I used my pen on Monday. It was a foolish gamble on my part, Ezekiel hamburger buns. Frankly, I knew better, but since it said 'fresh yeast' I got excited. Anyhoo, about 40 minutes after eating I was slurring my words, my tongue and throat were swollen, and I was stumbling and having trouble keeping my balance. In the past, this is where I would have said, 'I'll probably be okay' - but after reading more in the last few weeks and talking to my allergist I was better informed about how dangerous this can really be and how quickly it can turn.
My husband was with me and he administered the shot into my thigh. It didn't hurt at all (I actually assumed it had malfunctioned and didn't have a needle). Within about 3 minutes of the injection I was shaking all over, but the foggy headedness was gone almost instantly. I shook for about 15 minutes and then settled into feeling very wide awake, but not shaking. It took my tongue about 20 minutes to return to its normal size.
We didn't call an ambulance as my allergist had indicated it wasn't always necessary (particularly if you are conscious). About 2 hours after the injection I was exhausted and my head hurt. A two hour nap set me right as rain and aside from a lingering pain in my thigh (felt like muscle pain) for the next day or so, I was fine.
It's not nearly as scary as I thought it would be and I'm really happy I did it. I know now that I could administer the shot myself. I know that it's not a big deal to take the injection and that 'better safe than sorry' is absolutely true. I feel a lot safer now having used the pen, there's something about experiencing that makes me feel secure in knowing what to expect.
Now I have to put in a call to my allergist to get a new epipen refill.
Thanks for writing this. I've always been terrified of my epipen but this makes me less apprehensive about using it in situations where I most *definitely* need it.
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