Anaphylaxis Campaign


Started at 49

Join the discussion

Moderator: talkhealth

Post Reply
1 post
JustJayne01
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:56 pm
Quote

by JustJayne01 on Fri Apr 07, 2017 8:15 am

Started at 49

Yes, that's when I started with anaphylaxis!
I had always suffered with reactions, although as a child born in 1959, the "heatlumps and summer colds" I got every year were shrugged off as just an annoyance. It wasn't until I had my youngest and she suffered badly with anaphylaxis right from 6 months old (eggs) that I suddenly began to wonder if perhaps my reactions were indeed allergies.
At 27 I went to the doctor who agreed and gave me antihistamine tablets, eye drops and a nasal spray, I still suffered slightly, with blocked nose, itchy eyes etc, but nowhere near as badly as I had. Then, in 2008, I was at work and I had a fresh fruit salad on my break; within five minutes of getting back to my till, my lips began to tingle and I assumed I was getting a cold sore. Oh no! By the end of my shift I looked like Lesley Ash and was beginning to feel ill. How I drove home I don't know, but I did (a 20 minute journey) and went straight to bed. The following morning I was covered in hives, huge, red, raised blotches everywhere, and I mean everywhere. So an emergency appointment at the doctors later I was on steroids and stronger antihistamines with the addition of Epipens. That attack took another lot of steroids and three weeks to clear.
A year later, on Easter Sunday, I was at my local A&E with my second experience after eating pumpkin seeds the day before. Same scenario, swollen lips and face, hives everywhere, yet more steroids and stronger antihistamines. This time, having used the Epipen the evening before, which just made me shake and feel sick. This attack went on for 2 weeks.
Touch wood, I have only had the odd swollen eye and itchiness in the following years, but it's still annoying. Why did I start in my late 40s and early 50s with anaphylaxis, why not when I was younger? I'm continually finding things I enjoy irritate me like pineapple, peanut butter and recently popcorn! Is it hormonal?