I’m not allergic to anything… at least that’s what I thought!
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Jamie Gardner
I have always prided myself on the fact I’ve been able to answer medical forms quickly and straight forward. No diseases, no surgeries, no allergies, etc.
That will not be the case any longer. I found out the hard way that I am actually allergic to a certain medication last Tuesday.
After we had completed printing newspapers, I drove across the road and picked Amy up from her office for lunch. Before heading home for a sandwich, I told her I had some prescriptions to pick up. I could feel a bad sinus infection coming on, we were scheduled to leave town for a few days, and I wanted to make sure I got ahead of the infection.
After picking up the medication we went home and fixed a bite of lunch. I went ahead and took the antibiotic I’d been prescribed, Levaquin, and took two steroid tablets, also prescribed. Amy and I sit down to watch a little television and enjoy our lunch, hopefully in peace and quiet. That would not be the case!
Everything was fine for about 10 minutes. Then my head began to itch like something was biting me. Next, my mouth started feeling weird. It was like someone had punched me on both sides of my face and my mouth was swollen from the beating. My eyes also started swelling. Then I started feeling hot and a cough followed. Amy started asking me if I was okay and I told I thought I was good. I was not.
I got up to walk to the kitchen to get some more water. It was at this point I knew I was in trouble as my throat began to close and I was gasping for air. I walked back to where Amy could see me and I said, “We got to go! I. Can’t. Breathe!”
Amy rushed me to Appling HealthCare where the staff immediately went to work to diagnose what was happening. Fortunately, the symptoms began to slowly subside not long after I arrived, which made me feel a little stupid for even going.
After the nurses got me situated, they told me, “Greg will be in to see you soon.” I wondered who Greg could be and I thought to myself, surely, it’s not the Greg I know.
Then I heard him coming down the hall. “I got you now!”
Sure enough, it was my good buddy Greg Williams, FNP. I wasn’t sure whether to be scared or joyful. I might end up with a colonoscopy, knowing Greg (just playing, he was his normal professional self). We shared a few laughs, which I greatly appreciated as it helped to calm me down and lower my blood pressure.
The nurses, and my old bud Greg, were outstanding and treated me great. After a few hours and a couple of shots to the rear hind parts, they turned me loose. Thank you to everyone who played a part in making sure I was okay.
What I learned from this experience is that I am highly allergic to Levaquin. (Mental note to self… don’t ever take Levaquin!)
This was a scary moment that I never want to experience again! For all you folks that suffer from allergies and/or allergic reactions… I now have a better understanding of how you suffer, and I feel sorry for anyone who has ever had to experience what I did last Tuesday.
If you saw me around town last Tuesday evening, please note that Amy did not beat me up. I did, however, kind of resemble a sumo wrestler with my swollen eyes.
