I received my COVID booster when the boys got their COVID vaccine.
Within 24 hours I knew something was wrong. The lymph nodes in my neck
swelled painfully and became very hard. I saw my doctor and was told
not to be concerned but to watch it.
Within a week my body became unbearably itchy and progressed to feeling like I was on fire. I was covered in hives (urticaria). My body burned and my skin looked like I had been slashed by the devil's claws. Have you ever touched insulation? The kind that has microscopic glass that gets in your skin? And it irritates and burns until it works its way out? That is how my entire body felt. It was everywhere...face, neck, stomach, chest, thighs, all over...but the worst was when it flared on my ears and back.
Of course this happened on a weekend. I spent much of Sunday in the fetal position rubbing my itchy body, trying not to scratch, putting cool cloths on my back and gasping for air- not because my lungs were inflamed (thank goodness!) but because the itching was so bad it took my breath away.
I had two telehealth visits and after the second one the provider called me and said normally they take a more restrained subdued approach but after seeing the progression of the pictures I sent within 48 hours of each other it was clear I was in intense agony. It was recommended that I pick up a steroid prescription and continue taking Benadryl and see my primary care physician ASAP.
First thing
Monday morning my doctor took one look and said "whoa". I explained I had done some research about the
COVID vaccine and in very rare instances urticaria can be a side
effect. The doctor confirmed my suspicions .
In addition to
the steroid and Benadryl I was told to take Zyrtec and famotidine. I was taking
medication every 4 hours for weeks. Based on other people the belief was my symptoms should resolve within 2
months. It took six.
For documentation purposes here is what I looked like for weeks:
Fun Fact: the long scar on my left lower
back is from when I was fourish years old and pulled the mattress off my
bed to use as a slide. Unfortunately I had also pulled out the metal
grate covering the HVAC vent. It was waiting for me at the bottom of the
slide. Sliced me right open. Ah memories...
So was the COVID vaccine worth it? I sure hope so because that was awful.
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