I had a bad experience at work yesterday, the worst I’ve had in a long time. One minute I was slightly uncomfortable, and before I knew it I was in the midst of a full-blown asthma attack. It was horrible. Very little air was moving in and out and EMS came and took me to the university hospital.
Whenver we have ozone alerts in the area, I know I’m in for it; that’s one of my biggest triggers. Usually my symptoms are mild; I feel a bit like a fish out of water but can usually catch that deep breath that I need. It’s not comfortable, but never seemed especially dangerous either. Well, that’s what I thought, anyhow. Have you ever just gotten used to something like that and tried to hope that things would improve soon? I really should have seen my primary care doc weeks ago. I’ve been having a rough time with allergies this year.
At any rate, bees were found to be in the walls at work, so the outside of the building was sprayed over the weekend. The snack area was somehow infested and bees had made their way inside, so a microwave/fridge room off to the side was rather inelegantly sealed off with a rug shoved against the door and secured with packing tape to keep the door closed. The larger room immediately adjacent had been sprayed as well; I was in there briefly to get a pop. I never drink that stuff, but my usual water cooler was inaccesible.
I was more uncomfortable than usual yeaterday, and as the day went on felt more like a fish out of water than I have in a long time. I commented to my co-workers sitting nearby that I needed to see the doctor and quit procrastinating. I picked up the phone and dialed. It turned out to be good timing. I told the receptionist at the medical center that I needed an appointment asap and she noticed that I couldn’t speak in full sentences without gasping for air. She put the nurse on the phone. After a brief conversation the nurse told me that she was calling an ambulance for me, and asked my location. It was getting hard to talk at that point. I managed to tell the person working closest to me that I needed something to drink, NOW. She hustled off to get it, and the wonderful lady in the office next to mine (she can see me from her desk) asked with some alarm if I was OK. I shook my head and she came and took the phone, taking over and giving directions, explaining that I could only speak a few words at a time and so on.
I work at a university, in the financial aid department. There were five people in the office at that time, and they couldn’t have been more wonderful. One ran outside to direct the ambulance, and the director and IT person materialized and got me on the floor, propping me up against the chair. I was starting to see these floating dancing black spots by then and was scared out of my mind. I kept trying to remind myself to stay calm. These wonderful women held my hands and talked to me very calmly, telling me I was going to be fine. It helped more than I can say, but I sure did wish the elephant would get off of my chest!
Before I knew it the EMT guys had me in the ambulance. They put me on oxygen and gave my baby aspirin and nitroglycerin. It’s a small white pill that you put under your tongue. I had two of them - they kind of sting or something as they dissolve. After the second one I felt better.
I got to the hospital, where they took very good care of me. I had an EKG, three breathing treatments, a chest x-ray, and they monitored my stats. My oxygen stats were pretty good, but my carbon that I was breathing out was too low. Does anyone know why that would be? My blood pressure had been high for me, but after a while it stabilized to my usual below average readings.
The breathing treatments helped so much! Sweet relief at last. My husband and kids were able to stay with me in my tiny cube, which I appreciated. We were there for about five hours and the E.R. staff was excellent. I left with a prescription for an albuterol inhaler and Prednisone.
Now I still feel slightly breathless on occasion, but it’s better. I started using the inhaler an hour ago. It tightens me up a little at first, but that soon went away. I need to keep it with me all the time. I also have this thing that I need to blow in to get my baseline capacity or something like that. If it goes to less than half of my usual rate, I need to get help right away. It’s comforting to have that, because I feel like I can have at least some control and monitor myself if it gets bad again.
I hope it never gets bad again.