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Title: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 16, 2016, 03:13:37 AM

DS is away for the weekend.  After a night out he and his buddies went to a local pizzeria and DS ordered a slice of Buffalo Chicken pizza.

He started feeling a tingling in his mouth and throat, they asked about ingredients, and the Buffalo Sauce turned out to be contaminated.

He did not use his Epi.  :rant:

They did call an ambulance, and he is at Saratoga Hospital ER right now. They only gave him Benadryl in the ambulance. No hives, no GI symptoms.  They are taking his medical history now.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Macabre on July 16, 2016, 07:53:47 AM

Oh GN. :grouphug:

I'm so glad they called 911. It's good he has the experience of doing that as an adult. It's good he has the recent experience of being in an ER for this. I know you're frustrated he didn't use his epi, but it's good he at least has adult context for the others. And that he is okay. Please let us know that he is. :heart:

He should maybe avoid alcohol today. 

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 16, 2016, 08:49:34 AM

Why didn't he use his epi??  :banghead:  :toothbrush: :paddle: :bonking: (I'm not even sure what some of these emojis mean).

Seriously, what did he say about not using his epi? 

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Stinky10 on July 16, 2016, 08:54:28 AM

Scary!!! Curius to know why he didn't epi.  What was he thinking? What was his reasoning?  I'd be worried  that because this seemed mild that he won't epi in the future.....and guessing the doctors he saw probably think that's fine. Ugh.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: my3guys on July 16, 2016, 09:16:13 AM

Yikes GN!!!! Hope all is fine this morning! That phone call had to be very rough to get in the middle of the night. :( I loathe middle night phone calls.

Let us know how he's doing when you can.  :grouphug:

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 16, 2016, 11:13:34 AM

I've heard from him and all is well. I'll post more details later after I've had a nap. The combination of lack of sleep and the aftermath of the adrenalin rush has left me exhausted.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Macabre on July 16, 2016, 02:30:11 PM

Glad he's okay!! Whew. I've been wondering about him all day.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 16, 2016, 04:24:20 PM

Quote from: Stinky10 on July 16, 2016, 08:54:28 AM

Scary!!! Curius to know why he didn't epi.  What was he thinking? What was his reasoning?  I'd be worried  that because this seemed mild that he won't epi in the future.....and guessing the doctors he saw probably think that's fine. Ugh.

I have a few more details, but didn't want to interrogate too thoroughly over the phone.  I concentrated on what he did right (call 911, go to the ER via ambulance) and not what he did wrong.  I'll save that for when he gets home.  :evil:  All joking aside, I do want to do a thorough deconstruction of what happened so he can learn from this.  He barely remembers his last reaction, which was when he was 10.  Interestingly, this was completely different from any other reaction that he has ever had. 

Apparently after a night out they were hungry, and they went to a pizza joint that was still open at 3 AM.  His first slice of pizza was plain, and that was fine.  He added Buffalo sauce to the second slice, and within 4-5 minutes started feeling his mouth and throat tingle.  He asked the folks at the restaurant if there were peanuts/tree nuts in the pizza, and they said yes, in the Buffalo sauce.  He had no other symptoms beyond his mouth and throat, so he didn't Epi (wrong, wrong, wrong - that is not what his action plan calls for).  But what he did do correctly is since he didn't know if it would get worse, he called 911 and headed to the hospital.

At the hospital they gave him a Zantac, Steroid, Pepto and (more) Benadryl cocktail and watched him for 2 hours.  He said he felt fine, and they let him go without any written discharge instructions.   ~)  I told him he was not to be left alone in the house, if he saw even one hive, felt one tingle, had any GI symptoms, etc., to Epi and get back to the hospital immediately.  No alcohol, no vigorous exercise.   I figured he'd sleep until at least 1 PM.

I was surprised to hear from him at 11:30, he was awake and tired, but that's certainly to be expected since he got to bed a little before 7 AM and had a ton of Benadryl on board.

I'd like to call the pizza place and find out whether the sauce is made on premises and has actual peanut as an ingredient, or whether it is a May Contain, bottled, etc.  I think that info would be helpful to have. 

