allergic to Florida or the allergy pill?

It's been a very tough week for Jubilee.  Two or three days after getting back to Florida, Jubilee started showing signs of her "allergy" - itching, scratching.  In PA she seemed stable so I had cut back her allergy pills (atopica) to once a week.  They are quite expensive.  However, with our return to Florida, it seemed that I needed to up the dosage.

I don't know what happened, but every time she got a pill, she went into extreme overdrive with her itching and scratching.  It was as if she was allergic to the allergy pill.  She was tearing herself up, then rolling in the dirt to get some kind of relief.  I was giving her oatmeal baths at least once a day, and a lot of Benadryl.  She did not want to eat, swim, go for a walk, or bark.   When Mike, the pool guy, came over he was so alarmed at her behavior he called me immediately.  She usually plays with him while he cleans the pool, but this time she was howling with pain and would not stop scratching herself.  Her vet, Dr. Grigsby, was out of town until Monday, and I had an appointment Monday morning.  But I felt so desperate that I took her in this morning to have the other vet look at her.

She has eye infections, ear infections, mouth infections (she may lose a tooth), and bacterial and yeast infections all over her body.  She got 3 shots - a steroid for the itching (which they don't like to give), a long acting antibiotic, and a shot for pain.  I've got eye drops and ear drops and pills to administer every day.  And she got that blue cone to keep her away from her eyes, ears, and mouth.  She still doesn't look too good.

Whew.  I hope this works.  Vet bill: $375, which doesn't include the $100 for more of the damn allergy pills.