Anaphylactic Shock

I've noticed as I have gone through life that there are several things which cannot be described enough with words to translate the experience you've had to another person...in anything like how it was to have that experience.  What I mean is that very little of the experience is translatable without the other person having experienced something like it.

  A couple examples are: having a baby, experiencing a decrease in mental function temporarily or permanently (from pharmaceuticals, migraine recovering time, pregnancy...as examples), and, anaphylactic shock.

  What is anaphylactic shock?  Why does it happen?  Well, I don't really know.  I know I never understood it until now, never understood what that experience could be like.

  Here is my experience.  I had a TB skin test (which was required) a few weeks ago.  That same day, I was about to have some gum while I was riding the BART train home, and my throat closed up.  !  I didn't know why, I couldn't get my breath, and I thought "Oh my god, I'm going to pass out on the floor and it will be up to someone else to help me..."  I fumbled for a homeopathic allergy or asthma pill I had, and that seemed to help--I could actually breathe a little bit.  My body needed something I didn't have.  I ate some chocolate, hoping the caffeine would help in some way.  I concentrated on calmly breathing into my belly. The train ride felt like I was holding my breath.   I missed my stop because I was so disoriented.  My throat closing?  What?  Is it from perfume someone in class was wearing?  I'd never had that kind of allergy before.  Was it the propolis gum I tried to chew?  I've not been allergic to honey, but  several people are.

  I got off the train at the next stop and, still somewhat holding my breath because my throat wasn't entirely open for airflow, I considered asking a man with a bicycle if he had an epi-pen or benadryl.  Something.   The train came in 7 minutes.  Focus on breathing.  Slowly in and out.  Think.

  Rode the right train for a few minutes; it felt like my stop would never come.  Walked home as well as I could--I was staying vertical, which was a congratulatory accomplishment.   At last at home I got some benadryl as soon as I could get my hands on it; I think I took two.  I started to feel better.

  Freaky experience.  Why did that happen?  I wrote it off as a fluke, or caused by perfume, and I will now carry my inhaler, my asthma pills, and benadryl at all times.

  A few weeks later....

  Went to the student health center for my second TB skin test, 3:15pm--they say they test twice in case of a false negative.  I came home--I'd previously taken benadryl during one of my classes because I was paranoid that a classmate's perfume was what made my throat close, and I didn't want that to happen again.

  Around 9pm I started to feel really weird.  Dizzy and ... a little like I was having an asthma attack, which feels like an uncomfortable tightness in your chest, and that you cannot get quite enough air.
I decided to go to bed; perhaps I was tired.  I couldn't sleep; I felt very uncomfortable.  I kept raising my head on pillows, sitting up further, to get more air, but my throat felt swollen on the inside.  The airflow wasn't what I was accustomed to.  The weirdest part for me though was that I was dizzy lying down.

  My arms and legs felt like there was no blood in them.  I asked my partner to please look up 'epi-pen' to see what was in it--I was hoping there was something we had in the house I could use to mimic the effect.  I wasn't sure something was happening really, but I knew this wasn't how I normally felt, and it wasn't going away.  My partner came back with the news that if it was anaphylactic shock that it didn't just go away, that it was considered a medical emergency.

  A word about insurance.  I have disaster insurance, which is *still* costing me a pretty penny; but I pay out of pocket until the costs reach $4,000.  (Oh, yes, they raised the rates by 20%+ a few months ago, based on very weak evidence that "healthcare costs were rising".)   Because of this, I am reluctant to go to the Emergency Room.  I choose carefully when or if I am going to see a doctor as well.   So I cried, scared, not knowing what was going on, but realized that it wasn't getting better, I couldn't sleep, I was dizzy and felt really weird, and I somehow knew that if I did faint or fall asleep that would not be a good thing.  I was shaking and felt really really cold.  Had to use the toilet and hands and legs were shaking so badly it was difficult to stand back up.

  So I finally decided to go to the ER.   It was midnight.  We fought.  I was so confused.  Crying, traumatized, unable to speak properly or think straight, having trouble breathing.  Fighting?!

We went to Alta Bates Emergency Room first, which was the closest.  We walked in and there were about 15 people waiting, which wasn't so good.  Walked up to the counter and the man asked, "Do you need to be seen?" Yes.  "Are you having trouble breathing?" Yes.  (How did he know?)   "Are you cold?" Yes.  (Does he just know these are the symptoms of my problem?)

