OMG, I had an Anaphylactic allergic episode recently, while it is fresh in my mind, I thought I would tell you what happened.
I had eaten out at one of my favorite restaurants. Since I ate there many times before I felt confident that everything would be okay. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that cross-contamination conversation with the wait staff. Everything else I ate earlier in the day I had prepared myself. I noticed it about an hour after I ate there. My tongue started swelling up some but not too badly. So, I thought I would go ahead and take a Benadryl 50mg gel capsule to help slow down the reaction and block histamine generation from an allergic reaction.
What Were My Side Effects
Tongue swelling
Stuffy Sinuses
Slight Mucus in the Throat
No swelling of the throat, lips, or face at the beginning. But it progressively got worse. After 5 hours my tongue was so swollen, I couldn’t close my mouth fully
Sixteen 16 hours later I still had some facial swelling, and my tongue was still a little swollen along with some swelling in my cheeks down to my jawline.
Here is what triggered it. I ate out at a restaurant. This was a favorite Mexican restaurant I go to a lot. So, I felt at ease with eating there. An hour after I noticed the sinus areas in my face and nose were stuffy. I felt a sinus headache coming on. I decided to go ahead and take Benadryl. I also remembered that I still had a couple of Prednisone steroids left over from the last time the doctor filled it for me. Prednisone is a powerful steroid medication used to treat many conditions. One is Anaphylactic reactions for breathing and immune system disorders. It works by reducing the inflammation and swelling of tissues in the body. Because the Benadryl made me sleepy I decided to go to bed.
Two hours and 40 minutes later, I woke up because my tongue had swollen a lot more. My mouth couldn’t close all the way. My throat felt like it was swollen too. I started panicking!
That is when I woke my husband and had him give me a shot of epinephrine and I took a 25 mg tablet of Benadryl and my last Prednisone. That was 20 mg in two hours and 40 minutes. The time now was 4:30ish. That is when I called the Doctor to get permission to go to the emergency room.
At 4:40 am the on-call doctor contacted me. She told me to go to the hospital immediately. At this time, I put on the clothes I was to wear to work. I was hoping the emergency room could give me a quick miracle as I just started a new job on Thursday and today was my second day of work. Employers need to rely on new employees to show up and be on time. After all, he was kind enough to give me a chance in a field I have never worked in. I have never been a slacker and I didn’t want to start now. So, after quickly putting on the makeup foundation, and blush, I left for the emergency room.
Luckily the emergency room is only a mile away. I got into the car and less than 5 minutes later I was there. I brought with me the used EpiPen.
When I got there, they put me in a room immediately! The Doctor named Doug came in a few minutes later. He asked me what I was allergic to. I told him about the egg allergy and other medications I am allergic to too. After I told him what I took at the house, he stated: “I should have taken the Epinephrine at the onset of the tongue swelling as it works better that way”. He then examined me. I can barely talk now because of the swelling of my tongue and face. My head was hurting from the inflammation in my face and sinus. It was getting harder to breathe. Dr. Doug checked my vitals. He then decided to act and ordered me to have another Epinephrine shot and a shot of Prednisone. They gave me more Benadryl. He also ordered Famotidine (PEPSID) which helps stomach and esophagus issues by reducing acid in your stomach it helps to keep some of the inflammation from getting worse. The doctor had the nurse give me three of these. Then she said that I would be experiencing some shakiness from the epinephrine.
She was right, a few seconds after she said that I started shaking and it was progressively getting worse. It was a side effect of having a lot of Epinephrine in my system all at once. It will pass soon.” Then she left the room.
First, the shaking started in the arm and shoulder they gave me the shots in. Then a few seconds later it was in both my legs, and they started jerking. After approximately a minute, my whole body began shaking. It was freaking me out and was extremely scary! I had never had this response from the epinephrine. I remember thinking if it gets too much worse, I will be in full convulsion mode and the two nurses that were in there with me left after giving me the shots. So, I was all alone at that moment. I looked for a nurse button as I didn’t want to be alone but couldn’t find one. Now, I was shaking intensely! It felt like it was borderline convulsions! Looking around the bed and the room I realized I didn’t have a button to press for help and I could not see anyone in the hallway. I couldn’t yell because of the swelling in my throat and tongue. I don’t know how much time had passed as I was also getting very sleepy from all the Benadryl. Then suddenly, I stopped shaking. I remembered thinking it was such a relief and I felt exhausted. A few minutes later I drifted off to sleep from the additional Benadryl. I don’t know how much time I was out. But it was over an hour when my phone alarm which I had set the night before decided to ring. Which meant it was my normal time to get up for my new job. It was 6:45 am. Apparently, in my haste to get to the hospital I had forgotten to turn it off.
I guess the doctor heard the alarm because he and a different nurse came into the room. After reexamining me he decided to give me another Benadryl. Then he left the room. I fell back asleep again. Then, maybe an hour later Dr Doug and a nurse came back. They woke me up and he had the nurse give me a Claritin Redi tab. The Doctor explained that Claritin would help to wake me up. That Claritin wouldn’t make me sleepy like Benadryl and like Benadryl it is a really good histamine blocker. He suggested I take it every day for the next 5 days as there could be a reoccurrence until what I ate left my system. Also, he prescribed me Prednisone 20 milligrams each to be taken three times a day and Famotidine twice a day for the next 5 days. He also prescribed me some more epi-pens. The swelling in my tongue and throat had dissipated well enough for me to be released. He asked me If I needed a note for work. I told him that it was a new job and I preferred to go back to work. So, he called in the prescriptions and released me. My husband went and picked up the prescriptions for me and I went back to work.
