Outpatient Heart Procedure - Update Sunday June 3rd

[Karen]

And another update! 9:53 PM I'm allergic to the blood thinner. The outrageously, drop a small fortune on the medicine, blood thinner. Developed subcutaneous hives aka mild anaphylactic shock. No fear. I have an EPI pen but didn't have to use it. Called the doctor's emergency line and spoke to the on call doctor.

Take a benadryl and he said they'll get back to me on other courses of action since my stroke is NOT that much higher than the lowest risk for A-FIB.

I'm allergic to aspirin too. i knew I was screwed years ago when I had a reaction to Ibuprofen.

So sorry to hear that. At least you didn't need to use the Epi pen, as many folks don't realize that also means you then have to immediately get to a hospital, so they can monitor heart rate and blood pressure, as the adrenaline in the dpi pen does save your life, but it's nothing to be taken casually!

And ooooooh how I hate hives! You so WANT to itch, know you shouldn't, but MAN is it maddening!

[mrspunkysmom]

So sorry to hear that. At least you didn't need to use the Epi pen, as many folks don't realize that also means you then have to immediately get to a hospital, so they can monitor heart rate and blood pressure, as the adrenaline in the dpi pen does save your life, but it's nothing to be taken casually!

And ooooooh how I hate hives! You so WANT to itch, know you shouldn't, but MAN is it maddening!

I'm thankful, too. I was on the phone, talking with a friend, monitoring my reaction to the drug, when I realized it was not an adjustment phase, but an allergic reaction. I thought about waiting to call the next day, but my friend said I should let them know immediately.

I knew you had to go to the hospital if the epi pen is used, but I thought it was to monitor the allergic reaction and get the right medicine. I didn't realize it was also for the effect epinephrine has on the body. Thanks for the info.

Subcutaneous hives usually don't cause an itch, at least not for me. Think of this as a mild case of shock. Airways (nasal passages) are constricted, lips swollen, eyes swollen, and skin is tight, tingly, and a little warm. After 3 benadryl, they are still somewhat swollen, but the drug is a 24 hour drug, so I will probably react for 36 hours.

Time to go back to sleep. The 3rd Benadryl is kicking in.