  I was handed a warm blanket.   Then we sat and waited.  And waited.  No triage nurse.  I asked my partner to see how long it would be and he got an answer like "No one knows, it could be any length of time..."  I don't know...if you're having trouble breathing, you're probably more impatient than the average emergency room patron (ahahaha...).  Really.  I think most people were in for the flu or something.  I have a secret emergency room I like to go to.  It isn't too far away, and you get treated almost immediately.

  So we left the Alta Bates Emergency Room, which gave the strong impression you were about to be cared for....time ticks by....but you're still sitting there....Back to the car, and off to the emptier emergency room.  I went in, and was helped almost immediately by the check-in/triage person, and then taken in the back by the nurse.

  Back to how everyone is coming in with the flu?  The nurse got the wrong impression and thought I was there because my throat hurt.  That caused some confusion when the doctor asked me how much I was coughing...Coughing?   No, I'm here because my throat feels swollen, and I am not breathing in the manner to which I am accustomed.  The doctor was going to give me something for my throat pain--yes, my throat hurts because it is swollen...I don't have a flu or a cold, and I want this hospital visit to be as inexpensive as possible.  I can do without the pain medication.

  The doctor was understanding.  I asked about an epi-pen and that sort of thing, and she said,  "Let's see  how you respond to the treatment first, and then we can see about that."  Ah, impatient to breathe better.  That makes sense.  The nurse put in an IV, and she complemented me on not kicking or screaming or hitting her, and then the nurse turned into a man (there was a shift change), and he came in and gave me shots in the IV, as the doctor ordered.    Prednazone, Benadryl, Pepcid.  I swear it was less than a minute after the injections, my throat caught--it felt like I wouldn't be able to get my breath--and then suddenly the swelling was down, and I could breathe!

  I was so happy.   I told the nurse I felt much better.  He relayed that to the doctor, and she came in and said good, and that she wanted to watch me for a few hours.   My partner said that was a long time.  I was observing the exploding air--little puffs of gray exploding air, waves of it going up the walls....  While I was laying there thinking about possible causes of this (perfume seems so unlikely!), and I glanced at my arm and remembered the TB test.  And my throat closing in the BART...hey, that was the same day I had the first TB test.  Oh, it made so much sense!  I relayed this to the doctor, and she said, "Ah, that makes much more sense than perfume or something."   Then I fell asleep.   They'd said I was about to get more sleepy.  I was glad to get the rest.  Ahhhhhh.  What a relief!

  I felt a little worried about my throat swelling again, it coming back...this is not a sensation you ever want to feel, ever again.   But, I slept.  And the doctor wrote a prescription for the Prednazone, Pepcid, and Benadryl for four days, and an Epi-pen.  And she said Never, Never let anyone do a TB skin test again.

  I have filled out the report? form for the FDA, and I read about anaphylactic shock from TB tests.  Apparently it is about one in a million who react this way, with swelling throat, etc.  And noone really knows why.  

  As I was unfamiliar with how to proceed through the days following an experience like this, I've been following the prescription instructions from the ER doctor (Thank you!), and I saw a doctor today to follow-up.  She said it is not unusual to feel the way I do after that situation--crappy, and chest is tight and congested.  My lungs are clear (ah, good!).  She said I should have some healing time, and take the benadryl even if it makes me sleepy, and rest.  The medicines are continuing to take down the inflammation.

  My regular doctor is on permanent medical leave.  :-(  She is such a great doctor.  I'm sending her a card c/o her office.  I wish she was doing well.  Thanks to her for being a doctor for us!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/rachel-callaghan-md-oakland
...

Well, my sympathies go out to anyone who has ever experienced trouble breathing.  I did some research and there is a chinese formula which has been shown to prevent anaphylactic responses.

The two herbs which seem to make the biggest difference are:
Zhi Fu Zi (Radix Lateralis Aconiti Carmichaeli Praeparata)
and
Xi Xin (Herba Asari)

In English, these are monkshood daughter root and chinese wild ginger.

These above links are to a couple formulas that have both of these in it (and that tcm website is Awesome!).  My current favorite to try is da huang fu zi tang.   I have found acupuncture to help me with controlling my asthma and allergies, and I haven't been in months and months (since my acupuncturist started seeing my ex--it felt too weird), so I'm trying a new place tomorrow.  Perhaps they'll have the herbs to try too!