In October 2019, I was in Amsterdam with a friend on a long weekend trip. On our last day there I was feeling pretty foggy, anxious, short of breath, and disoriented, but these were typical symptoms I would have on Sundays after I had been out drinking or eating the night prior. After returning to the hotel, I was taking my make-up off when I realized I was extremely rashy and flushed and had a few hives on my neck and chest. Despite this causing some anxiety, I’ve always been prone to strange symptoms without cause and brushed it off.
With only a couple hours to sleep, I got into bed and tried not to think about how I was feeling. It was after laying down that I felt my heart racing and had a very unsettling feeling in my stomach. My legs were shaking and it was getting significantly harder to take a deep breath. Now, having had three previous anaphylactic reactions (to medication), one thing I know is that my symptoms are always exactly the same. Mostly, the “sense of doom” feeling that comes with anaphylaxis is hard to forget. Realizing the seriousness of the situation and using knowledge from my previous reactions, I knew it was best empty my stomach and then focus on taking medicine to treat myself. Given my abnormal reactions and strange health history, I luckily I had an Epipen, steroids, Benadryl, and my rescue inhaler with me.
After emptying my stomach, I first relied on Benadryl and my rescue inhaler to keep my reaction at bay. When that wasn’t enough I took the steroids. I was really scared to use my Epipen because 1. I didn’t know what I was reacting to at ALL, 2. I was in a different country, and 3. my flight home was in four hours. I was also unsure how severe the anaphylaxis was because I was extremely anxious (given the situation). Fast forward a few very frightening hours, the steroids and medications I had on me had helped me come out of a severe reactive state and I felt okay enough to rest for an hour before our flight.
I returned safely to the U.S. and to my family who was, understandably, extremely concerned. But after the adrenaline of getting home dissipated, my only focus was on why I had such an extreme reaction out of the blue. My health was past the point of pushing aside and I needed now more than anything to figure out what was wrong. In a strange twist of fate, I had an allergy doctor appointment three days after returning home. I walked into that office both frustrated and determined and I wasn’t going to leave until I had an answer.
