Monday, October 1, 2012

weekend update: the time i went to the emergency room

Sorry for the daunting title!!

I debated writing this out and putting it on my blog, since it's a little TMI, but I think there's an important message for everyone to get out of this. Don't worry, there are no gross pictures and I don't go into detail about anything. Promise!

Three weeks ago, I got a cut on the back of my knee. About two weeks after that, I notice it wasn't healing properly, so I went to the doctor to get it checked out. He said it was partially infected and prescribed me 10 days on Bactrim (remember this, it's important) and since I had no known medicine allergies, it seemed perfectly reasonable to take this.

Long story short, my face and feet/ankles broke out into hives between Tuesday and Thursday. I was stupid and pushed it away as my face "having an acne break-out" and my feet got "chigger bites from going outside in flip flops." HOW WRONG I WAS. It took me until Friday to notice little red bumps on my hands and arms, and it took me until Saturday morning to realize something was very wrong.

People, I have never been in such itchy misery. My chin, cheeks, eyebrows, feet, ankles, hands, palms, arms, and upper legs all itched and burned like nothing I have experienced before. I have never had an allergic reaction like this, much less knew what hives looked/felt like.

At the urging of my mother (yeah, I panicked and called her. Smooth, I know.) I went to the emergency room. The people were so nice to me and took me in immediately. I was running a small fever of 100.4 and they knew I was having a bad reaction to the medication. Luckily I got checked out quickly, got my meds quickly, and was on the road to recovery faster than I could have imagined. It was a God-send that I was taken care of so well. I owe those people at the hospital a lot.

Now here's my warning -- many people are actually allergic to the sulfa compound in this medicine. Crazy, right? This is rarely prescribed because of people's reactions, and if someone needs to take it, then they are given small doses that build up to the amount they need.

Take my story as a warning! If you are prescribed anything with a sulfa compound, either ask for something different or ask for building doses. I don't want to hear about anyone else having an allergic reaction like I did! I could have been in way worse shape than I was; luckily it was just hives!

I have super awesome friends though -- two friends from work came to check up on me and made me feel a whole lot better. Through all of this pain, I just feel so blessed for wonderful people in my life! 


Now have a happy puppy to brighten this post!

(source unknown)

I hope y'all had a way better weekend than I did! :) Happy first day of October, too!

Don't forget to link-up with these lovely ladies:

9 comments:

  1. That does not sound fun. Sorry your weekend was spent in the doctor's office! That is definitely good to know. And there is not shame in calling your mom. I was 8 months pregnant with a UTI and called my Mommy to ask her advice ;]

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one still dependent on my mom for advice! It was so bad and I felt bad for making her worry, but moms have a good way of making you feel better. :)

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  2. aww sorry about your weekend girl :( hope your day is better! super cute blog girl! glad i stopped by from the link up! happy mon!

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    1. Thank you! I hope you have a great Monday, too! :)

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  3. Aw! Glad you're doing ok!!! That's terrifying O.O

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  4. OMG! You poor thing!! Bactrim is like a God send for me, works so well. But I have had hives as a reaction from meds I was allergic to so I feel ya! I hope you're feeling better now :)

    Thanks for linking up!

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    1. I am definitely feeling so much better, thank you! I honestly think my doctor gave me too high of a dosage, because I can't remember ever having issues with any type of medication! But at least now I know! :)

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  5. Holy crap that's scary! So glad you're finally feeling better. Hope all is well with you!

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