Allergic reaction

I swear, this has been the WORST year ever for me health wise. Since I started training for the Pig, I've dealt with various injuries and sicknesses and I think this one tops them all. Since I had strep a few weeks ago, they put me on a pretty heavy dose of amoxicillin. Well, I never knew (until after the fact) that when you're on antibiotics, your body reacts differently to the sun. Vince and I spent the whole day on the river and I ended up sunburnt. The sunburn slowly turned into a rash that we thought was just a reaction to being in the sun while on antibiotics.

Well, that was two weeks ago and it never cleared up. In the last week, it started spreading so that the rash was no longer just on my chest where my shirt hadn't covered my skin, but all over my arms and up my neck. The only part of me that itched was my chest but I looked awful! I finally couldn't take it anymore and decided today that I was going to urgent care, especially because it was spreading.

Well, after $170 and a steroid shot, I left the doctor's office with a prescription for a cream and another antibiotic to clear everything up. It turns out I had an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, which is good to know so I don't get put on it anymore. The worst part is the itching. I would rather be sick or in pain than deal with constant itching. It's been AWFUL for the last two weeks.

Plus, secretly, the only reason I went to urgent care today is because I have a date on Thursday and I want this to start clearing up before then. All of my shirts (except for t-shirts and hoodies) are low cut enough that they show the rash so I can't wear anything right now that exposes my skin because I hate how it looks. I'm hoping this all will help so I can wear something cute on my date. :-P

Here's my biggest gripe: I have student health insurance, which I can only use on campus. Well, I can't afford any more time off of work so I decided to say screw it today and I went to urgent care knowing I was paying out of pocket for the visit. I paid $120 for the visit, $40 for the shot, and then another $10 for the cream and the antibiotic they have me on. I think it's ridiculous that I can't use my insurance anywhere but on campus so after this quarter, I'm going to pick up private health insurance that not only will be cheaper, but will actually let me use it somewhere other than just campus.

Here's to hoping this all helps. The itching is already starting to subside a bit from the loading dose of the steroid shot which is nice so I hope this is a good sign. I just can't take this itching anymore!!