surgery to clean the site) and developed a very itchy rash. I then dragged myself to a previously scheduled MRI five days after surgery which required IV contrast to be injected into my bloodstream. This is a procedure I have had many times at a different location, with no issues. Afterward, I typically drink lots of water to flush the contrast solution out and feel perfectly fine. But since we are in the year 2020... this time was different. Nausea kicked in as soon as I got home and it was a long night sleeping next to a bucket. To step it up a notch, I began to feel itchy head to toe, a side effect of the antibiotic I was taking for a minor surgical site infection. I tried hydrocortisone, Benadryl, Zyrtec, and several skin-soothing lotions to no avail. Calamine lotion gave me nothing but minimal relief and chickenpox flashbacks. As I sit here writing this, I am currently taking frequent breaks to scratch my earlobes. What to do next? I informed my doctor of the betadine allergy for my medical records, changed antibiotics, and prayed that next week will bring some relief.

There were a few frustrated tears shed this week but it's what happened in between the vomit, scratching, and dressing changes that got me through it. It was the unwavering love with which my Mom held my hair back, forced me to drink enough fluids, made all my meals, and even rubbed anti-itch cream on my but cheek. It was the cuddles on the couch with my dog while we watched Christmas movies until I finally cracked a smile and it was the way my husband woke me up every morning with coffee in hand and wrapped his cardigan around me during the Florida cold front. I am so thankful for the people and things that get me through the hard times and help me remember this too shall pass.

Life is rough. It's up, it's down, is backward, and zigzags. Sometimes it’s vomit and allergic reactions, but it's still more sunshine than thunderstorms and it's still magic in the end.