My story of the day...Or how I nearly died, by GF
 

So I've had a bit of a long day. Went to get my allergy shot at like 2:15 I guess. That wasn't so bad, it didn't burn near as bad as last time.

Hah.

That's until 20 minutes later I was coughing, itching, and wheezing.

The injection lady asks me how I'm doing... "Eh, I'm fine I gues.... But I mean... I dunno... I'm feeling a little wheezy"

"Wheezy?"

"Well, yeah, just a little...."

Now the woman just kinda has the horrified look on her face like "And you were about to leave?! OH MY GOD!!!!". Now I was fine. I thought. A little kinda nervous because I've never had to deal with any of this, but I mean whatever, they'll give me some medicine and I'll go on my way. Nope. She went to the back, got the Nurse Practitioner and I got to spend my afternoon hanging out with her.

15 minutes later after that I'm in the back of the clinic getting an adrenaline injection, taking benadryl, and using an inhaler to breathe correctly.

So then I spent another hour and a half there getting my blood pressure taken and my heart beat monitered every 5-10 minutes.

Now adrenaline is fun stuff. I got a full dose, and boy howdy I could barely sit straight because my heart was racing and my hands were shaking so bad that when she gave me a bottle of water I spilled it all over the front of my shirt.

And on top of that, you know me, I get 4 shots a week. La-dee-dah, that's not a problem. But she walked back into my room with a needle that was horrifyingly large. And today I learned something about needles. Needles don't hurt when they go in. It's the liquid pain that goes in when they press the plunger and 5 ccs of medicine are forced into your arm.

About 45 minutes later she gave me two steroid pills and singulair, and finally let me out around 3:45. Now at 8-9 tonight I have another steroid to take that will keep me from having a reaction a few hours later.

So, apparently there was a strong chance that if I had just left I could be at home on my couch a nice shade of blue because my throat constricted. I didn't personally think that would happen, but it can set on and you can stop breathing within a minute.

So now I'm going to be carrying around an Epi-pen with me wherever I go incase I go into Anaphylactic Shock and find myself dying.

So that's the only story I've ever been able to tell some one about my life that's remotely interesting. :)

I dont leave home without my epi-pen those throat constrictions are horrible.

I got bitten by 3 fire ants a few weeks ago and it took two benadryls and my inhaler to get me under control (I try not to use my pen unless its MAJOR, not to underplay 3 fire ant bites...but I mean wasps and bees as major...if it had been more fire ants it would have been. I got 9 bites once that landed me in the hospital)

try to get some rest....thats the best advice I can offer.

Lol - Oops, I meant this to be under General Discussion, not Newbies. Oh well.

Looking into buying an EPI-Pen is a very very good idea for you.
Its basically the easiest way for you to administer adrenaline (epinephrine) to your body yourself easily. In any case, if you ever feel like that again, please don't take a risk and dial 911 immediately. Your condition can deteriorate rapidly. Also, remember that even if its that bad that you cant speak anymore, just dialing 911 and leaving the phone on will send them on their way too!

What are you allergic to?

To make this simple, what you should do is walk outside and point at something that grew from the ground and there's a good chance I'm allergic to it.

And if it walks around on four legs and rhymes with kat, then I'm very -very- allergic to that.

Whoa... you're allergic to bats, too??!! Kidding. I hear you, man. I'm allergic to things I've never even seen before. There are no cherry trees in Florida! Allergy shots were pure hell, so now I suck it up, but carry my inhaler everywhere. And buy Benadryl at Sam's Club. EPI Pens have saved the lives of the lives of kids I've worked with countless times. I've been lucky enough not to have gone fully anaphylactic (I can never spell that!) myself.

My biggest, non-food allergy is cockroaches. I laughed hysterically when they told me that, but I could totally be one of those things like the termite dogs. I breakout in hives when anyone has them in their homes. It's crazy. But you've really got to watch that stuff. And tell them to slow down on increasing the concentration!

Bats don't have four legs, nor do they walk around.

I look back fondly on my near death experiences, they give quite the sense of euphoria afterwards.

Ahem, anyway...

Carrying around an Epi pen is good, but also make sure people you're around regularly know how to use it and are prepared to stab you in the thigh in the event of an emergency. So family, close friends, roommates if that one's applicableand boyfriend/girlfriend, also if applicable. If you go into anaphylactic shock you may not be in any condition to do it yourself.

your right... I think he's allergic to rats!

i read your story to my little brother... he gets allergy shots once a week... never has had a reaction like that tho

Naw, it's gotta be wombats.

Not to take away from this serious converastion, but technically they do both.

They have 4 "body parts" that act as 2 arms and 2 legs and they will crawl around if required which is walking for them. :)

---

And GF glad to see you're ok, I honestly had no idea what a epi-pen was till I googled it after reading this thread. Very intresting.

the rare "wandering hat"?

