Hello everybody. I know I'm bad at blogging lately, but it's mostly because the things I've been doing have either been a) not interesting, b) not fun to write about, or c) way too interesting so I already shared with just about everybody and don't feel the need to also write about it. Therefore, if you want more details about spring break or clinicals I suggest you ask me and I'll try to answer.
This past week has been just the right amount of interesting for a blog post, since I'm currently incoherent enough to not know who knows what. Let's start with Saturday. I woke up and went to a class called Boot Camp at my new gym with Jess. It was really, really hard. We were starving so we stopped to get bagels before going to the market. While at the market my stomach started to feel funny. For those that hung out with me post-bike race last year, you may remember that eating after a really tough workout has always made my stomach do funny things, so I wasn't terribly concerned.
When we got home my stomach felt worse, so I went to lie down for a little while. Instead, I ended up throwing up. Not so fun, but I felt much better afterward. I didn't eat anything else except some grapes and ginger ale for the rest of the day. The next day I felt better, although my stomach still hurt and cramped after I ate, so I just didn't eat very much. I also didn't sleep very much because it kept me awake. This kept going on through Tuesday, getting progressively worse until I actually had to leave class on Tuesday afternoon because it hurt too much to stay seated. Some of you may remember that I've had cramps like this before associated with my period (TMI? too bad, I'm drugged and don't care), so I was concerned, but not freaking out about it yet.
Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I was up about every hour because it was so painful. Around 5 am I thought I would throw up again, so I just gave up trying to sleep (I had to be up at 7 anyway). I was starting to get much more concerned at this point because things had been getting progressively worse for so long. I was also starting to get itchy, but this didn't really register with me at first. After about a half hour I was getting really itchy, and noticed a rash on my sides. I then looked in a mirror and noticed the rash on my face. After a little while longer, my lip started to swell and go tingly. At this point I got worried. I started looking through the bathroom for any anthistamines because I knew I was having an allergic reaction. There was none. I didn't want to wake up my roommates, but the rash was spreading and I was getting raised hives, and my lip was swelling pretty fast. So I woke them up.
Jess had some Claritin that she gave me and it seemed to stop, but not reverse, the symptoms for a little while. Then I got a sudden wave of lightheadedness and the itching and swelling began to get worse again. We decided to go to the emergency department. They got me there, and Jordan stayed with me while Jess went to work. By now the hives were in two 6-inch wide strips down the side of my body and all the way up both forearms, as well as all over my scalp and neck. They couldn't even get an IV in the crook of my elbows because the hives were too thick and raised, so they had to go in the back of my hand. After it was in they dopes me up good with a corticosteroid (Solumedrol), benadryl, and Pepcid (which is actually a histamine blocker as well as heartburn drug). I promptly passed out.
At some point I woke up and had to pee (they'd also been giving me fluids becaue of my lightheadedness). Since I was doped and impatient, I just unhooked my own IV and went. They looked at me a little funny, but knew I was a nursing student so didn't argue. One of the advantages of being a nursing student :) Jordan was funny, he had never done anything with an IV before (he's a 2nd year med student). He was playing with the roller clamp that adjusts the drip rate and admiring the needleless screw on port system. I guess they don't show you real world stuff in med school. No wonder residents are famous for writing physically impossible orders.
After another nap, I woke up again and felt very awake. I also felt tightness in my chest and back of my throat, and my hives, which had faded nicely, were flaming red again. They weren't itchy, just bright red. The next time a nurse came by I let her know and after a little while she came back with an epinephrine shot (same as an epi-pen). Good lord, that stuff is powerful. Within about 5 minutes I couldn't stop twitching. I was like that for about 3 hours. But my hives faded and the tightness went away just as fast. So, they discharged me a little while after the epi and I got prescriptions for benadryl, pepcid, prednisone, and epi-pens. While that epi dose was still working, so I wouldn't pass out, I went to the pharmacy with Sarah to get them filled. Epi-pens are expensive when you don't have prescription coverage. Good thing everything else is either OTC or available as a $4 generic.
I got home, the epi was wearing off, and I took my next benadryl dose and promptly fell asleep for a nice long time. I'm taking benadryl until tomorrow morning, prednisone until Sunday. Should be a fun weekend. I did manage to get through clinical today without actually falling asleep, but it was a close call a couple of times. I think the prednisone takes full credit for the fact that I made it. Tomorrow I will be shadowing in the pediactric ED to make up for missed clinical time on Wednesday. I'm hoping I can stay awake for that too. I'm also kind of hoping that it's a slow day and they just send me home.
Oh, and since you're all probably wondering, I have no idea what I'm allergic to. It was most likely something that I came into contact with at the market and my body reacted first with the cramping and then, as I put more and more stress on it by not sleeping or eating, with the full blown allergic response. I will probably never know exactly what it was, but I sure hope I never encounter it again.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
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