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So. Today.
I went to the follow up at the specialist to find out what the MRI said. My worst fears came true: there is nothing wrong with my muscles. They *did*, surprisingly, notice some odd little spots on my bone that might be a sign of long-term degeneration? But they don't really know what it is, so he just mentioned it off-hand. And since there is nothing wrong with my bones *or* my muscles, he wrote me a note for two more weeks of physical therapy before another followup with him, and gave me an injection of Cortisone to numb my arm for the pain.
Cue instant fire. I mean, the needle went in, and I was saying "OW. OW. OW!" and whimpering. The medication was instant liquid fire through all the veins of my right arm.
I was not shy about this. I said it hurt the moment it started, and when the doctor walked out and the nurse was looking concerned because it's supposed to have made me instantly numb, I kept insisting that it was burning. I was finally told to move my arm around to let the medication circulate, go home, and ice it.
I just made it out to the car before I started bawling, it hurt that bad. Brother asked me if I wanted to sit in the parking lot for a bit, because driving tends to jar my arm and make it hurt more, and I said yes. I spent half an hour sitting there, crying, because my whole arm hurt so bad. I even told Brother the last time I was in this much pain was when I was injected with Morphine - which I've learned I'm allergic to. And according to him, I was starting to have all the same symptoms: burning in the arm that was injected, fiery painful tingling in both arms and my right leg, and the feeling that my chest was being squeezed. We made a quick run to Barnes&Noble so I could use the restroom and got some gas for the car, then went back to the parking lot because it had been almost an hour by then, and I still felt like my arm was on fire and I couldn't breathe. As I said at one point, I was seriously considering going to the ER if I thought there was anything they could do for me. (Past experiences tell me there isn't.)
I had texted Shi-chan at one point to tell her about what was going on, because a) she knows what's been going on and I promised to keep her updated, b) she used to work as a CNA, so I often ask her about my medical issues because she knows more than I do, c) I didn't have my Caseworker's number programed into my cell phone yet so I couldn't call her (which has since been fixed), and d) she's one of my emergency contacts, so if there's something that changes on my medication allergies, she's one of the people who needs to know. She told me after I explained my symptoms that I should call my doctor. Eventually seeing as it had been an hour and I was *still* in OMGSOMUCHPAIN, I ended up just walking into his office, because we were already there.
They told the nurse I was there, and she brought me back almost instantly. The doctor came in to see, and I explained for them both what I was feeling. They decided to send me to the emergency clinic down the street, because as he noticed, it was starting to sound like I was hyperventilating.
As it turns out, emergency clinics will get you in a room and take care of you pretty damn fast if you tell them you think you're having an allergic reaction to an injected medication.
They spouted a lot of names of things, but essentially I was given adrenaline, an inhaler to help my breathing (because by that point not only was it hard to breathe, but my throat was actually starting to feel a bit swollen), and another injection I can't remember that was supposed to make me 'jittery and sleepy'. They also put in an IV, which sucked because the first line wouldn't work and they had to go for the other arm. >.< That ended up being used for Benadryl, which BURNED LIKE HELL. As did the saline solution they gave me afterwards. (I've noticed that I don't have an issue with IV needles until they try and use them to give me medication; from then on, EVERYTHING they put in it burns.)
On the upside, they did let me lay down on the table, gave me blankets, and let me call Brother on my phone so I could tell him what was happening. I spent about an hour and a half snoozing, which was not fun. Namely because the IV was making me cold, and I was shaking really bad - to the point, several times I woke up to watch my left arm visibly spasm for a few moments. They checked up on me a lot, taking my vitals and asking how I was feeling. I was finally released with a couple of new prescriptions (which I need to start tomorrow), but unfortunately Brother had to go home and get ready for work, so I ended up camping out in the waiting room for his dad to come and pick me up. (His dad even came in personally to find me instead of just calling to tell me he was there. I adore him. ♥) I watched DIY Network while I waited, and snoozed a bit.
So I'm home now. Still a little shaky, a *lot* sore, and really tired. Kind of have a headache, but most of the burning is finally gone.Thank Gods I think I'm gonna make it an early night though, because my body is SUPREMELY unhappy about everything.