Damn, the most I'm allergic to is poison ivy and oak, and probably their cousins.

Oh, and dish washing.


Glad you're feeling better, Gator.

I used to not understand how people with Asthma "couldn't breathe". I mean just breath dammit. Mmy chronic bronchitis got upgraded to asthma and I learned that it was much more different than I had ever thought.

My worst asthma attack came froma trip with Quadro2000 and JustJess. We joke now about it, but at the time it was quite scary for everyone involved. We were deep in the Adirondacks and I would have an asthma attack every night while sleeping. I did not know that this is a bad sign.

On the second morning at breakfast, I could not breathe so I excused myself from the table and went outside for some fresh air. It was suggested that we head to town and go to the urgent care facility but I demured.

It be very apparent to me that I needed more than just my inhaler, and Q's father drove me to an urgent care facility about 20 minutes away. They called ahead to let them know that I would be coming in. Q's father was very calm. I was in the passenger seat concentrating on breathing. I could feel my airway tightening. He kept talking to me to keep me occupied and from just succumbing and closing my eyes. He cracked jokes to keep my interested and cursed at the local yokel traffic that was not yeilding to him.

We got to the facility and they gave me all that they could eppi pen, adrenalin shot. I was not responding. They had me on an oxygen mask. But as I started to slip into unconsciousness, I could see Skogafoss' feet in the next room, but I could see Q's father standing in the doorway. All I could think about was my wife of about 6 months and the last vision I have of her is her feet. I was drowning where there was no water.

I realized that at that very moment, I might have had only a few more minutes on this planet. I could not talk to anyone. I could not motion to anyone as I was being restrained because my body was in the throes of flailing about as every cell in my body was demanding more oxygen. I felt it.... the lonlieness. I realized at that moment, when we die, we are totally alone. I had people around me working on my. Shouting orders as I started to drift in and out. My arms and legs pushing against the people restraining me as my body demanding more oxygen than what the small airway was able to accomodate. My wife, she was just a few feet away. I could not tell her I loved her. I could not say anything. My body was demanding oxygen, my extremities flailed about as best as they could under the pressure of the people holding my body down. My body wanted to live. Every cell was working in concert demanding that it get more oxygen.

My mind was still quite lucid, I recall thinking that if this is the last moment, I am ready. I am complete. I bid farewell to Skogafoss in my mind. I remember thinking about her and the last trips we had together. The night before was the first Drive In movie that Skogafoss had ever been to and it was the movie Signs. I could not smile at her, I could not tell her that I was very peaceful. I did not feel any pain; I was not scared.

Suddenly a crash cart burst into the room. Paramedics transferred me to their gurney I think I was given another couple of shots and they wheeled me into the parking lot and into the back of the ambulance. I was hooked up to another oxygen mask and a nebulizer. My airway was slowly opening. I was looking up at this paramedic. I had no idea where Skogafoss was, but people were shouting at me that I had to hang on as the ride to the nearest hospital was about 40 minutes in Glen Falls. As oxygen was getting to all my cells again my body slowly relaxed. My heart rate was still moving quickly because of all the things that they shot me up with at the urgent care facility.

The hospital in Glen Falls kept me overnight because of all the things that I was shot up with. Skogafoss was by my side the whole time. She told me she sat in the passenger seat of the ambulance as Quadro and JustJess trailed behind, she was nearby when I thought she was nowhere to be seen.

We now joke about this situation and make light of it. Q's father calls me Darth Vader and insists that I bring my own oxygen tank anytime we're together. I actually carry a small portable battery operated nebulizer and squibs of albuterol now where ever we travel since we like to travel to remote areas.

thank you for listening to my story. this is the first time I've ever really documented this experience since it was prior to me journaling.

Gatorade Frost take it all very serious. After your shot and twenty minutes
has passed. If you even have a runny nose stay and tell that nurse! :eek:
In the day I was the nurse. I let a man go after twenty minutes,he said he was fine. 15 minutes later a kid came in the office and said a man was passed out in the parking lot. He wasn't passed out,he was dead.
I went to court and was on the stand explaining why this twenty-nine year
old father of four was dead. Nuff said.
Good luck don't rush your time,stay 30 minutes read a book or play a game.
:cool:

Ouch...that would have really freaked me out! I don't think I would have been able ot keep my underwear clean going through that.

wow Cyn....I thought my last fire ant attack was bad....but you've made me realize I need to stop dwelling on it!!!

It took alot out of me to write that. While we do joke about it now, I did have to revisit something that I'm currently trying to find acceptance in my life.

I never addressed the OP. GF, you know that it's important and that's the most important thing. Life is very delicate and we seem to forget just how delicate it really is as we worry about family obligations, school, work, etc.