Oddly enough, one of my college BFF's called me last night and I told her that DS would be up near her this weekend, so she was on duty.  Good thing I didn't have to call her, because she would have had the hospital staff running around in circles, LOL.  She can be an absolute drill sergeant.   ;D

So that's as much as I know now.  I'll add more details when he gets home.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: MaryM on July 16, 2016, 05:06:07 PM

GN, I'm glad he is ok.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: starlight on July 16, 2016, 06:35:12 PM

Maybe he didn't use the epi because the reaction made his thinking cloudy/illogical? I think I've seen Mac and possibly Ciel mention that during reactions their logic got pretty warped. I think the big reasons people don't use it are because they don't want to cause a scene and/or go to the ER, but if you're going to go to the ER anyway and already causing a scene with an ambulance, why not? Which makes me think he wasn't thinking straight about it. Either due to the reaction or if he had been drinking beforehand...or there's the possibility he just didn't have it with him. I may or may not be guilty of not bringing it with me all the time when I was that age. :hiding:

Glad he's ok and recovering now.  :grouphug:

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 16, 2016, 09:57:21 PM

I don't think the reaction was bad enough to cloud his thinking (I'm familiar with that myself - when I anaphylaxed from my allergy shots I made some truly bone-headed decisions due to being completely illogical), nor do I think there was much alcohol involved.  Had there been significant alcohol in combination with Benadryl, I would have been able to tell from his speech (DS had speech issues when he was younger, and when he is very tired or has had any alcohol, I can hear it immediately).  His speech and voice were crisp and clear, which is what kept me calm.

It is completely possible that he didn't have his Epi with him.  I've "caught" him forgetting it a couple of times, yet he gets super-irritated with me when I remind him.  ~)  I think most likely though  he didn't think it was that bad, and he's also probably afraid to take that plunge.  We will have to discuss that.  I wonder if having the Auvi with him would have made a difference. 

I allowed myself a nice big glass of wine tonight, very unusual since I'm pretty much a complete teetotaler.  I have to say it hit the spot.  :)

I'll be very glad to see him walk through that door tomorrow, knock on wood.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: my3guys on July 17, 2016, 06:44:36 AM

I will be very glad when you tell us he's walked through that door. :grouphug: :heart: Glad all is well. And I'm glad you enjoyed a nice big glass of wine. Hope you slept well!

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 17, 2016, 07:16:12 AM

Didn't sleep.  I think I'll be waking up at 3:52AM for the next few weeks.  But he did text me @ 1am to let me know he was back at his friend's house.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Macabre on July 17, 2016, 10:13:30 AM

I'm so glad he texted you. I hope you get some good rest tonight :heart:

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: momma2boys on July 18, 2016, 09:55:26 AM

Oh no! I just saw this! So glad he is ok!!!

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: rebekahc on July 18, 2016, 01:04:50 PM

Yes, so glad he's okay!

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 18, 2016, 04:19:12 PM

Glad he's ok and keep us posted on the epi discussion. It does just sound odd to me that he didn't epi, even though he called 911. So it's not like he thought he was fine and didn't need it. Maybe he thought since he was calling 911, he'd just leave it up to them, but things can go south so fast and get beyond the point where epi will help. So scary. And peanuts/tree nuts in the buffalo sauce? Really?  :banghead: Why is that necessary?? When ds had his reaction in Israel, I didn't know until like 2 days after the fact. Made it easier in some ways.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 18, 2016, 05:36:04 PM

OK, we had a more detailed discussion last night, and while I understand why he did what he did, I reiterated to him that he should have used his Epi, then call 911 (or have his friend call 911 while he is Epi-ing himself).  For once, he actually listened to what I had to say instead of being defensive and dismissive of me.  I think it seems less abstact to him now.

So, there's an abridged version of the chain of events:

They were in Saratoga, NY, which apparently is no longer the sleepy, bucolic town I remember.   ;)  They had been out socializing, and he had two beers earlier in the evening, but by the time they decided to end the evening at the Pizza place it had been hours since his last beer.  He had the first slice of pizza, which was plain.  OK.  He added Buffalo Sauce to the second slice, and inhaled it (he generally vacuums his food  ;)), and immediately felt what he described as a really bad case of OAS - tingling, itching in his mouth and throat.  He then asked about the ingredients, and they informed him that yes, peanut ingredients were in the Buffalo sauce.

Apparently during the summer Saratoga gets a bit rowdy, so there are police stationed on the main drag where they were.  They figured the police would be able to summon  and ambulance quicker, so they spoke to the police outside who told them the ambulance was about 2 minutes away.  Since he felt fine other than the mouth symptoms, he decided to wait until the ambulance got there (insert spanking-adult-child's-hiney emoticon here).  They gave him IV Benadryl in the ambulance, and he felt better immediately.  The hospital was only about 3 minutes from where they were, so from the time he experienced symptoms to arrival at the hospital it was about 10 minutes or less.

