I know what sent me to the Emergency Room four separate times last year! I'm allergic to NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) - just as I suspected!
On Sunday night, I felt like I was experiencing a low-grade fever, in the form of some minor body ache located in my neck. Since my allergist had assured me that I was not allergic to NSAIDs, I took a normal dose. Within about forty minutes or so, my first hive appeared. Aha! The standard reaction I experienced that sent me to the ER four separate times - this time with a clear cause! I immediately took some Benedryl and waited for it to kick in.
After about fifteen minutes, my symptoms were slowly worsening. I called my parents to explain what was happening and get some advice. They asked a lot of questions, but in the end, we decided that the Benedryl hadn't kicked in yet and that I should be patient. We said a prayer together and said goodnight.
I called them back twenty minutes later, expressing concern over a new symptom: swollen armpits. Now if you'll recall from my previous experiences, my hands and/or tongue would swell up slightly, but never my armpits. My dad looked up what that could be online and suggested that it may have to do with my lymph nodes. I told them that I thought that I may have had a low-grade fever earlier that evening (prompting me to take naproxen sodium, my NSAID of choice), so maybe I had some sort of infection that my immune system couldn't take care of at the moment. We decided that the best course of action for the time being would be to take some more Benedryl and try to get some sleep. I was out of the drug, so I had to got to the only store still open that I knew would have it: Wal-Mart. I bought liquid Children's Benedryl so that it could enter my system even faster. Less then ten minutes after taking it, my redness was going down. I soon passed out, relieved.
The next morning, my armpits were no longer swollen, but they were very sore (as was my neck and groin, locations of other lymph node clusters). I called out of work and went to an urgent care center. I was checked out pretty thoroughly, but the doctor didn't prescribe anything. He ordered some blood work and sent me on my way. I'll find out the results next week. I ended up staying home from work again yesterday, but the soreness finally went away in the afternoon, so I'll be back in the office today.
As for my negative NSAID test from before, I'm not sure what happened. The best I can guess is that the steroids I received at the ER were still in my system, keeping me from reacting. Maybe there's some other variable that I'm not seeing, but as far as I'm concerned, I am allergic to naproxen sodium, ibuprofen, and aspirin. That means that acetaminophen is my only over-the-counter pain-reliever option.
As frustrating as all of this is, I'm happy to finally have a firm answer. I can finally say that the Case of the Unknown Allergen is closed.
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