Oyasumi nasai, all. ♥
I went to the follow up at the specialist to find out what the MRI said. My worst fears came true: there is nothing wrong with my muscles. They *did*, surprisingly, notice some odd little spots on my bone that might be a sign of long-term degeneration? But they don't really know what it is, so he just mentioned it off-hand. And since there is nothing wrong with my bones *or* my muscles, he wrote me a note for two more weeks of physical therapy before another followup with him, and gave me an injection of Cortisone to numb my arm for the pain.
Cue instant fire. I mean, the needle went in, and I was saying "OW. OW. OW!" and whimpering. The medication was instant liquid fire through all the veins of my right arm.
I was not shy about this. I said it hurt the moment it started, and when the doctor walked out and the nurse was looking concerned because it's supposed to have made me instantly numb, I kept insisting that it was burning. I was finally told to move my arm around to let the medication circulate, go home, and ice it.
I just made it out to the car before I started bawling, it hurt that bad. Brother asked me if I wanted to sit in the parking lot for a bit, because driving tends to jar my arm and make it hurt more, and I said yes. I spent half an hour sitting there, crying, because my whole arm hurt so bad. I even told Brother the last time I was in this much pain was when I was injected with Morphine - which I've learned I'm allergic to. And according to him, I was starting to have all the same symptoms: burning in the arm that was injected, fiery painful tingling in both arms and my right leg, and the feeling that my chest was being squeezed. We made a quick run to Barnes&Noble so I could use the restroom and got some gas for the car, then went back to the parking lot because it had been almost an hour by then, and I still felt like my arm was on fire and I couldn't breathe. As I said at one point, I was seriously considering going to the ER if I thought there was anything they could do for me. (Past experiences tell me there isn't.)
I had texted Shi-chan at one point to tell her about what was going on, because a) she knows what's been going on and I promised to keep her updated, b) she used to work as a CNA, so I often ask her about my medical issues because she knows more than I do, c) I didn't have my Caseworker's number programed into my cell phone yet so I couldn't call her (which has since been fixed), and d) she's one of my emergency contacts, so if there's something that changes on my medication allergies, she's one of the people who needs to know. She told me after I explained my symptoms that I should call my doctor. Eventually seeing as it had been an hour and I was *still* in OMGSOMUCHPAIN, I ended up just walking into his office, because we were already there.
They told the nurse I was there, and she brought me back almost instantly. The doctor came in to see, and I explained for them both what I was feeling. They decided to send me to the emergency clinic down the street, because as he noticed, it was starting to sound like I was hyperventilating.
As it turns out, emergency clinics will get you in a room and take care of you pretty damn fast if you tell them you think you're having an allergic reaction to an injected medication.
They spouted a lot of names of things, but essentially I was given adrenaline, an inhaler to help my breathing (because by that point not only was it hard to breathe, but my throat was actually starting to feel a bit swollen), and another injection I can't remember that was supposed to make me 'jittery and sleepy'. They also put in an IV, which sucked because the first line wouldn't work and they had to go for the other arm. >.< That ended up being used for Benadryl, which BURNED LIKE HELL. As did the saline solution they gave me afterwards. (I've noticed that I don't have an issue with IV needles until they try and use them to give me medication; from then on, EVERYTHING they put in it burns.)
On the upside, they did let me lay down on the table, gave me blankets, and let me call Brother on my phone so I could tell him what was happening. I spent about an hour and a half snoozing, which was not fun. Namely because the IV was making me cold, and I was shaking really bad - to the point, several times I woke up to watch my left arm visibly spasm for a few moments. They checked up on me a lot, taking my vitals and asking how I was feeling. I was finally released with a couple of new prescriptions (which I need to start tomorrow), but unfortunately Brother had to go home and get ready for work, so I ended up camping out in the waiting room for his dad to come and pick me up. (His dad even came in personally to find me instead of just calling to tell me he was there. I adore him. ♥) I watched DIY Network while I waited, and snoozed a bit.
So I'm home now. Still a little shaky, a *lot* sore, and really tired. Kind of have a headache, but most of the burning is finally gone.
Oyasumi nasai, all. ♥
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