Could I be having another allergic reaction right now?

[CrazyCatLady]

I've previously never had any allergies before. Yesterday I ate peanut butter. And with in minutes my mouth, tongue, and throat were tingling. It was very hard to swallow. I was dizzy and having a hard time breathing. My pulse and blood pressure were really high. I went to the ER not sure if I was having an allergic reaction, an asthma attack, or just a panic attack.

They treated me for all the above. Sent me home telling me to avoid peanut butter from now on.

I haven't eaten anything weird today but for the last hour or so my throat has been tingling very badly. I think it's getting a bit harder to swallow and my pulse is racing. I'm terrified of going back to the ER if nothing is wrong with me. Could some of this be left over from yesterday? Should I be concerned? How do you know when to get help?

Thanks in advance. This allergy stuff is all new to me.

[4Blessings]

Yes it could be!

http://www.foodallergy.org/section/a

In some reactions, the symptoms go away, only to return one to three hours later. This is called a “biphasic reaction.” Often these second-phase symptoms occur in the respiratory tract and may be more severe than the first-phase symptoms. Studies suggest that biphasic reactions occur in about 20% of anaphylactic reactions.


If you are having trouble breathing or swallowing seek help. Also get youself a Rx for an epi-pen. Learn how and when to use it.

[CrazyCatLady]

Well I think based on that page, that I'm ok for now. My mouth/throat/chest are really tingling. But I can still breath and I can still swallow. It's just a bit harder to do both. I'm a bit light headed as well. But I guess if it were bad, I would have known by now.

Thanks for the link. Very helpful.

[CrazyCatLady]

My throat is still annoying me a lot and I'm very light headed. I took an expired benedryl and I'll see if that helps.

I just don't know what to think or do right now. I don't want to over-react, but I don't want to kill myself either.

[sbgrace]

Rather than still reacting to the ingestion yesterday (this is well beyond 3ish hours, right) I'd be thinking you're possibly reacting to either trace ingestion of peanut contamination or a cross reaction of another food with peanut.

Do you have epi pens? Are you alone/without another adult? I'd be worried.

[CrazyCatLady]

Yeah I was confused about the three hour thing too. It's been over 24 hours. All I've had to eat today though is ensure...so I'm not sure what could have been contaminated?

The benedryl, time, or both seems to have helped the symptoms die down a lot. My throat feels better. I'm just a little short of breath now. I don't have an epi-pen and I am here alone. The ER doc only gave me a prescription for prednisone. Guess I should call my doctor tomorrow and try to get an appointment. I also need to start reading the allergy section of mdc. I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff.

Hopefully this will be gone when I wake up. Thanks for the help.

[SpottedFoxx]

You can suffer from anaphalaxis 24 hour from exposure. You need to see an allergist an you must carry an epi pen. All allergy related deaths are caused from a lack of immediate access to an epi pen.

For less extreme reactions (like the one you had) you can also use epi spray (primatine mist) which is available over the counter. However, if you are going into anaphalaxis you need the shot.

[balancedmama]

It could be the allergic reaction or you could be having a panic attack. FWIW, I've had panic attacks following allergic reactions and it's hard to tell the difference. I notice that my anxiety level is really high for about a week after I have an allergic reaction to something (understandably). You need to make sure you have benadryl on hand and fill that prednisone, have at least 2 epi pens. If they treated you in the ER, it could be that everything is wearing off and the allergic reaction just wasn't finished yet.

[sbgrace]

Are you taking the prednisone script? I would (did in my son's case) to tamp the anaphylaxis reaction down. Since you're responding to benadryl I would think you're still reacting.

Call your doctor today. Explain you were the in ER for an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts and ask them to call in a script for two epi pens ahead of the appointment you make to discuss the issue. In other words, a competent doctor will call in a script immediately when a patient has had anaphylaxis. You need the epi pens. You want two because sometimes one is not enough or doesn't allow enough time to have help arrive.