My first food allergy ER run.
I have more to write, but I needed to get this down:
Yesterday I went to an Irish Festival in Pomona. I'll describe it in more detail later, but all you really need to know for the present entry is that there was, of course, a large amount of food vendors - all selling corned beef and other beef products. I felt a genuine sadness as I walked through the area because I knew that there was no way that I could think about popping a Zyrtec and having some; I am anaphylactic to beef.
A couple of hours later at work I was hit by a sudden and severe asthma attack. Normally when I have these problems (especially at work) I put off treatment because the side effects of the meds screw me up for the rest of the day. Besides this, I typically do not think that these things are as bad as they probably are. Last night, however, I knew right away that this was a big problem and took my inhalers and my Zyrtec that I only use in an emergency. I was slow and stupid for the rest of the evening (not to mention wheezy and shaky), but I felt that I may have averted something bigger. I was 95% sure that the symptoms were caused by all of the cooking beef at the festival.
Last night I came home and crashed on the couch. I woke up asthmatic this morning and had a few digestive problems. As the morning got on I got progressively dizzier, spacier, and shakier. My limbs were sporradically weak. These were all like my first beef reaction, albiet not as bad. I just wasn't sure how bad it would get. Additionally, the first reaction I had was after eating a lot of beef; this one was after inhalation only. This scared me a bit.
I called my mother a couple of times to figure out what I should do. I called my allergist. I took another Zyrtec. I started fighting for consciousness a bit and I didn't feel safe going to sleep. After a discussion with the nurse that involved a description of my symptoms she told me that I should really do my Epi Pen and go to the emergency room.
...so I did. I didn't want to, but I did. My instinct told me that I needed to do this and I knew I would feel better after doing it. I sat on my (new) ottoman, jabbed the thing into my thigh, and listened while my mother counted to 10 over the phone. My friend came down from campus to drive me to the ER; while I waited I slowly and awkwardly made sure that I had things I would need - including food, as I didn't know how long I would be there. I babbled at my mom for the entire time to make sure that I stayed awake.
My friend got me to the hospital; another friend (SuperAdvisor's wife) came down so that my buddy could get back to class. The short story: I got a nebulizer treatment that was hooked up to pure oxygen and an IV with Benedryl and fluids. The allergy symptoms went away and the jumpy shaky side effects of the meds eventually subsided.
I am OK now. A bit tired, but OK.
The verdict? I'm actually really glad that I took the Epi Pen and would do it again in the same situation regardless of how dramatic or unneccesary it seems. I guess I still have trouble convincing myself that I have issues that require that treatment sometimes.
Also: I will take my Zyrtec BEFORE going to next year's Irish festival. I would have this time, but I had no idea I would have such a reaction.
I have a follow-up appointment with my allergest on Wed at 11AM and plan on taking Zyrtec for the next two days or so.
Sarah, who will write more later.
Yesterday I went to an Irish Festival in Pomona. I'll describe it in more detail later, but all you really need to know for the present entry is that there was, of course, a large amount of food vendors - all selling corned beef and other beef products. I felt a genuine sadness as I walked through the area because I knew that there was no way that I could think about popping a Zyrtec and having some; I am anaphylactic to beef.
A couple of hours later at work I was hit by a sudden and severe asthma attack. Normally when I have these problems (especially at work) I put off treatment because the side effects of the meds screw me up for the rest of the day. Besides this, I typically do not think that these things are as bad as they probably are. Last night, however, I knew right away that this was a big problem and took my inhalers and my Zyrtec that I only use in an emergency. I was slow and stupid for the rest of the evening (not to mention wheezy and shaky), but I felt that I may have averted something bigger. I was 95% sure that the symptoms were caused by all of the cooking beef at the festival.
Last night I came home and crashed on the couch. I woke up asthmatic this morning and had a few digestive problems. As the morning got on I got progressively dizzier, spacier, and shakier. My limbs were sporradically weak. These were all like my first beef reaction, albiet not as bad. I just wasn't sure how bad it would get. Additionally, the first reaction I had was after eating a lot of beef; this one was after inhalation only. This scared me a bit.
I called my mother a couple of times to figure out what I should do. I called my allergist. I took another Zyrtec. I started fighting for consciousness a bit and I didn't feel safe going to sleep. After a discussion with the nurse that involved a description of my symptoms she told me that I should really do my Epi Pen and go to the emergency room.
...so I did. I didn't want to, but I did. My instinct told me that I needed to do this and I knew I would feel better after doing it. I sat on my (new) ottoman, jabbed the thing into my thigh, and listened while my mother counted to 10 over the phone. My friend came down from campus to drive me to the ER; while I waited I slowly and awkwardly made sure that I had things I would need - including food, as I didn't know how long I would be there. I babbled at my mom for the entire time to make sure that I stayed awake.
My friend got me to the hospital; another friend (SuperAdvisor's wife) came down so that my buddy could get back to class. The short story: I got a nebulizer treatment that was hooked up to pure oxygen and an IV with Benedryl and fluids. The allergy symptoms went away and the jumpy shaky side effects of the meds eventually subsided.
I am OK now. A bit tired, but OK.
The verdict? I'm actually really glad that I took the Epi Pen and would do it again in the same situation regardless of how dramatic or unneccesary it seems. I guess I still have trouble convincing myself that I have issues that require that treatment sometimes.
Also: I will take my Zyrtec BEFORE going to next year's Irish festival. I would have this time, but I had no idea I would have such a reaction.
I have a follow-up appointment with my allergest on Wed at 11AM and plan on taking Zyrtec for the next two days or so.
Sarah, who will write more later.