Shoot Me Up Doc!

Approximately 20 years ago, I had a severe anaphylactic reaction and had no idea what was going on.  I was sick, and had gone to the doctor earlier in the day.  He diagnosed me as having a bad case of bronchitis, and something else……it’s been so long ago, I just can’t remember, while telling this story.

In order to get better medically, the doctor prescribed penicillin.  I, being the impatient one, asked the doctor if I could have a shot instead of pills.  He agreed, gave me the shot and I waited around the office for 20 minutes to see if I would react to the shot.  No reaction!!!!

I returned home and ate a light lunch; some scrambled eggs, and laid down on the couch.  I fell asleep for a couple of hours, and woke to the sound of my front door opening.  It was my sister returning home from work.  I’m just waking up from the sound of the front door opening, my eye’s a tad blurry, and my chest hurt from the bronchitis (too much coughing).  

My sister took one look at me as she walked in the front door.  The first words out of her mouth were: “what the hell happened to you?”  I of course looked at her confused, because I was startled awake. My sister told me to go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. 

Half asleep, I walk into the bathroom. I felt dizzy, I was breathing funny, my chest hurt badly, I itched in my arm pits and groin area…………………and then when I looked up into the mirror…………….OMG, my face was so swollen.  It looked like someone kicked the crap out of me.  My eyes were swollen badly, my lips were huge………………you would have thought I was a boxer who had her butt kicked badly. 

Dummy me took a Benadryl and then contacted my doctor.  The doctor told me to go to the emergency room, by that time the Benadryl kicked in.  I told her what I took; the doctor stated if I got worse to go to the emergency room immediately.  My doctor told me I apparently had an Anaphylactic Reaction, and scheduled me to see an Allergist for allergy testing the next day. 

The allergy doctor listened to my story, and then proceeded to lecture me for 10 minutes about not going to the emergency room immediately.  He told me I’m lucky to be alive!!!!  Well, well…….his words got my attention.  The doctor gave me a prescription for an Epi-Pen. 

Then he proceeded to tell me, I had better go directly from the office to the pharmacy and get the prescription filled because the next time I have an anaphylactic reaction, I could end up dead.   The doctor took my blood to test for allergies.  He made sure to test for penicillin and egg reactions, since I had a shot, and ate eggs.

The blood test revealed, I’m highly allergic to penicillin, and anything made of eggs.  The test also revealed I’ve got intolerance to dairy products. 

In the end, I avoided eggs for 8 years.  Then I gradually added eggs to my diet with the help of a doctor.  Now I’m no longer allergic to eggs, and still use dairy products with a slight reaction of constantly clearing my throat. As for milk, I use Almond Milk as a substitute. As for the penicillin, I stay away from it totally.

In our medical supplies/first aid kits, and my personal fanny pack, we carry several Epi-Pens for emergencies.  These Epi-Pens are checked for expiration dates and replaced routinely.

I have a question for you; do you have an Epi-Pen in your emergency medical supplies/first aid kits?    If not, you should; because a shot of epinephrine will give you enough time to get to the emergency room when you’re having an Anaphylactic Reaction. 

*Allergic Reactions Chart by Adam

**I was not asked or paid to advertise for Mylan, regarding the EpiPen.