We had an in depth conversation about his action plan - which calls for Epi if there is any known ingestion even if he doesn't have any symptoms, and why.  He seems to understand, but as I suspected, he's afraid to use the Epipen.  He said that he's made it all this time without using it, and it didn't want to start now.  ~)  I explained why waiting is so dangerous, and how illogical your thinking can become once you experience symptoms (I told him about my experience with my allergy shots, and the poor decisions I made once I couldn't think clearly).  I also told him about all the people who started out thinking their reactions were no big deal, and how they ended up dying because once the Epi was administered it was too late.

I also asked him if having the Auvi would have changed the equation at all, and he said no.

So that's the story.  He said he would call the restaurant to find out the brand of sauce for future reference; I'm curious whether peanut was an actual ingredient or a may contain/shared facility.  I'm also curious about whether or not it contained peanut oil.

I hope this is helpful to others, in terms of understanding the thought process of a young adult in the midst of a reaction.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 18, 2016, 06:24:04 PM

He wasn't completely illogical or irresponsible at least, but I'm glad he seemed to hear you. I can understand not wanting to stick that giant needle in your thigh. Tell him about the time I thought I was using the trainer and used a real epi accidentally. Sticking a trainer against my thigh and pushing until it clicks hurts my thigh. With the real one, I just though "huh, that hurt a bit more than I thought it would" and then I realized. It definitely wasn't any kind of sharp pain. Now if I had to jab myself knowing about the needle, instead of by mistake, I can see wanting to avoid that!

It's good in a way that this happened. He's old enough to take it seriously, did things mostly right, and will remember and will be more careful.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: SilverLining on July 18, 2016, 07:06:34 PM

GN, sorry he went through this, but glad he's OK.

Not that this in consolation of any sort, but if I were in his place I wouldn't have used epi....though as. Mom I know he should have.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 19, 2016, 07:25:16 AM

I asked ds about it--he said it didn't hurt when he used his.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 19, 2016, 07:46:40 AM

I don't think it's the pain he's afraid of. I think it's the whole concept.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: becca on July 19, 2016, 02:08:35 PM

Just reading this now!  Have not been on here much lately.  So sorry bout the whole ordeal!  So GLAD he is okay!  At least he did go to the hospital, and in an ambulance. 

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 19, 2016, 02:13:13 PM

Quote from: GoingNuts on July 19, 2016, 07:46:40 AM

I don't think it's the pain he's afraid of. I think it's the whole concept.

Just the idea of it--like he just wants to never have to use it? Hmmm. I guess I kind of get that, but not really. Maybe using it makes it all too real.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: my3guys on July 19, 2016, 02:29:05 PM

Quote from: BensMom on July 19, 2016, 02:13:13 PM

Quote from: GoingNuts on July 19, 2016, 07:46:40 AM

I don't think it's the pain he's afraid of. I think it's the whole concept.

Just the idea of it--like he just wants to never have to use it? Hmmm. I guess I kind of get that, but not really. Maybe using it makes it all too real.

I know I've felt this way with DS in the past. By giving the Epi, I'm admitting it could be fatal...Luckily I got over that mental hurdle and used it when I needed to.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Macabre on July 19, 2016, 04:57:56 PM

To me it hurts worse the next day. I haven't felt much pain while injecting it.

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: Stinky10 on July 20, 2016, 02:10:42 PM

I totally understand his thought process - I mean I could see doing the same thing in that situation even knowing what I know......its puzzling and silly really - but I get it. 

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: GoingNuts on July 20, 2016, 09:07:47 PM

Stinky, I get it too.  It really was rational, and if it were me I'd probably have done the same - even though I know it was not correct.

So he called the restaurant today to find out what was actually in the hot sauce, and what brand it was.  They said they make it there, and add peanut butter to it. So naturally we had to joke that they put in "just a little - not enough to change the taste, just enough to send someone to the hospital".   ~)

So there you have it - another potential source of peanut protein.  Hot sauce.   :tongue:

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: BensMom on July 21, 2016, 10:05:59 AM

Wow, that's insane. Most restaurants (and um, people) are pretty aware of peanut allergies and how severe they can be. Seems incredibly moronic to add pb to something that doesn't need it and that most people would assume wouldn't have it. And if they do, you'd think there would be signs all over the place.  :disappointed:

Title: Re: Peanut Reaction
Post by: TwoDDs on August 30, 2016, 09:41:04 AM

Crazy about adding pb to hot sauce.  Your son did a lot of things right.  Glad he's ok.