Is it really possible I’m allergic to running? (Another ER visit)

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Allergic Reaction, Allergic to Running, Allergies, Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis, Hospital Visit, Running July 9, 2014

Monday I was all set to go on my 6 miler tempo run. I had had a rather long day with my kids and was anxiously waiting for my husband to get home so I could finally ~~escape~~ run. Thankfully, he came home early and we had a quick chat on whether I should run in our neighborhood or go to the gym. The heat at 6 in the evening was awful and coupled with humidity (and hot wind), it just didn’t seem at all pleasant–so to the gym I went.

I started with an uneventful warm up and at mile 2 picked up the pace. I was sweating profusely but feeling good. If you’ve been following my running journey, then you know that I vary rarely listen to music when I run. I sometimes pull out the headphones when I’m on the treadmill though and today was one of those days. I was jamming out to a Shakira station on Pandora and in a serious running groove. When all of a sudden…..my palms starting itching.

I knew instantly what was happening. I tried to ignore it and wish it away but by the time I got to mile 4 I knew it was only going to get worse.

I was having another allergic reaction.

A million thoughts raced through my mind. What could have caused it? I’m inside for crying out loud! On a treadmill!

The first time this happened, I was running in my neighborhood and thought it could have been some flowers, trees, or bushes I’d passed. I had also eaten right before running and we all thought maybe it was that as well.

But this time, I was at the gym. I had not eaten before exercising. I wasn’t wearing anything that I wore previously. What. Could. It. Be?

I cut the run short at 4.5 miles and collected my belongings. I knew I had enough time to get home.

I called my husband on my way to let him know what was going on. We thought about whether I should head straight to the ER or go home. I decided to go home first and when my husband saw me, he said it was definitely a hospital worthy visit. I’ll spare you the head shot but my arms and legs were covered in hives.

Interestingly, I looked way worse the first time. My face was a replica of Will Smith’s allergic reaction in the movie Hitch and my entire body from head to toe was swollen and red.

But in this most recent episode, I felt much, much worse on the inside. My brain felt like it was swelling. That’s what was scaring me the most. There was just an intense pressure in my head that wouldn’t cease.

I drove myself to the hospital (my kids were already in bed) and was checked in pretty quickly despite the Emergency Room being extremely crowded. I was given steroids and Benedryl and they worked almost immediately. The swelling went down, the itching stopped, and my head felt a lot better.

But I was still with no answers. No idea what could have caused it. I plan on seeing an allergist (I foolishly didn’t see one the first time) in the hopes we can find some clues. In the meantime, I have to continue running with my EPI pen and make sure I respond quick to the symptoms. At least I know when it’s happening.

I just hate that I have no idea what triggers it.

I don’t want to run in fear. I don’t want my husband to stress out whenever I leave for a run. I don’t want to stop running.

Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis—bah humbug!!

Thanks for listening and letting me vent. ❤

–Doesn’t being allergic to running sound awful??

–Tell me something positive that’s been happening in your running world 🙂

—

Visit to the Allergy Scare Site

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Allergic Reaction, Allergy, Anxiety, Fear, Running May 9, 2014

I interrupt this Euro Recap Special to talk about my run yesterday.

If you remember, a couple of months ago I ran a familiar route in my neighborhood only to land in the Emergency Room after. Somewhere along the way, I started swelling in my lips and ears and saw hives creepy crawl up from my toes to the rest of my body covering me completely. It was one of the scariest days of my life.

Since then, I haven’t run in my neighborhood for fear of have a relapse. I’m now forced to carry an Epi-pen in the event something like that happens again so I’m at least better prepared, but the anxiety of even getting near the area of when it started has kept me away.

Until yesterday.

I woke up wanting to run and knew I could head to my gym and get some treadmill miles or go along the canal where I usually run with my running group. Or I could run around my neighborhood. With my mom visiting, I have this luxury of options.

I decided to forego having to travel by car anywhere and run a route I’ve done nearby. I knew I didn’t want to tempt fate and do the exact route of the allergy scare, but I wanted to at least go near it for some reason–kinda just to see.

So off I went. Started out along the same path and when it came time to go down the bike path where I swear was the cause of my allergy attack, I bypassed it and went down a main street instead.

Once I had gone completely around it, around mile 2, I reached the end of the “tunnel” where I would’ve come out from had I gone down that path. This was when I first started to feel the tingling sensation in my fingers. The first sign of something wrong.

I felt perfectly fine. I stopped and took this ^ picture and thought about that day and how a simple run became a life changing experience. It’s never completely out of my mind. When I run, for a split second I wonder if it’ll happen again. I push the thought back in my brain and refocus but it’s always there. That little speck of anxiety and fear hanging out in the deep, dark corners of my head.

I went back to running and did a quick body feel and no welts or hives in sight.

