Can't be allergy without hives
I drank several glasses of water, but it didn't help.
I was shivering and sweating, feeling nauseated and getting some stomach pain & cramping. Nothing terribly severe other than the chills, but with the slight shortness of breath and intermittent chest pain I figured I should at least call the on-call doctor to ask if I should be worried or not.
Because of the tingling in my mouth & face, runny nose, and itching, I suspected it was probably just a mild allergic reaction of some sort, or a migraine (I get many of those symptoms with migraines, often in the absence of a headache), but thought I should at least ask the doctor about it.
I called the doctor on call, who said it sounded like a probable allergic reaction and said I should go to either the ER or urgent care since I had chest pain, throat and mouth symptoms, and shortness of breath--even though I told her none of it was terribly severe.
##############
I was starting to feel a bit better on the way there (several hours after the initial symptoms started), but was still feeling pretty miserable at check-in. I was mostly over the worst of whatever it was by the time I was seen by a doctor.
I'm home less than 2 hours later. They took my temperature and blood pressure, listened to my heart and breathing with a stethoscope, and sent me home.
My temp was 97.5 at home and 96.4 at the urgent care clinic. BP was 118/97, which the nurse said was "a little high" (mine is usually quite low) though well within normal range. At least we know the low body temperature wasn't caused by a drop in blood pressure.
The doctor assured me that there was no way it could possibly be an allergic reaction, because I didn't have hives and I wasn't wheezing. Even though I told him Baby E and I both seldom get hives or athsma with allergic reactions (goodness, anaphylaxis can happen without hives . . . people have died from allergic reactions without ever having hives).
He insisted that allergy causes an itchy rash with raised welts. Without that, it can't be an allergic reaction, he said.
He said that the dizziness was probably caused by the chest pain (even though the chest pain came much later), which was probably caused by muscle spasms. He diagnosed me with a strained sternum muscle and prescribed ibuprofen, rest and ice.
A lot of the symptoms could be caused by my reflux acting up (which it is doing--probably from the chocolate I had earlier). But my guess is that I also had either an allergic reaction (maybe even to something environmental, like the bottle of soap I handled or something in the air?), a mild migraine, or possibly both (my migraines can be triggered by allergens). Or it could be a combination of reflux, fatigue, low blood sugar and/or dehydration, and other factors, I'm sure.
I don't know, really--I'm not a doctor. One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the urgent care doctor knew very little about allergies. I'll probably call the allergist tomorrow or Monday and ask his opinion.
I am feeling quite a bit better, though still not great. I'm tired and going to bed.
I was shivering and sweating, feeling nauseated and getting some stomach pain & cramping. Nothing terribly severe other than the chills, but with the slight shortness of breath and intermittent chest pain I figured I should at least call the on-call doctor to ask if I should be worried or not.
Because of the tingling in my mouth & face, runny nose, and itching, I suspected it was probably just a mild allergic reaction of some sort, or a migraine (I get many of those symptoms with migraines, often in the absence of a headache), but thought I should at least ask the doctor about it.
I called the doctor on call, who said it sounded like a probable allergic reaction and said I should go to either the ER or urgent care since I had chest pain, throat and mouth symptoms, and shortness of breath--even though I told her none of it was terribly severe.
##############
I was starting to feel a bit better on the way there (several hours after the initial symptoms started), but was still feeling pretty miserable at check-in. I was mostly over the worst of whatever it was by the time I was seen by a doctor.
I'm home less than 2 hours later. They took my temperature and blood pressure, listened to my heart and breathing with a stethoscope, and sent me home.
My temp was 97.5 at home and 96.4 at the urgent care clinic. BP was 118/97, which the nurse said was "a little high" (mine is usually quite low) though well within normal range. At least we know the low body temperature wasn't caused by a drop in blood pressure.
The doctor assured me that there was no way it could possibly be an allergic reaction, because I didn't have hives and I wasn't wheezing. Even though I told him Baby E and I both seldom get hives or athsma with allergic reactions (goodness, anaphylaxis can happen without hives . . . people have died from allergic reactions without ever having hives).
He insisted that allergy causes an itchy rash with raised welts. Without that, it can't be an allergic reaction, he said.
He said that the dizziness was probably caused by the chest pain (even though the chest pain came much later), which was probably caused by muscle spasms. He diagnosed me with a strained sternum muscle and prescribed ibuprofen, rest and ice.
A lot of the symptoms could be caused by my reflux acting up (which it is doing--probably from the chocolate I had earlier). But my guess is that I also had either an allergic reaction (maybe even to something environmental, like the bottle of soap I handled or something in the air?), a mild migraine, or possibly both (my migraines can be triggered by allergens). Or it could be a combination of reflux, fatigue, low blood sugar and/or dehydration, and other factors, I'm sure.
I don't know, really--I'm not a doctor. One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the urgent care doctor knew very little about allergies. I'll probably call the allergist tomorrow or Monday and ask his opinion.
I am feeling quite a bit better, though still not great. I'm tired and going to bed.
Labels: allergies, health issues
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Posted by purple_kangaroo at 11:11 PM[Permanent link]
4 Comments:
Pardon me while I slam my head repeatedly against the wall...
It is frustrating for me to just hear about the (dozens? hundreds? of) doctors and other people who should really know better try to brush you off with a "my knowledge is better than yours" response. I can't begin to imagine how frustrating it is to live with it every day, knowing that your life, and Baby E's life may hang in the balance.
Back to my regularly scheduling head pounding. Bang...ow! Bang...ow! Bang...ooowww...
Seriously, though, my prayers continue to be with you--especially for perseverance.
I'm glad it wasn't a heart condition or anything.
Also, 118/97 is well within the range of normal? The 118 sounds fine, but I was told that anything over 90 is considered hypertensive. Maybe the numbers are different when you're pregnant?
Thanks, Amy . . . I'm not convinced it was an allergic reaction, but I'm not convinced it wasn't, either. Simply the absence of hives isn't proof either way.
BTW, I'm certain that I'm not pregnant. :)
Did they do an EKG?
I'm sure that you were having an allergy attack, but something that is sending you to urgent care should never be described as mild or minor, okay?
I don't remember if you have your own epi-pen?
Hugs. Call your doctor again.
Right there with amy, on the banging head thing.
Liz, I do have an epi-pen but didn't feel I needed to use it.
Several people have asked questions here or over e-mail, so I made a new post with the answers.
Post a Comment
<< Purple Puzzle Place Home