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.