All day long at work from the medication in my system I felt jittery internally but, I was able to work. Epinephrine and Claritin had given me so much energy That I didn’t even start to get sleepy until 4 am in the morning.
The facial swelling and the rest of the swelling in my tongue took about four days to totally ease back to normal. This was by far the worst episode I have ever had. I hope I don’t have that happen again!
I continued to take the medication for the next five days and was fortunate that I didn’t have a reoccurrence of the anaphylactic reaction again. Let me tell you an Anaphylactic episode is no joke and very dangerous.
On a good note: Dr. Doug knew what he was doing. I was able to leave the hospital at 8:00 am on May 10th and I made it to work 2 minutes before starting time. Thank God for helping me in this situation and for giving me a doctor that knew what he was doing, or I would not be writing this today!
Below is a little more about the medication that was given to me in the hospital. I do suggest that anyone and everyone who has a problem with allergic reactions keep on hand both Benadryl and Claritin Redi Tabs. Not Claritin D. If you have an allergic reaction don’t wait like I did.
What do Famotidine (PEPSID) and Prednisone medications do
Famotidine (PEPSID)
The medicine is used to alleviate acid that causes throat and stomach problems. This medication keeps the acid from causing reflux or a backward flow of acid from the stomach to the esophagus.
Symptoms that are relieved by Famotidine are persistent coughs and difficulty in swallowing. Acid reflux caused by stomach acid indigestion issues can affect the esophagus adversely by creating an inflammatory situation at a time when you are already experiencing inflammation from the allergic reaction. You can also have stomach upset, heartburn, and indigestion issues. Famotidine will help lessen the severity of the situation by keeping the acidic problem at bay and thereby assisting your body in fighting the reaction without the further bombardment of additional problems.
Prednisone
Prednisone helps to decrease inflammation and slow down the immune system. It also replaces cortisol which your body normally makes. Cortisol is the main stress hormone. It assists in curbing or slowing functions that would be harmful to your systems in your body. Cortisol increases the glucose sugars passing through your bloodstream. It also assists your brain’s use of glucose by increasing the ability of substances to work better in fighting the allergic situation.
This medication works quickly in the body, usually five days or less. This is good because if you have an allergic reaction that is Anaphylactic you can have a recurrence episode within those five days. Even though Prednisone is a corticosteroid medication and not a pain medication. Prednisone can ease pain and make breathing easier by reducing the inflammation that is causing the pressure and inflamed tissues.
There are side effects to taking prednisone, which are irritability, some restlessness, and unfortunately weight gain. The good news is it doesn’t cause drowsiness. If you are experiencing drowsiness, it is from Benadryl. What I usually do when I have to take prednisone is to eat a lot of vegetables and soup as they keep you from being hungry and don’t have a lot of calories. It helps me so that I don’t gain weight while taking Prednisone and the added vegetables are great for your immunity and fighting inflammation.
Epinephrine Injectors
The epinephrine is supposed to counter the reaction. It also causes your adrenaline system to react quickly, so your heart races and your blood pressure will go up some. That is why you are supposed to go to the hospital immediately after having to use the epi-pen. Epinephrine is used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions caused by food allergies, insect bites or stings, medication, and latex allergies. It works by relaxing the muscles of the airways and tightening the blood vessels. It is best to use it at the onset of the allergic reaction instead of waiting like I did.
Benadryl (over-the-counter) Histamine Blocker
Benadryl helps with Allergic reactions by blocking the histamines your body creates when it thinks you have foreign proteins in your body and can help with the following:
Inflammation irritation and swelling of tissues
Asthma
Arthritis
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Adrenal and blood bone marrow disorders
Benadryl does make you drowsy so make sure you are taking this one at night or if you are staying home. They also make this medication in the liquid form for Children who have allergies.
Claritin Redi Tabs (over-the-counter) Histamine Blocker
The Claritin Redi tabs melt in your mouth and don’t have a bad aftertaste. They last 12 hours and don’t make you sleepy. Claritin is a really good histamine blocker that doesn’t cause drowsiness. The Claritin Redi tabs start working in as little as 20 minutes and last 12 hours. Claritin in the tablet form takes up to 3 hours to get into your system. They cost more than Benadryl, but It is my opinion that if you’re an anaphylactic person keeping a box around for emergencies is a good idea! Make sure you use Claritin, not Claritin D. The actual medication is Loratadine 10 mg. It is an excellent histamine blocker.
I learned a couple of things from this episode. Don’t take for granted the food you eat at your favorite restaurant. You should always have that allergy conversation with the wait staff! Most importantly, if you do have a severe allergic reaction seek medical attention as quickly as possible! Especially if you have to use an Epi-pen. I now keep on hand the Claritin Redi tabs as they are non-drowsy for the daytime.
