Monday afternoon I broke out in hives and consequentially went into anaphylactic shock. I had something similar happen last month yet I did not go into shock, just broke out in hives.
This time my throat, lips and tongue swelled so big I was having trouble breathing. My eyelids were covered in hives and I was unable to see straight. There was not one area on my body not covered in hives.
Due to the fact that I do not have clear answers as to what I am allergic to (now) I am a little overwhelmed by this.
I went to the hospital and they took me back immediately. They had seven nurses working on me trying to stabilize me. I did not respond well to the many different medications they injected at once, the Epi pen that they gave me especially caused me problems. My blood pressure plummeted at one point it was a mere 36/20 something. I was really out of it.
I was loosing consciousness. My blood pressure refused to rise above 50/30. They told me if I had come two minutes later I could have died. When I told them I wanted to go home they said that they would get a call that someone would find my body in the morning. I can not even describe the feeling this information gave me.
I am pretty stubborn and all I wanted to do was go home but I am thankful that I listened. Not that information like that is easy to ignore.
The nurses kept saying they were confused by my blood pressure. They ended up giving me and EKG which turned out to be normal. But they were unsure why five liters of fluid and medications were not helping it rise. They even made me drink coffee.
I was moved to the ICU and monitored throughout the night. They said it was really touch and go. I felt better though. They said because my blood pressure was so low that my organs could start shutting down. Unfortunately my blood pressure was unstable the whole night. It did finally improve in the morning.
I have an awesome boss who gave me a day off last night to rest. I am on a few different medications that make me very tired but I really am feeling so much better.
I have been told that it may be Advil. I had taken Advil the last time this happened and about 40 minutes before the reaction this time.
I am going to have to get some extensive allergy testing done now.
I would like to thank my wonderful friends and family who helped me through this. I am so grateful for all of you.
I am thankful for the prayers and love you all send my way. I am thankful to be alive right now!
Please pray I find answers soon so I can stay as far away from whatever caused this as possible. They say each reaction will be worse and worse.
Here I am in all my glory, this is actually a good picture of me it got so much worse:
Oh my word! You poor girl! As if your plate wasn't full, enough as it is. I hope you get some answers soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Evelyn:) I'm waiting for the allergist to call back. I'm hoping to get in today.
ReplyDeleteOh my Erin!!! Take care of yourself!! I hope you get your answers soon.
ReplyDeleteOh, Rin. I am so sorry to hear this. I know from my own experience that is a very traumatizing experience. After I had Austin, my c sec was a little inflamed, so my doctor prescibed Amoxycillin. Maybe two seconds in, my gums started itching. Then my face. I fell to the floor, vomiting. I drove to the hospital shaking, vomiting, as everything was turning red in vision. I made it to the front desk before I fainted. I remember being revived, thinking I was dead, and w The doctors told me aking up in a gown realizing I had forgotten to wear underwear and my granmother was right! Everyone could see my lady business. I checked myself out to go home to Austin. I remember my fingernails were blue. My skin was so red from hives, it looked like I had a bad sunburn. I had to take steroids for a month and a half. The worst part was the next day. The doctors told me the same as you, that I was two minutes away from dying. Realizing how close I came, I cried and cried in the bathroom. I was holding a bar of soap, thinking, "I might not have been here to see this Lever 2000." It was crazy. I still won't take ANY antibiotic, I still panic whenever I take ANY pill, and I am STILL deeply scarred from the experience. I can't offer any words of advice, only comfort, as I have been exactly there myself. I love you.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry, sweetheart! I know just how scary this is after having the same kind of reaction last April. Hang in there, and please take it easy. I'll be praying for you. I hope you get more conclusive answers than I did. :(
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