DEAR DR. GOTT: In April 2010, I had partial shoulder replacement surgery. While in the hospital, I had an allergic reaction to one or more of the medications I was given. It started out with my head itching really badly and then spread to a rash on my back. At that time I was given Benadryl.
After I came home, it got worse and spread from my neck to my ankles. My knees and shoulders were covered in a solid red mass. It hurt to walk because my joints were stiff and painful. I went to my family doctor, and she diagnosed it as Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). She told me that she had seen only one case worse than mine, and while I was in the doctor’s office four different doctors came in to check out the reaction.
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