September 1, 2015

Allergies are weird

Last night I woke up with a mad itch. First it was just in one place, then two -- and then it spread. When I finally stumbled out of bed and looked in the bathroom mirror, I discovered I was having yet another major allergic attack.

My lips were all swollen, as were my gums. And something inside my ears must have blown up because I couldn't hear a thing. The front of me was purple and my back was a whitish yellow. It was hard to breathe because something was swollen inside my nose, but I was able to breathe through my mouth. I felt like I couldn't stand and was close to passing out.

Luckily I've been through this before. I didn't have an epi-pen on hand but I had the next best thing: a full prescription of prednisone. I've gone to the hospital in this condition before and all they did was give me prednisone. So I asked my doc for a spare prescription. Thank goodness. I was able to start the medicine immediately.

I also breathed albuterol through my nebulizer to ensure that my lungs kept working. And then I headed back to bed, because why not? There's nothing to do but wait these things out. Today I still have swollen lips and I feel a tad shaky, but the big problems have diminished and I'm on my way to being well. I'm not looking forward to seven days of prednisone, but what can you do? (It makes you shake like crazy. It's instant crazy-guy.)

Seriously, allergies are weird. And I don't even know why this happened. I didn't eat anything unusual before bed, and it's the same bed I always sleep in. So why did I experience this attack? Who the heck knows. At least I've got the symptoms under control. That's all I can ask, really.

Here's hoping you slept well last night.

6 comments:

cm said...

Wow that sound scary. I remember giving Nick prednisone and albuterol when he had asthma attacks. That was scary too. I'm glad the symptoms are easing. Not being able to breathe is THE worst feeling. I spent two nights last winter with that feeling while I had what must have been a flu or something.

C

writenow said...

Thanks for the empathy. Yup, breathing is important. I like to do it as often as I can.

Anna Guess Pick said...

That's scary. Something must be different, but WHAT?

Could you have been bitten by a spider which caused that reaction? I get bites from something I never see hanging around and it drives me crazy, but thankfully not into an allergy attack.

Get better.

writenow said...

I feel much better on my second day of prednisone. It's a relief. Thank, A. You know, I saw a show on TV where an etomologist laughed at the idea that people are bitten by spiders. He said a spider's mouth is not prepared to take a bite out of something as huge as a human. They eat tiny insects, not people. He noted that there are only about three spiders that can bite you, and they're biggies rather than no-see-ums. So I no longer think of spider bites when I wonder where my allergies come from. I did eat grapes before bed and I'm thinking there was something on them that my washing didn't remove. Another idea: my regular doctor says it's not about the exact triggers. He says you build allergens up over time and then it just takes one more to cause the whole scaffold to collapse into an allergy attack. It's all quite confusing. But I feel lots better. I guess that's what matters.

Anna Guess Pick said...

Well maybe those "bites" I get aren't coming from a tiny spider mouth but they do something to me.... maybe 'sting' enough to cause an itching attack by yours truly. Yes, I think there maybe something to allergens building up over time in a lot of cases. My poor Sophie is fraught with allergies, she says she is allergic to EVERYTHING. And when Nicko was a little guy it was awful much like CM's experience with his Nick. Growing up in California we didn't have many allergies but here in STL it is a hot bed of allergens.

writenow said...

One time I went to the emergency room with an allergy attack, and a smart doctor who seemed knowledgeable told me to read this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008J48LT6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_

It's all about restarting your immune system. It seemed like a big deal to follow the book's advice, so I didn't. I did buy it; didn't read it. I can lend it to you on Kindle if you'd like. Maybe it'll do you or Sophie some good.