I finished the easy 4 mile run and was relieved that it had been an eventless journey. I was prepared in case something had happened, running with my phone (which I usually never do) and with my Epi-pen (which I mostly always do) in my SPI belt.

It’s going to be a while before I can run without wondering if something might happen. I think it’s normal and just a part of having gone through something traumatic. Especially since doctors found no real culprit to the cause of my attack. I’m pretty certain it was something in that tunnel. A bug I ate, or a bug that bit me (I didn’t feel any), a tree, a flower, a bush, something….I have no idea.

It’s the not knowing that’s so unnerving.

–Have you had something scary happen to you while on a run?

–Do you ever run with some kind of fear?

Have a good weekend everyone! I’ll be back to tell you all about Italy 🙂

A Run With An ER Detour

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Allergic Reaction, Allergies, Road Precautions, Road Safety, Running, Scare March 15, 2014

Seriously, who gets an allergic reaction during a run?

This girl.

So in honor of Pi Day, I set out for a chill 3.14 run. My husband got home from work, we had an late lunch/early dinner of our favorite “pie”–Pita Jungle’s Glazed Lavosh Pizza, I changed and stretched and then hit the road. It had been about an hour and half post meal when I headed out so no biggie. I’ve actually sometimes literally have eaten and ran lol! But yesterday I actually gave it some time.

I knew where I was going as I had ran that route before. It’s almost an exact 3.14 route around my neighborhood that takes me through a park and main roads. I was wanting to do a warm up mile and then negative split the last two not caring about the time but wanted the third to be faster than the second.

I headed out and ran through park. I reached the bike path that would lead me to the first major road. l’ve ran through this bike path many times but it’d been a while since the last. I waved to a couple walking and smiled at a woman with her four dogs. I was cruising along thinking how the smell of the trees and bushes around were so strong. Pungent even. But I kept going.

I reached the end of the path and turned left going north towards a major crossroad. My fingers started to itch and I began scratching furiously. I told myself, “Don’t think about it Helly. Keep going.” The first mile beeped.

I reached the corner of the cross road and turned left now going west towards home. I was two miles away.

My fingers were on fire and I thought it was the weirdest thing but I kept going. Then I started to feel a tingling sensation in my toes. It started creeping up my body. By the time mile two beeped, I could feel my tongue, lips, and ears swelling. I knew I was in trouble.

I reached the last crossroad going home and even though the light was green, I stopped. I pulled my phone out of my SPIbelt (thank God I had that thing) and called my husband. He didn’t answer.

I figured, I was less than a mile away so if something insane happened, he’d have a record of my call and I was wearing my Road ID (thank God I had that thing).

By this point, I could see the hives start to grow on my arms and legs.

This was nothing compared to how bad it got

I made the last left towards home and passed a fire station. I’ve always thought it was cool we lived so close to one and now, at that very moment, I was even more grateful. I contemplated stopping there and getting help. But, I decided I was a block away from our house and I figured I’d let my husband in on what was happening. I didn’t know yet how serious what was happening to me was.

The last mile was the fastest. Not just because it was what I wanted/planned, but because I knew I needed to get home…quick.

My splits:

Mile 1: 9:23 (Everything was fine and dandy)
Mile 2: 8:52 (Holy, what the hell is going on…)
Mile 3: 8:37 (Shit got real)

I entered the code to my gate and started to walk the rest of the way. I took out my phone to take a pictures of what was happening to show my husband (in the rare chance whatever was happening went away). I even took a picture of my face but I’ll spare you (think Will Smith in Hitch)…..yeah……

As soon as I got home my husband took one look at me and said, “Go lie down.” I went to our guest bedroom and started taking off my clothes. I yelled to my husband to call our neighbor to come over and watch our kids so he could call 911.

About 10 minutes later the paramedics arrived. I heard one of them say to another, “Her back is completely covered.”

“Full dosage,” another said.

I began being poked and prodded and could feel myself about to lose consciousness. I tried my hardest to stay awake and luckily whatever they injected me with began to work pretty quickly.

They lifted me into the ambulance where I was reviewed for 5 hours before they released me. No clue as to what triggered it. I was told that I’d have to carry an Epi Pen with me in case I had another reaction. I was referred to an allergist to hopefully get some answers. I hadn’t eaten anything new, hadn’t taken any medications, hadn’t worn any new clothes, hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. The only thing I could pin point is the bike path with all the trees and bushes I ran past.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to be careful out there. I am so glad I was close to home and not doing a long run in the middle of nowhere or God forbid a trail run. I am so glad I had my SPIbelt with my phone and my Road ID. These precautions are so necessary. I’ve never been allergic to anything ever ever. I had zero thought that something like this would happen to me, that I would be so close to a horrific accident. You just truly never know.

No questions today. Have a good weekend friends. Be safe.